Category: Door to Nature
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Few people would sense a relationship between a species of juniper and the old-fashioned “two for a nickel” lead pencils, nor would they realize the importance of that same plant to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The light aromatic wood, used in the manufacture of pencils for many years, was derived from the Eastern Redcedar, Juniperus virginiana. […]
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Roy Lukes: The Smoky Gold Tamaracks
Typical of the oaks, there is a Red Oak near our front yard that is clinging on to it leaves tenaciously. I look at one leaf being twirled round and round by the wind and wonder how long it can be subjected to such constant stress before it finally comes loose and falls to the […]
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Roy Lukes: Nuthatch in the Tuxedo
If you can imagine a small bird lodging an acorn or a beechnut in a crevice on the trunk of a tree and “hacking” it open in order to get at the meat, then the name of “nuthatch” shouldn’t be as baffling as some take it to be. Indeed, there are a few Old World […]
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Roy Lukes: Spiders Are Our Partners in Nature
Even though people’s outdoor decorations related to the celebration of Halloween can’t compare with those of the Christmas season, nevertheless there occur some rather fascinating, albeit far-fetched concoctions devised for scaring passersby, or especially the little trick-or-treaters. Some feature enormous masses of gauzy spider web-like material draped over entire small trees or shrubs. Imagine how […]
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Door to Nature: Puffball Mushrooms
Every now and then I long for a quiet, sunny Saturday afternoon in early fall, about the time the Sugar Maple leaves are changing color, when I can return to one of my boyhood haunts in the woods. Reminiscing is so sweet when it can be done where happy-go-lucky experiences as a youngster were […]
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Great Blue Herons and other Large Waterbirds
The most widely distributed and best known heron of our country, the largest and most majestic of these fascinating waterbirds, is the Great Blue Heron. In looking back to my high school years in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, 1944 – 1947, some of the most memorable adventures were spent in the old Chippewa wooden and canvas canoe that […]
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Roy Lukes: The Fascinating Relationship Between Monarch Butterflies and Milkweed Plants
There is a fascinating relationship between a group of plants and an insect weighing about one-50th of one ounce, an insect that is protected by an ordinance in Pacific Grove, Cal. Some Canadians call the insect “King Billy” because the orange and black colors of the tiny creature were those of King William of Orange. […]
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If there was one time when I really got turned onto the mystery and fun of searching for, finding and learning about fossils, it was when I was working for the Kewaunee Highway Department during the summer of 1950. A crew was building a new road somewhere north of Luxemburg and the quarry from which […]
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We in the north live in a monochromatic world most of the winter. Black, white and gray are the dominant colors, with leafless trees and snow-covered landscapes. Even many of the birds are black and white, such as the Chickadees, Juncos, Nuthatches and most Woodpeckers. Our only really colorful birds here all year are the […]
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A very small wildflower genus with gigantic popularity will soon be carpeting many of the deciduous woods of eastern Wisconsin. Its genus and best common name are the same, Hepatica.
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What a delightfully peaceful atmosphere the Mourning Doves provided for us while we were growing up in the small city of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. They’d perch on the power lines high above our backyard and sing non-stop, a gentle “oh WHOoo who who.” It was when I was cutting the large lawn at my mother’s cousin […]
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With Door County being one of the prime tart cherry producing areas in North America, most people tend to overlook the most common wild cherry trees that are native to our county and state. All of the three main species – Black Cherry, Chokecherry and Pin Cherry – produce fruit relished by quite a few […]