Weekly Villager » Nearby Nature

Special Places

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:04:37 +0000

What makes a person care for and be good steward of the land? Connections with special places are a result of frequent visits over a long period of time. Whether it is a farm, woodlot, backyard, or fishing hole, you really have to know and understand the land. This doesn’t ...

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Tue, 07 May 2013 20:24:59 +0000

By this time of year the seed catalogs, fruit tree catalogs, and various outdoor planting publications are all dog eared, paper clipped, or marked in some fashion. You have been working on re-doing your landscape, making sketches, imagining what this would like here, and that there. Is this shrub or ...

Stewardship

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 02:48:27 +0000

Last article, we learned that those squishy, pink earthworms that we adore in our gardens are invasive and capable of dramatic changes in our natural habitats. We also learned what can be done to help the situation. This started a series of upcoming articles designed to inform our readers about ...

Who would have thought…

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:53:33 +0000

Since the inception of Nearby Nature, we have discussed many subjects relating to natural history, geology, plant and animal identification, places to experience nature, and many others. Like huge puzzle pieces so to speak, we have tried to create an awareness of how everything “fits together” and works in harmony ...

“WILMA” where did all this ice come from!

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:14:03 +0000

Remember Fred Flintstone, he was always blaming poor Wilma for all the stupid situations he and Barney had gotten themselves into. Well, unfortunately Fred can’t blame the Ice Age on Wilma this time. As we discussed in Part One of the geology of Ohio, the concept of geologic time was ...

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but having new eyes.”

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:57:22 +0000

In many of our articles we hope to give our readers a new set of eyes so as they can discover “nature” as they have never seen it before. Most of our readers have been to Nelson Ledges State Park and are struck be amazing rock formations, but who would ...

Delightful and Sometimes Dangerous Decomposers

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 01:25:09 +0000

Since mushrooms have been in the news of late, we thought we would try to enlighten our readers about one of the most unusual and extremely important organisms in nature. Ominous sounding names like Destroying Angel, Deadly Galerina, and Poision Pie, are obviously poisonous; but Sulfer Tuft, Jack O’Lantern, and ...

What’s in a name? “Geography 101”

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 01:12:58 +0000

We all know the three most important factors in real estate: Location, location, location. What stories can the names of geographic locations tell? Most of our county names in northeast Ohio derive from significant geographic features in the area and their Native American names. What’s in a name? “Geography 101” Our state ...

Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my….no dear it’s just a coyote!

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:00:43 +0000

I can still vividly remember the first time I saw a coyote; it was at the gravel pit where I worked during the summer behind the Red Fox housing development in Shalersville. The game protector informed the plant manager that a coyote had been killing young calves on a neighbors ...

Has this fall been more vibrant than others?

Joe Malmisur & Matt Sorrick — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 03:43:43 +0000

Has this fall been more vibrant than others? The leaves have been changing colors since the last week of September and for the past three weeks have created the backdrop for truly breathtaking views of our surrounding landscape. We are blessed to live in Northeast Ohio this time of year ...