written by Grant Fessler, originally posted on his website, gcology.net Perhaps nothing embodies Midwestern summer better than a July thunderstorm. There is something magical and humbling about watching enormous, rain-heavy clouds unleash their tumult and violence over the low, rolling hills and river valleys. To hear the distant booms and crashes of thunder gradually approach […] Continue reading "Summer Storms and Silphium at Sunset"
written by Grant Fessler, originally published on his website, gcology.net On the overcast morning of Saturday, April 22nd, 2023, I made my way to one of the Quad Cities most prized natural areas, Black Hawk Historic site. As I descended from Black Hawk Road to the parking lot on the Rock River floodplain, I saw […] Continue reading "Earth Day Wildflowers at Black Hawk Historic Site"
written by Grant Fessler, originally published on his website, gcology.net With a sudden burst of unseasonably warm weather this past week, the spring ephemerals have leapt into blooming here in the Quad Cities region. Our remnant woodlands are now teaming with whites, purples, blues, and yellows, and the early spring pollinators are hard at work. […] Continue reading "Hunting Down the Prairie Trout Lily"