Winter comes upon us all too

quickly, but there are so many

natural delights to be had with

this season. I find the best thing

about this season is how quiet it

is in the woods. Places that are

often packed in the summer

take on a different ambience,

and sometimes I find it easier to

see wildlife around me rather

than have the distractions of

people.

Juncos or cardinals against a

backdrop of snow. The stems of

the dogwood. The berries of

crabapples. Winter takes on a

superficially monochromatic

tone, but when looking more

closely you see the flashes of

color against that backdrop

which often times produce

shades of blue, green and pur-

ple.

Winter makes places wild again,

when the environment takes

over and recharges before

spring. Even though this is a

hard time of year for most or-

ganisms, there is also a visceral

beauty that can be enjoyed in

knowing humans are not as

present.

Winter is also a time for recrea-

tion, whether it be snow shoe-

ing, cross country skiing or ice

fishing. At Lake Katherine we

rent snowshoes and we allow

cross country skiing. Sometimes

there can be no better way to

enjoy a day in winter than

skiing or snowshoeing around

lake Katherine. We also have

our annual winter event, Win-

terfest, on February 8th. To

embrace what winter has to

offer, get out of the house and

enjoy the season.

Volume 4, Issue 4

TH E W IN TE R I SS UE

December 2013

Contributors: Gareth Blakesley

Cecilia Govrik

Shamim Graff

Michael Littman

Jim Reichel

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Winter Gardening 2

Species Spotlight 2

Media Review 2

Conservation 3

Science 3

Recreation 3

Education Programs 4

Updates 5

Turning Leaves 6

Calendar 6

THE BUZZ N’ BLOOM QUARTERLY

ed completely independent of

Darwin, and was based on his

work in the Malay Archipelago.

While suffering from Malar-

ia in 1858 in Indonesia he came

upon the idea of natural selec-

tion as the mechanism for evo-

lutionary change. He wrote a

paper detailing this idea called

the “Sarawak Law.” This idea

came to him partly because in

the Malay Archipelago he found

a clear line between species on

one side of the archipelago and

N A T U R A L I S T : A L F R E D R U S S E L W A L L A C E 1 8 2 3 - 1 9 1 3

those on the other side of the

line. This line later become

known as the “Wallace Line,”

basically separating Asian type

species from Australasian type

species. Different species were

filling the same types of ecologi-

cal niches on either side of this

line, yet had no other relation.

His book The Malay Archi-

pelago is one of the most

revered travel writings of all

time and has never been out of

print.

For more information on this

fascinating man check out

http://wallacefund.info/

Born in 1823, Alfred was a

naturalist explorer and biolo-

gist. He is famous for discover-

ing the theory of evolution by

natural selection. In fact Darwin

had heard of his findings and

quickly published his work,

Origin of Species, before Wal-

lace was able.

Wallace’s work has been

overshadowed by Darwin, but

his contribution to science are

manifold. No less because his

theory of evolution was originat-

Page 2

M E D I A R E V I E W : C H A S I N G I C E

W I N T E R G A R D E N I N G

ly glaciers are disappearing. One

camera even needed to be re-

oriented multiple times because

so much of the glacier had re-

treated that it was no longer in

frame.

Throughout the film, the science

behind glacial retreat is ex-

plored, along with its ties to

climate change. Real-world im-

ages vividly illustrate these con-

cepts.

As compelling as the photo-

graphs and videos of the glaci-

ers are, Balog’s personal story is

equally compelling. The docu-

mentary takes the viewer

through the struggles that Balog

faced in order to achieve his

goal. Camera failures. Health

issues that kept him from the

field. Terrifying mo-

ments in helicopters

and at the edge of

glaciers. Through his

story, and the reflec-

tions of his family and

colleagues, it is clear

how passionate he is

about EIS and getting

the message of cli-

mate change out to

the world.

The companion web-

site has a photo gal-

lery, resources about

climate change and a

list of ways the film

can be viewed:

www.chasingice.com.

