Pam’s Perspective Pam Otto is the Manager of Nature Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District When was the last time you played hide and seek? I did for the first time in a long time last Tuesday and, I tell you, I don’t ever remember the game lasting as long as
Critter, Rodent, Vole
Pam’s Perspective Pam Otto is the Manager of Nature Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District Okay, before we get started with this week’s column, there’s something I’ve got to say: If you’ve got an uninvited critter hanging around your house or yard, and you’d like it to leave, take care of
Critter, Trapping, Wildlife
One of the things I love most about being outdoors is that you never know what you might find. This time of year especially, the woods, fields and streams are full of curiosities, some annual in nature and some so rare you might see them only once in a lifetime. If you move slow enough,
Bat, Critter, FlySt. Charles Park District Nature News – January 22 I can still picture the old photograph that hung in my folks’ hallway when I was growing up. It dated to around 1870 and showed my mom’s Great Grandfather and Grandmother Heyen, along with their daughters Martha, Tildie, Katie and Rachel, decked out in somber black
Animal, Critter, Opossum
Sometimes, when you write a nature column, you just don’t know when inspiration is going to strike. Ideas for columns have come while walking to work, while working in the yard and once, memorably, when I stepped in something icky. But this week was different. I wasn’t anywhere near the outdoors and, in fact, was
Black Squirrel, Critter, Squirrel
We had a visitor stop by last week, unannounced but not unwelcome. He, or maybe she, was clearly on a mission, driven by instinct, hunger and a will to survive. She, or maybe he, was tiny—only a few centimeters in length—but mighty, and we marveled as it plowed purposefully forward through the woodchips beneath the
Critter, Rodent, ShrewWell…I’ve got a critter in my car. If you’re into nature, or know someone who is, this sort of revelation isn’t news at all. Dead things are a part of the naturalist life. But this little beastie is different. Unlike a mummified frog in the ashtray or a shriveled-up shrew in the cupholder, both of
Car, Critter, Rodent
Even though the corn and soybeans are still green in the field, some local harvests have already begun. Need proof? Just check out the chipmunks. For some time now these industrious rodents have been taking advantage of the season’s bounty of ripe fruits and seeds. But then again, they take advantage of the bounty of
Chipmunk, Chippies, Critter
