What's up outside?

Here’s a quick explanation of the birds and bees as it happens in corn fields because you shouldn’t have to learn about it on the streets.

Even if you’ve never heard of lenticels, I’m sure you’ve seen them. How can I be sure? Well, I think you’ve probably seen apples, potatoes and birch trees. Their lenticels are right there on the surface, out in the open, on display. Let’s start with the birch tree.

I’m a big nature lover, but I’m still grossed out by cockroaches in buildings. This little cockroach, however, wandering across my picnic table was much less alarming. Only about a third of an inch long and pale tan.

After a friend's observation that she heard rain but found none, IPR's Cheryl Bartz looked into why.

The first time I saw a crayfish hole, I was stumped. It was a fairly large hole – more than an inch in diameter, close to a river. I had to consult the internet for the answer.

From time to time, when I’m admiring a Petoskey stone, it occurs to me that these simple, little animals, that lived more than 300 million years ago, have made a more lasting impression than I ever will.

Cheryl Bartz on the value of not just appreciating nature, but knowing it.

This week, staghorn sumac is blooming. Sumac is important because it provides nectar and pollen for bees in the spring. But its secret value is that it supplies food during seasons when little else is available.

This week: I was out collecting bird calls when suddenly, I heard a deer forcefully expelling air through its nostrils. Deer snort like that when they detect possible danger. But how intentional is that sound?

This week: Some answers about those stinkbugs that showed up in Frankfort.