The documentary Chasing Ice

follows photographer James

Balog’s quest to show the world

the real-life effects of climate

change. In 2007, he created the

Extreme Ice Survey (EIS), a pro-

ject dedicated to capturing the

retreat of glaciers around the

world.

Balog and his team set up cam-

eras across the northern hemi-

sphere, pointed at individual

glaciers. Each camera was

equipped with a timer allowing it

to photograph the glacier once

an hour during daylight hours.

The images that EIS captured

are equally stunning and alarm-

ing. Photos taken from the exact

same location over the span of

a few years show just how quick-

Volume 4, Issue 4

It’s that time of year when we

think everything goes dormant

for the year. Usually the avid

gardener will clear all dead

brush away and have a clear

garden. This year, however,

consider leaving a few things.

Rather than cutting all the per-

ennials back, leaving some

plants will help provide refuge

for beneficial overwintering.

They can also provide food and

shelter for birds that may come

to your garden. Often there will

be seed remnants that a varie-

ty of birds can feed on. Also

having a few plants in your garden

that provide shelter and “winter

interest,” such as evergreens,

crabapples and varieties of dog-

wood such as red osier will

provide color and shelter.

S P E C I E S S P O T L I G H T : O W L S

Though many birds migrate

during the winter, great horned

owls remain in Illinois through-

out the winter. Winter is an

important time for great horned

owls. During late fall and early

winter, male owls return to their

territories, preparing for the

approach of breeding season.

By late winter, male owls will

begin courting a female, hoot-

ing at her from a distance. As

she responds, he will move

closer, eventually perching next

to her. After a short flight to-

gether, the owls will mate, usu-

ally on the ground.

The female will lay her eggs

within the male’s territory, us-

ing an abandoned nest. If no

nests are available, the owls

will force other birds off their

nest. Females will incubate the

eggs for approximately 30 days,

keeping them from freezing

during the cold winter tempera-

tures. Males will sometimes sit

on the nest, allowing the fe-

males a chance to hunt.

The arrival of young owls also

signals the arrival of spring. The

parents will continue to care for

the owlets until they are fledged

in the summer months.

The Buzz N’ Bloom Quarter ly

Wintertime is buckthorn

removal time. You can

remove buckthorn at any

time of year, but winter is a

great time for this as it is

not growing and allows one

meant an unlimited supply of fillets, deep

fried in a tasty batter when we got back to

our cabin.

Ice fishing in a way is specialized calling;

you have to love the outdoors, and enjoy

the company of others while being misera-

bly cold unless you are lucky enough to

have a real shanty. I really don’t know

what that is like, but hearing others talk

fishing while having plenty of room, a nice

bench to sit on, and lots of heat, it sure

sounds like a reason to try it again.

Page 3

C O N S E R VA T I O N S C I E N C E

Most people

are familiar

with the

brown and

black striped

woolly bear caterpillar, frequent-

ly seen during the fall. Popular

in folklore, it has long been be-

lieved that a wide brown band

predicts a mild winter, while a

narrow brown band predicts a

harsh winter. In reality, coloring

can vary with age and environ-

ment, with older caterpillars

typically having wider brown

bands.

During the winter this caterpillar

freezes solid, its cells protected

by a chemical similar to the

antifreeze in your vehicle. This

adaptation allows them to sur-

vive through the winter, even in

the Arctic.

In the spring, the caterpillar

emerges to continue feeding. It

then spins a cocoon and will

emerge about two weeks later

as the Isabella tiger moth.

The extremely cold weather this late No-

vember brings back great memories of ice

fishing. Ice fishing is the curiously strange

pastime that brings mini tent cities to local

ponds and lakes, even in our neck of the

woods. I’ve only been ice fishing one time

in my life. To the best of my recollection, I

was in college, invited by a buddy who

needed a ‘wing-man’ at his potential broth-

er-in-law’s bachelor party. I went because I

simply thought it would be a fun road trip

and similar to camping. In actuality, I had

no idea what kind of situation I was getting

into. Our destination was Northern Minne-

sota Lake Winnibigoshish.

