Outdoors
More Stories
Where asparagus once grew wild
By Jack Spaulding One of my fond experiences as a child came with the first warming days of spring. Prior to cultivated side ditches, mowed fence rows and the liberal use of herbicides, wild asparagus proliferated in the side ditches along the county roads. And it was free for the picking! The sporadic patches took… Continue reading.
Mongoose … whither shall you wander?
BY JACK SPAULDING I recently returned from a six-day mission trip to Haiti. Haiti is a country with which I have become well-acquainted as I have been there seven times. Overall, the western side of the island of Hispaniola is mostly devoid of jungle and woodland having been stripped of wood for charcoal for cooking fires…. Continue reading.
Raised in a barn
by Jack Spaulding They are at it again … more baby owls! The Indiana barn owl pair — “reality TV” YouTube stars viewed on a live nest cam — are putting on a second act of parenthood. They are raising a second brood of chicks unusually late into the nesting season. The existence of a… Continue reading.
Winter wasps
by B. Rosie Lerner In the dead of winter, we often find wasps on the carpet in our basement, but not always. Sometimes a dead wasp is on the windowsill, other times in a light fixture. We might see dying wasps crawling around lethargically or even attempting to fly. Like a lot of social insects,… Continue reading.
Deer Crossing
by JACK SPAULDING This fall, two family members unintentionally “tagged” and brought home a deer, doing it the hard way. They hit the deer with their vehicles. Both are experienced drivers who have driven in deer country for years. Thankfully, there were no personal injuries, and both deer were salvaged and processed. To help avoid a… Continue reading.
Sound the trumpet!
A pair of endangered trumpeter swans have successfully hatched an offspring in Indiana for the first time since modern bird watching records have been kept. The swan family is in northeastern Indiana’s Steuben County. Before 2017, sightings of trumpeter swan families in Indiana were limited to winter, with the birds breeding in other states. Trumpeter swans… Continue reading.
Sufferin’ catfish!
Note to readers: Jack Spaulding, our longtime outdoors writer, is recuperating from complications from surgery and is unable to write his usual column. In its place, we present a syndicated column he wrote in July 2007 — but not for Electric Consumer — when he invited Electric Consumer senior editor Richard Biever and his kids to… Continue reading.
Sharing nature’s harvest
By Jack Spaulding Indiana deer hunters and their families know nothing beats the taste of a hearty venison burger or equals the satisfying flavor of venison chili. Sharing the bounty of the field with others is a Hoosier tradition, and once again, Indiana deer hunters stepped up to the “plate” and delivered! Deer hunters donated… Continue reading.
The buzz about pollinators
By Pamela A. Keene If not for bees and other pollinators, the world would starve. Those buzzing honeybees and bumblebees, colorful butterflies and quick-darting hummingbirds have a huge job to perform: pollinating plants that grow into the fruits and vegetables we eat and the blossoms we enjoy. But to get a bountiful crop to harvest,… Continue reading.
Reintroduction of falcons a success
By Jack Spaulding The reintroduction of the peregrine falcon is a real success story in Indiana and the nation. Biologists have brought the birds back from the brink of extinction with nesting pairs across the Midwest. Peregrines are now commonly seen in special places in Indiana, but it wasn’t always so. Consider: • Prior to 1940,… Continue reading.
Mild winter brings up bulbs
By Rosie Lerner It’s not unusual for Indiana weather to have trouble deciding what season it is. Recent warm spells have had many gardeners wondering what to do about bulbs, and perhaps a few plants that are poking their foliage through the soil. Just what should gardeners do about daffodils, dianthus and daylilies poking out… Continue reading.
Air-squirrel at the birdfeeder
By Jack Spaulding When I first installed my sunflower seed birdfeeder, I hung it from a single cable attached to a high limb and positioned the wire basket 42 inches above the ground. At that height, I knew it was safe from all ground attacks by chipmunks and squirrels. They simply could not reach the… Continue reading.