Challenge for America’s 250th

When this country’s first 13 colonies declared independence from Britain 250 years ago in 1776, it probably didn’t make the local news here in the “Ohio Country” as the colonists would refer to it. Indigenous people, including Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo and Wyandot, were the only inhabitants and they likely had other things to do. But they would be impacted soon enough, as the area and alliances were drawn into the war.

Read the complete column here: Hike into Ohio's Past

Hiking Ohio 250

To celebrate the country's 250th birthday and the history of hiking in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) presents the America Hikes 250 Challenge. It offers two go-at-your-own pace ways to participate by hiking at one of the areas managed by the ODNR and tracking activity through a mobile app. There’s a family-friendly 25-mile version and a “this will take some doing " 250-mile option. Now, roughly halfway to the cutoff date of Dec. 31, 2026, there is still plenty of time to plan for and accomplish the goals.

For more information and to find the app, visit the ODNR website and search for Ohio State Parks OuterSpatial Digital Passport Challenge https://ohiodnr.gov/

Wild areas near you

If you haven’t been to an Ohio State Park recently or ever. You should. There are all types of trails available that cover all types of terrain and difficulty. Here’s a quick list of potential options to start the challenge or just enjoy. I didn’t do all of the math, but it should be possible to complete even the 250 challenge without leaving the area. 

Buck Creek State Park

Multiple trails up to 7.5 miles

Caesar Creek

Multiple trails up to 15.3 miles

Cowan Lake

Recommended Route- 1 Mile Loop

East Fork State Park

Multiple Trails up to 33 miles

Grand Lake St. Mary's

Multiple trails up to  1.7 Miles

Great Council

Recommended Route- Blackfish Path

Hueston Woods

Multiple trails up to 2.2 miles

Indian Lake

Multiple trails up to 3.5 miles

John Bryan

Multiple trails up to 3.5 Miles

Kiser Lake

Multiple Trails up to 3.3 miles

If that gets you motivated to explore more, there is also a challenge to visit all 76 Ohio state parks available in the app or in a printed booklet version. On June 13th, Cyndi Griffith became the first person to complete the digital version of the passport. 

For more information and to find the app, visit the ODNR website and search for Ohio State Parks OuterSpatial Digital Passport Challenge https://ohiodnr.gov/

European Starling - Not Wanted - And on the Worlds Worst List

 

The summer solstice had barely passed, and we were within the first week of July when I saw them. It was July 7th this year, to be exact. The first day I noticed what I take to be a sign of Autumn: multiple family groups of European Starlings, or a “murmur” as a flock of starlings is called. It was way too early for me to think about fall. But here they were in early July, in the hundreds blanketing the neighborhood. As the name, European Starling suggests, they’re not native to the US, but they are certainly here. I wish they would pack up and just go.

New York, New York, if they can make it there … 

There is debate about whether their introduction was inspired by a desire to ensure every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works was released in the United States. But for sure, eccentric New York pharmacist Eugene Schieffelin, was involved at some level. Part of the American Acclimatization Society, a group of wealthy New Yorkers who sought to trade and introduce European flora and fauna, he released 100 starlings into Central Park in 1890. Unfortunately, releasing new species onto the landscape that were deemed “useful or interesting,” or that just reminded them of the homeland, was a common practice at the time. There wasn’t a full understanding of the impact they might have.

Read the complete column here: You've Probably Seen this Noisy Invasive Bird

Resources

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/European-Starlings-WDM-Technical-Series.pdf

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1533.07

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Acclimatization_Society

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_of_the_World%27s_Worst_Invasive_Alien_Species

Download Starling BB Gun Target Here

Eagles Soaring Over Ohio

“I know something you don’t know,” isn’t the gleeful greeting you expect from someone well past elementary school, never mind retirement. And in reality, there are a lot of things I don’t know and I expect that everyone knows things that I don’t. But it didn’t bother me because it was too big a secret for them to hold very long. That’s kind of typical with that phrase.

Read the complete column here: National Symbol Soaring High in the Miami Valley

Where to see Bald Eagles

You could see an eagle literally anywhere in Southwest Ohio. Immature Bald Eagles can be difficult to differentiate from a Golden Eagle, but there’s no mistaking the adults. 

• C.J. Brown Reservoir 
• Great Miami River near Carillon Blvd
• Any major body of water

Little Miami Conservancy Bald Eagle Nest Cam - Live YouTube stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHOdKaPsFk8

Resources

https://ohiodnr.gov/ and search for eagles

https://www.history.com/articles/how-did-the-bald-eagle-become-americas-national-bird

Better Sunsets

 I love watching the sun rise and set. The color shifts and ombres are unique. I’m always glad that I can see them, and miss them when I can’t see them, to the point that at times my digital photo folders are too full of sunset pictures.

I also feel a little sorry for those who can’t see them, and slightly jealous of creatures that see them better, even if it’s just imagining what they see. It all comes down to the number of light-sensing rods and color-detecting cones.

Read the complete column: The Science Behind a Great Sunset

Beavers - Reshaping Edges and Water

 KERSPLASH!

We were quietly casting jitterbugs after sunset towards the shore of what was an Ohio Power (now American Electric Power (AEP)) pond when it sounded like someone had lobbed a bowling ball into the water towards our jon boat. We were fairly remote, and there weren’t any other campers around. Flashlights didn’t reveal Bigfoot on the bank. No trees had fallen into the water. Back to fishing, working our way around, and it happened again. Then again.

We retired for the night, knowing something was out there. But it was the 1970s, and there was no internet available to search “big splash at night.” Also, no cellphones to call for help if it were an escaped convict or locals trying to scare us away from their favorite lake. ’70s TV and Scooby Do will make a kid think that way. Turns out it was a local family trying to scare us away — a family of beavers.

Read the complete column: Beavers Making the World a Wetter Place

New Tick in Town

Being outdoors in southwest Ohio has its blessings. While we don’t have snowcapped mountains or sweeping oceans, it’s also relatively safe. Walking outside doesn’t mean prepping against a host of lethal things trying to stick, sting, bite, or eat you immediately. There are no alligators in the pond. Poisonous snakes are rare. Maybe an occasional bear wandering through. For the most part, we deal with minor annoyances that have existed for centuries, probably led by mosquitoes.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cautious and prepare for what is out there. In Ohio, it’s often not an immediate, imminent danger that gets us; it’s the later consequences of insect encounters. Lyme disease, carried by blacklegged or deer ticks, has been around for centuries and has become more common as deer and human populations have grown and shifted. I’ll go ahead and throw honeysuckle amur under the bus with that one as well.

Read the complete column here: Lone Star Tick

Summer Fishing School

 

Sometime during my elementary school years, a guy built a pond on his land in the middle of our neighborhood. I don’t know all of what was said or discussed about having a pond in the middle of a neighborhood, but I’m sure it was a lot. But he did it anyway. And there it was.

It was private property, in complete view of his house and anyone driving by. If someone was fishing, you’d see them, but there never was. Rumor was that it was stocked with fish, but no one was allowed.

One of those things turned out to be true one summer.

Read the complete column here: Local Events to Get Kids Fishing