Upon arrival, we drove our caravan of

trucks out onto the lake where a two-lane

road had been plowed — nothing short of

amazing if you’ve never seen it. You quick-

ly realize it must be safe if dozens of other

brave souls are doing it.

When we arrived at our fishing area, it was

time to get out the augers for drilling holes

in the ice. I was expecting some elbow

grease workout to manually dig our hole,

but the massive 30 horse power drills be-

ing used only took about three seconds to

“get ‘er done.”

Next was the “shanty” or tent. Most expe-

rienced folks had solid plastic or wood

structures equipped with heaters and

boards and carpet. Being novices and

having no clue, my buddy bought a small

tent-like shelter that turned out to be too

snug for both of us. As we huddled under

this flimsy cloth, both of our backs were

keeping it from sitting flat on the ice, so no

matter how we contorted our bodies we

couldn’t quite keep one side from tilting;

leaving a few inches near one of our feet

exposed to the elements.

Now I’ve been cold in my life (one Sunday

afternoon in January at Soldier Field rings

a bell), but the outside temp was about 20

degrees below. I was lucky enough to

have a friend lend me his ultra warm boots

for just this occasion, but I was still frozen.

The only time I didn’t feel the chill was

when the occasional schools of Perca fla-

vascens (Yellow Perch) were schooling by

or just after I sipped a little Kentucky Wind-

age, but that only lasted about three

minutes.

In about four hours of fishing, my partner

and I only managed to catch about five or

six perch, but luckily we were able to take

part in the spoils of the larger group, which

R E C R E A T I O N : I C E F I S H I N G

to clear new areas

without having

ongoing growth.

So why clear buck-

thorn? It’s an inva-

sive species from

Europe originally

planted in the US

as a fence tree. Birds loved

the seeds and started

spreading them. It has no

major herbivores, pests or

diseases in

the US.

Page 4 Volume 4, Issue 4

L E A R N I N G A T T H E L A K E — L K N C B G P R O G R A M S

For program details and registration information, call the LKNCBG Nature Center at (708) 361-1873. Pre-registration and payment is required.

Little Explorers

How Deep is the Snow? After “playing” with a variety of measuring tools children

will hike outdoors to “measure” what they find. Everyone will make and take

home a decorated measuring stick project.

Day Date Time Cost Min/Max Prgm#

Thursday January 9 9:30am $5.00 3/10 #216

Friday January 10 9:30 am $5.00 3/10 #217

Saturday January 11 10:30am $5.00 3/10 #218

Have a Heart for Animals We’ll have a party and feed the animals that live in Lake

Katherine’s lower level. Children may pet and hold the animals too. Parents bring

your camera.

Day Date Time Cost Min/Max Prgm#

Thursday February 13 9:30am $5.00 3/10 #219

Friday February 14 9:30 am $5.00 3/10 #220

Saturday February 15 10:30am $5.00 3/10 #221

Touch, Smell & Taste Our world has tastes and textures as well as smells. Explore

with us as we encounter a variety of items with our eyes closed both inside the

building and outside on the preserve. A take home sensory project is included.

Day Date Time Cost Min/Max Prgm#

Thursday March 13 9:30am $5.00 3/10 #222

Friday March 14 9:30 am $5.00 3/10 #223

Saturday March 15 10:30am $5.00 3/10 #224

Exploratory Thursdays

Each week kids in grades K-2 will explore a featured

subject through hands-on experiences. Discovery

activities may include games, nature walks or possi-

ble tasting of related food items.

One hour programs—3:45-4:45pm

Min/max: 3/10 Cost:$5.00

Date Title Prgm #

January 9 Christmas Trees #231

January 16 Snow & Ice #232

January 23 Rocks & Minerals #233

February 6 Mammals in Winter #234

February 13 Animal Valentine Party #235

February 20 Birds in Winter #236

March 6 Fish #237

March 13 Turtles in Spring #238

March 20 Snakes in Spring #239

After School Programs

Programs for school age children from 3:45—4:45 PM on Wednesdays. Min/max: 3/10 Cost $5.00

Snowshoeing – Take a hike outdoors with

our snowshoes (snow or no snow). After-

wards enjoy hot cocoa with marshmallows.

