Category Archives: Uncategorized

The ancient Romans called these last days of summer the “dog days” in honor of the rising of the dog star, Sirius, with the morning sun. They thought that the heat and often unbearable humidity of the late summer were… Continue reading →

All summer we have seen the occasional orange and black monarch butterfly fluttering across our yards and fields. Coming into the fall, though, the numbers of these distinctive butterflies have increased and their colors have become more vivid and more… Continue reading →

I have three apple trees down in my orchard. They are fifty years old and have grown wild and gnarly through decades of neglect. Most of the heavy branches are covered with sprouts that mesh together into a dense, continuous… Continue reading →

I went out to the cardinal nest that I described in a previous posting. I had watched a week’s worth of intense work by the female cardinal to build the nest, and now two weeks later, I wanted to assess… Continue reading →

The content of this blog is created by Dr. William Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Biology, and Ms. Deborah Sillman, Senior Instructor of Biology, at Penn State New Kensington.The contents of this site are licensed under this Creative Commons license. If… Continue reading →

This past Thursday afternoon nine students and an intrepid staff member (thanks, Jim!) joined me out on the campus nature trail for a clean-up event. It was a great way to mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I want… Continue reading →

The Todd Nature Reserve (formerly called “Todd Sanctuary”) is a rocky, stream crossed, 176 acre site owned and maintained by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. It is in Sarver in southeastern Butler County and has been, for all of… Continue reading →

We headed out this morning to do one of our favorite, local hikes: the six mile, “Up and Over” around Roaring Run in Kiski Township, Armstrong County. I have written a long description of a July hike along this trail… Continue reading →

This second week of March has been an active time of transition into Spring. On Monday, the silver maple tree (Acer saccharinum)at the bottom of my field opened its flowers. On Tuesday, the red maple (Acer rubrum) by my house… Continue reading →

Deborah and I walked out to the Nature Trail this afternoon. After three weeks of snow and very cold weather, today’s moderate temperatures (upper 30’s) and abundant sunshine are irresistible calls to get out into the woods! There are… Continue reading →