Topic: Nature

Where the elk and the bison roam …

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 29, 2008 |

Daytrips and Weekenders. As the summer months and the vacation/travel season approaches, we offer you, our readers, ideas for day trips and weekend excursions to places and events that can be done in a day, or maxed out over a weekend. Time and the high cost of gas fuel our efforts to find local entertainment and activities. This column will appear each Thursday through Labor Day.

Land Between the Lakes has a lot to offer, not the least of which a free roaming bison that, topping the scales at a ton (a very solid 2,000 pounds), leave no doubt as to who has the right of way on the roads in the prairie compound.

At up to 2000 pounds, adult bison can have the right of way ...

Discounting its paved road, the Elk and Bison Prairie is a step back in time to an age when these magnificent animals roamed free across the American landscape, the midwestern prairies. Though modern living and urban expansion has come perilously close to decimating native prairie landscape, many groups across the midwest are laboring intensively to save and/or restore these landscapes. It’s enviromentally sound and historically smart. «Read the rest of this article»

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The Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail: Retreat to the natural world

By Debbie Boen | May 22, 2008 |

Daytrips and Weekenders. As the summer months and the vacation/travel season approaches, we offer you, our readers, ideas for day trips and weekend excursions to places and events that can be done in a day, or maxed out over a weekend. Time and the high cost of gas fuel our efforts to find local entertainment and activities. This column will appear each Thursday through Labor Day.

Does it get any better than this?

Looking for a scenic bike trail, horse riding trail, or a walking trail? What once was a railroad bed running between Nashville and Clarksville was turned into a beautiful, fairly level and almost completely paved trail. It is perfect for biking, hiking, power walking or a leisurely stroll with the intent of observing nature’s best offerings. You can find it all on the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail.

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Radiant hummers, bluebirds, return

By Rev. Charles Moreland | April 20, 2008 |

April is the season of bluebirds. We watch streaks of blue dart across the sky as the bluebirds seek a nesting site for the summer. These colorful birds need our attention and care; we can help them to flourish by setting out bluebird houses, available at many local outlets. If you are handy, mechanically inclined, you can build a bluebird house.

Bluebirds raise two or three broods, beginning in May. After each brood has left the nest, clean out the old nest; it’s also okay to lift the top of the house and take a peek at the baby birds or the nest filled with eggs. Just don’t put any food directy into the bluebird house.

Bluebirds are perfectly capable of caring for themselves and their babies. After taking your weekly peek at the little ones, be sure to secure the lid. You need not be afraid of frightening away the parent birds; they will return. «Read the rest of this article»

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Hummers are back! They’re hungry and need fuel!

By Debbie Boen | April 13, 2008 |

With the onset of spring, they’re back! I’m speaking of the hungry travelers, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. They are migratory, spending most of the winter in southern Mexico, Central America as far south as South America, and the West Indies. No wonder they’re hungry.

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Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin dead, died doing what he loved (Updated)

By Bill Larson | September 4, 2006 |

The Crocodile Hunter star of the show of the same name, Steve Irwin has died today. He leaves behind his wife Terri, and their two children. He was an educator and helped to instill a love of animals and nature in millions of people, young and old. He was named the “2004 Queensland Australian of the Year”, in part for the large number of tourists who visited Australia as a result of seeing his programs.

Steve Irwin died doing what he loved, filming a documentary about Stingrays with the intent of “Demystifying them”. «Read the rest of this article»

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