By Jack MacRae The perennial winner for the Longest Life Span Award in the North American Butterfly Category is our old friend the mourning cloak. This is one of the few local butterflies that hibernates as an adult. They have a sweet trick that extends their life span to an impressive 11 months! Sweet, Deep … Read more
By Gary Swick, President Resilience and Hope In nature, winter is a time of conserving resources, relying upon storage, and enduring scarcity and hardship. Surviving winter requires physical resilience and hope. We have just emerged from a natural and cultural winter like none of us have ever experienced. As we travel the long crossover from … Read more
By Snappin’ Jack MacRae It’s not too difficult to find a few big old snapping turtles in January and February if you know where to look (under the ice), and have an adventurous streak. Warm clothes are a bonus. During the winter, when local ectothermic animals (e.g., amphibians and reptiles) are undergoing hibernation (or, brumation if you want … Read more
By Pat Brady, DivvyBack “So dense was the original forest, it was claimed, that a squirrel might travel from the Atlantic to the Mississippi from tree limb to tree limb without ever touching the ground.” -Folklore Try searching your favorite search engine for “1 trillion trees”. You’ll find a surprising list of support for the … Read more
By Gary Swick, President Restoring the Systems Working with unified efforts and a sense of collaboration, we can move forward together while we navigate a global pandemic, overcome our national social injustices, and address climate change on all levels. We have challenges ahead but our own successes with the Fox River watershed’s protection and restoration … Read more
By Pat Brady, DivvyBack Managing Partner “Figures don’t lie but liars figure” is a piece of modern wisdom passed on through the pen of Mark Twain. I wonder what he would say about our modern world today? There is no lack of ironies so I suppose he would have a great time. Let’s see if … Read more
By Jack MacRae Everyone should be able to identify the northern cardinal. The boys are bright, bright red. Their faces are black. The girls are a fetching tawny brown with red highlights. Both sexes are crested and have thick red beaks. But cardinals are much more than just another pretty bird. Dumpster Diving Bird History During the early … Read more
By Gary Swick, President 2020 has been a spectrum of angst ranging from a dumpster fire, to a period of darkness, to great hope bestowed upon 2021 as the light. The holiday season is a festival of light from many different cultures’ traditions. All these traditions symbolize getting through the tough time of short days, … Read more
By Jack MacRae Witch Hazel might sound like a cousin of Samantha Stevens. But botanically, it is really an attractive understory shrub found in naturally wooded areas. Their attractive, rounded-oval form makes them popular around the globe. Illinois is home to the Virginia variety, Hamamelis virginiana. It can grow to 10-15 feet in our area and has roundish, toothed … Read more
By Pat Brady, DivvyBack Managing Partner We all know that nothing in life is perfect, except maybe Manny’s Reuben sandwich with chicken noodle soup. Outside of that, and particularly in the area of laundry detergent, there just isn’t anything that I can describe as perfect. Why Is That? Well, first, let’s define what a perfect … Read more