Not your Christmas mistletoe
Tis’ the season for mistletoe hanging in doorways to add romantic cheer. True mistletoe may spread cheer but another mistletoe–dwarf mistletoe–doesn’t spread cheer throughout the…
Tag: Seeds
Western hemlock tolerate life in the shadows
Fastest. Strongest. Survival of the fittest. When push comes to shove in nature, usually the weak or meek don’t survive. And in the case of…
The never-ending aspen
One of my favorite sounds is the rustling of aspen leaves in the wind. While most leaves are attached to branches with round stems, quaking…
Look for shorter tails on voles and lemmings
Scurrying around underground, in meadows and through leaf litter are several small, furry mammals. Last week, I wrote about the mice found in North Idaho…
Caching allows early nesting for Clark’s nutcracker
Laying eggs in March would be a risky venture for most birds because of the lack of food available to feed nestlings. But an alpine…
Sweet cottonwood fragrance will announce spring
One day in early spring, the sweet fragrance of cottonwood buds will fill the air. The large pointed buds of black cottonwoods are filled with…
Animals prepare for winter by caching nature’s bounty
As gardeners were harvesting the bounty of their summer’s garden before the first frost, animals were harvesting nature’s bounty. Stockpiling food for winter is important…
Golden-mantled ground squirrels often mistaken for chipmunks
Scampering among a rock pile on a high-alpine ridge, the golden-mantled ground squirrel stops to survey its surroundings from the highest rock. At first glance,…
Conifers increase the odds with prolific pollen
You may have noticed a yellow dust on your car or around the edges of puddles recently. The visible yellow dust is only a fraction…
Nature’s seed dispersal inspiration for Velcro
From the cuffs of coats to children’s shoes, Velcro has made our lives easier but it has existed in nature longer than we can imagine.…
Incredible, edible cattails
A common sight in any shallow water around the Kootenai Valley is stands of cattails. They line irrigation ditches, lake-shores, swamps and the majority of…
Western hemlock tolerate life in the shadows
Fastest. Strongest. Survival of the fittest. When push comes to shove in nature, usually the weak or meek don’t survive. And in the case of…
The never-ending aspen
One of my favorite sounds is the rustling of aspen leaves in the wind. While most leaves are attached to branches with round stems, quaking…
Look for shorter tails on voles and lemmings
Scurrying around underground, in meadows and through leaf litter are several small, furry mammals. Last week, I wrote about the mice found in North Idaho…
Caching allows early nesting for Clark’s nutcracker
Laying eggs in March would be a risky venture for most birds because of the lack of food available to feed nestlings. But an alpine…
Sweet cottonwood fragrance will announce spring
One day in early spring, the sweet fragrance of cottonwood buds will fill the air. The large pointed buds of black cottonwoods are filled with…
Animals prepare for winter by caching nature’s bounty
As gardeners were harvesting the bounty of their summer’s garden before the first frost, animals were harvesting nature’s bounty. Stockpiling food for winter is important…
Golden-mantled ground squirrels often mistaken for chipmunks
Scampering among a rock pile on a high-alpine ridge, the golden-mantled ground squirrel stops to survey its surroundings from the highest rock. At first glance,…
Conifers increase the odds with prolific pollen
You may have noticed a yellow dust on your car or around the edges of puddles recently. The visible yellow dust is only a fraction…
Nature’s seed dispersal inspiration for Velcro
From the cuffs of coats to children’s shoes, Velcro has made our lives easier but it has existed in nature longer than we can imagine.…
Incredible, edible cattails
A common sight in any shallow water around the Kootenai Valley is stands of cattails. They line irrigation ditches, lake-shores, swamps and the majority of…