Grade Date Prgm#

K-2 January 8 #201

3-5 January 15 #202

Snowy Scenes — Create a snowy scene

using Ivory soap and treasures that we col-

lect outside on our hike.

Grade Date Prgm#

K-3 January 22 #203

Bird Café — We will be making a variety of

bird feeders for our feathered friends. On

our hike we will hang some outside for the

birds at Lake Katherine.

Grade Date Prgm#

3-5 February 5 #204

Valentine’s Party for Our Animals — As a

special treat, children will handle our caged

animals while learning some interesting

animal facts. Each child will create a special

valentine to give to their favorite animal.

Please bring fresh vegetables to share with

the animals (parsley, green peppers, toma-

toes, strawberries).

Grade Date Prgm#

K-3 February 12 #205

Bird Café — Learn the strategies that birds

use to find food and keep warm in the win-

ter. Make a variety of bird treats to take

home and attract birds to your backyard.

Grade Date Prgm#

K-2 February 19 #206

Winter Weeds — Winter weeds beautify the

landscape with their various colors and

shapes. Make a weed centerpiece to take

home.

Grade Date Prgm#

4-5 February 26 #207

Bulbs — What is a bulb? How do they grow?

Learn how to plant them, look up close

what they look like inside, and make a pro-

ject to take home.

Grade Date Prgm#

4-5 March 5 #208

Erin Go Bragh — Watch the waterfall turn

green with your family at 4:00. Then join the

special fun at the nature center at 4:15 for

green river floats, and a special “paddy

day” project to take home.

Grade Date Prgm#

K-5 March 17 #209

Celebration of Spring — The flowers at Lake

Katherine are starting to come out, lets go

on a spring scavenger hunt! We will be

making a craft, and observing things that

are changing this season on a hike.

Grade Date Prgm#

K-2 March 19 #210

Turtles — Visit the many different kinds of

turtles that we have in the nature center.

We will look up close at their similarities,

and compare the differences. Students will

help feed and care for the turtles.

Grade Date Prgm#

3-5 March 26 #211

Page 5 The Buzz N’ Bloom Quarter ly

ComEd Smart Ideas® Earth Month Grant Wraps Up

Energy Efficiency Improvements will have Lasting Impacts

This past May, Lake Katherine was

awarded a $5000 Earth Month grant

from ComEd to make energy-efficient

updates to our buildings and promote en-ergy conservation to our visitors. The 6-month project is now coming to a close, but luckily the changes we’ve made at the park will have lasting impacts.

Saving Energy

Grant funds were used to purchase 95 LED bulbs for the Nature Center and Clubhouse, reducing the lighting energy consump-tion from 10,740 Watts to only 1428 Watts—an 86% reduction! New Energy Star-rated ceiling fans were also installed in the Club-house and will be 50% more efficient than the old fan/light fixtures.

Educating the Community

Throughout the duration the grant, Lake Katherine has been sharing energy con-servation tips via its newsletters and social media sites. Informational materials from ComEd and the U.S. Department of Energy have also been on display in the Nature Center. Our energy educational materials have reached thousands of people this year, and the energy conservation display will re-main in the Nature Center and continue to educate visitors each day.

New Energy Star-rated ceiling fans (above right) replaced old fans (above left) that were no longer working properly.

LED bulbs replaced old incandescent and halogen bulbs throughout the buildings.

November 2013

You can save energy and money by making small changes like Lake Kathe-rine did in your own home.

Learn more at www.energystar.gov.

After determining the

branching structure, and nar-

rowing further the possible spe-

cies, examining the bark pat-

terns can give vital information.

Is the bark platy or rectangular

as with loblolly pine, blocky as

with persimmon, smooth as with

red maple, furrowed as with

ashes, or scaly as with river

birch? Generally the bark will be

one of these types.

