wildlife

By far, the question Kevin and Debbie Kleer hear most this time of year is, “Can reindeer really fly?”

The Kleers run Kleerview Farm near Bellville, Ohio, in southern Richland County, and kids are there with their parents mostly to pick out a Christmas tree and see Santa. The real attraction, however, is the Kleers’ small herd of nine live reindeer — Blitzen, Noel, Belle, Nicholas, Crystal, Jingles, Clarice, Felice, and Cherry — which obviously prompts lots of questions, from both kids and adults.

Twenty years ago this fall, Rick Wilson was driving along a Virginia highway when he spotted a woman standing beside a car with the trunk open. “From the way she was dressed and by the appearance of the car, it looked like she was not doing too well financially,” Wilson says. “When I stopped and asked if her car was broken down, she said, ‘No, but could you please help me load a deer into the trunk?’”

For some 25 years, I raised beagles for hunting cottontail rabbits. Reluctantly, I gave it up about a decade ago when my oldest dog died. What I miss most about the sport is the sound of the chase.

Hunters call it hound music.

My longtime friend and fellow outdoors writer Mike Tontimonia is another who knows the sound well. A member of Carroll Electric Cooperative in eastern Ohio, Tontimonia estimates he’s owned 150 beagles during his lifetime — both hunters and field-trialers — with as many as 20 dogs in his kennel at any one time.

As Ohio Cooperative Living’s outdoors editor, I hear some pretty humorous tales about wildlife in the Buckeye State. For instance, take a look at the photo above. At first glance it looks like a typical possum-at-the-birdfeeder shot. But Steve Seitz assures me there’s more to the story.

Ohio is one of only three states that does not recognize a state fish, but if ever our lawmakers should decide to name one, there’s but a short list of great candidates: the yellow perch, for example, or the Ohio Muskie. A particularly strong case, however, could be made for the smallmouth bass — the gamest fish that swims.

If a leisurely, relaxing train ride, combined with watching wildlife — particularly bald eagles — sounds like fun, you might want to head east to Romney, West Virginia, where, in the spring, summer and fall each year, the trains of the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad leave Wappocomo Station for a three-hour, 35-mile round-trip deep into the mountains.

The tracks parallel the south fork of the Potomac River, and the highlight of the trip is a wild stretch of stream where eagles soar.

Dragonflies have long been considered a sign of good luck — and it seems with good reason. Much like hummingbirds, dragonflies are quite agile. They can fly both forward and backward with lightning speed, and can hover, dart, or change direction with ease. That aerial agility makes dragonflies highly efficient carnivores, with voracious appetites that help keep fly, gnat, and mosquito populations in check. They have even been known to snatch winged termites as they fly out of the ground.

Smiles and giggles are everywhere as each child follows his or her butterfly. The adults stand ready with their cameras and their own smiles.

Every year, The Butterfly Migration Celebration is held at the The Children’s Garden in Lima. It’s the biggest project Allen County Master Gardeners puts together.

Master Gardeners are dedicated to promoting and teaching environmentally sound research-based gardening practices. This is done through many different projects held throughout the year.

According to an old Pima Indian legend, a flock of very ordinary gray birds became concerned about how unattractive they looked. They began bathing in a sparkling blue mountain lake every morning hoping to make themselves more beautiful. After bathing in the lake for four days, their feathers fell off, and all that remained was gray skin that was even uglier than their plain-looking gray feathers. On the fifth day the feathers grew back in, but this time they were the brilliant blue color of the mountain lake.

The invaders arrived deliberately or inadvertently. Either way, invasive plant species have wreaked havoc on our ecosystem. Just what is an invasive species? Essentially, an invasive species is one that is not native and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic, environmental, or physical harm to an ecosystem.