The Nature of Things

There may be no bug creepier than a tick.These sesame-seed-sized parasites crawl slowly and silently up our bodies, surround their mouth-parts in our…

Just this weekend, my young daughter Emma brought my wife a tiny bouquet of flowers. There were some nice greens, and many more bright yellows. The…

Maryland is one of only 8 states that have designated a state dinosaur. We were the 5th state to do so, after Colorado and New Jersey started a trend in…

Recently, I turned to a book by one of my conservation heroes, Aldo Leopold. In a favorite passage of mine, Leopold found himself quite taken with one of…

Most of our native trees are preparing to sprout their 2016 crop of leaves. Only a few weeks ago, they were barren and covered in snow. But soon there…

With all of this winter’s snow, we’re all seeking harbingers of spring.And soon we’ll be hearing the tell-tale cheery song of one my favorites: the…

Just imagine this.There. At the bottom of the river.There’s a 7-and-½-foot-long, 170-pound, armor-covered behemoth. Its brown, sandpaper-like hide has…

I’ve been to Gunpowder Falls State Park hundreds of times. I’ve gone canoeing through quiet streams, hiked miles upon miles, and fished throughout its…

On my weekly nature walk through the forest last Thursday, a small set of four footprints in a muddy divot caught my attention. Irvine Nature Center’s…

We have long been fascinated with the history of the wild birds in our country, so we're excited to get writer and educator Margaret Barker in the studio…