Next to examine is the

twigs, the terminal portion of a

branch that grew during the

current or preceding year. What

is the size or stoutness of the

twig, the color, and the cross-

sectional shape? Does the twig

have lenticels (small openings in

the bark for gas exchange)? Is

the twig hairy, smooth, or

rough? Does the twig or branch

have corky ridges (irregular pro-

tuberances on the bark)? What

does the pith (the soft central

portion of the twig or branch)

look like? Is the cross-section of

the twig round, triangular, or

square? Do the twigs have

spines, prickles, or thorns? The-

se features will be discussed in

most tree identification books.

Take care to examine the

buds, terminal (the bud at the

tip of the branch) and lateral

(the bud occurring along the

side of the branch). The size and

position of the buds are all clues

to help identify the species. Are

the buds sticky? Are the buds

naked or have scales? Every

“...we became travellers,

collectors, and observers,

in some of the richest and

most interesting portions

of the earth.”

- Alfred Wallace

7402 West Lake Katherine Drive

Palos Heights, IL 60463

Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic

Phone: 708.361.1873

Fax: 708.361.2978

The phrase “winter botany”

usually means the identification

of woody species in winter. This

is based on careful examination

of several plant characteristics

which are readily identifiable in

winter, particularly the charac-

teristics of twigs. In most cases,

winter identification is every bit

as reliable as identification in

the growing season. As with

identification in the growing

season, habitat is the first clue

in identifying the plant in ques-

tion. When I say habitat I mean

moisture regime – dry (xeric) to

moist (mesic) to wet (hydric).

Knowing the habitat will narrow

the list of possible species con-

siderably.

After determining the habi-

tat, the next step is to distin-

guish the diagnostic character-

istics – branching structure,

bark, twigs, buds, scars (such as

leaf or fruit/twig), and fruits.

Branching structure should be

one of the first things to look for:

is it opposite or alternate based

on visible branches or by leaf

scars? If the branching is oppo-

site there are only four native

tree families that have opposite

branching. These are maple,

ash, dogwood, and buckeye.

There is one non-native species,

the princess tree. If the branch-

ing structure is alternate then

other characteristics are need-

ed.

www.lakekatherine.org

Lake Katherine is owned and supported by the City of Palos Heights and managed by the Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic

Gardens, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

The Natural Resources

Management Committee’s

mission is to promote,

improve, and fundraise in re-

gards to all matters pertaining

to Lake Katherine's natural

resources.

Page 6 Volume 4, Issue 4

2 0 1 4 E V E N T S — M A R K Y O U R C A L E N D A R S !

characteristic will help narrow

the number of possible species.

Look at the leaf scar, the

distinct area left on a branch

after a leaf has fallen. Leaf

scars can be highly variable in

shape, size, and arrangement.

Leaf scars can be horseshoe

shaped, U-shaped, crescent-

shaped, shield-shaped, half-

round, triangular, three-lobes,

heart-shaped, V-shaped, circu-

lar, or even oval.

Last, but not least, one

should look at the fruits if any

are still on the specimen or have

fallen nearby. The fruits may be

fleshy such as peaches, apples,

or rose hips, or the fruits may be

dry and either split open (like

pods) or do not split open (like

ash or maple “helicopters,”

nuts, and acorns). There are

also the fruits of conifers and

cone-bearing species.

Every characteristic will

help narrow the list of possible

species so eventually you will

only have one. The more charac-

teristics you are able to distin-

guish, the easier it will be to

identify the species you are

looking at.

I have condensed this infor-

mation from James E. Perry’s

and Douglas A. DeBerry’s An

Introduction to Winter Botany

found at http://www.vims.edu/

c b n e r r / _ d o c s / c t p _ d o c s /

In t roduc t ion toWin terBota -

ny.PerryandDeBerry.pdf.

V O L U N T E E R T O D A Y

C H E C K O U R W E B S I T E F O R

D E T A I L S