Tag Archives: insects

What I Learned from a Summer of Ode Monitoring

Posted on September 15, 2019 by

Earlier this year I was asked by Metroparks Toledo to start a program to monitor the dragonflies and damselflies at one of our local parks. I wrote a little bit about it in this post at the beginning of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Celebrating a Boy Named Laura

Posted on September 1, 2019 by

Before you get too far into this, let me just say that this one is more about the story than the photos. There aren’t any stunning pics here, but I hope you’ll enjoy the tale anyway. Okay, here we go. … Continue reading →

Posted in Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Know Your Quarry

Posted on August 24, 2019 by

Experienced hunters understand that they’ll have more success if they take the time to learn about the lives of their target species. Someone hunting deer or rabbit needs to know the needs and habits of those animals in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Native Gardeners: Monkeys in Clothes

Posted on July 25, 2019 by

I’ve been struggling with my transition to native gardening, on a couple levels. The first and most obvious is trying to manage the more aggressive plants while nurturing those that need more space, light, or water.  I’d been told that … Continue reading →

Posted in Native plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Spring Ephemerals

Posted on April 19, 2019 by

I spent last Saturday in Dayton, Ohio, attending a spring wildflower symposium. After the day’s events concluded, I spent a couple hours photographing wildflowers in the area. Dayton is about 150 miles south of Toledo, and so things bloom earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in wildflowers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Odes in Winter: Where Are They Now?

Posted on February 24, 2019 by

Here in northern Ohio we’ve entered a period of the year that I think of as, “Is It Time Yet?” We’ve been through the depths of a frigid winter and have been treated to some brief warmups in which all … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Speeding Green Bullet!

Posted on September 20, 2018 by

Autumn has long been my favorite season of the year — colorful tree foliage, cooler air for comfortable hikes, clear cerulean skies, cozy sweaters…I could go on. But this is also a season tinged with sadness for the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Lepidoptera Life Lessons

Posted on August 23, 2018 by

I’ve written here about raising monarch butterfly caterpillars in the past couple of years. It’s even more exciting now that I have my very own milkweed plants and can watch the butterflies laying eggs in my yard and then bring … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Going Native in Toledo — Series Intro

Posted on July 23, 2018 by

In the spring of 2017 I moved to Toledo, Ohio. I bought a house with a lovely yard where I would finally be able to experiment with native plant gardening. I’m beginning a series of posts to document what I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants, Ohio, Toledo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Insects as Art

Posted on July 11, 2018 by

It’s obvious that I’ve developed quite the obsession with insects, right? I was talking to a friend the other day about how often people respond to my insect posts on social media with comments like, “Gross!” or “Bugs are disgusting!”  … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Odonata (dragons and damsels), Photography | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments