Month: May 2020

15 May 2020

Discovering Fossils

Discovering Fossils

Millions of years ago, Ohio’s landscape looked much different than it does today. A warm shallow ocean covered the land and strange creatures inhabited these waters. These creatures, including filter feeders, a few scavengers, and even predators, all roamed the ocean during the Ordovician time period, which was over 450 million years ago. Over time these warm shallow oceans were replaced by mountains and forests as Ohio’s land moved north of the equator. The Cincinnati area is known for having the most Ordovician fossils. This was due to an uplift that happened in the Earth’s crust, which caused a special feature called the Cincinnati Arch. This lift allowed many of the fossils normally found deep within the layers of the earth to push upward to the surface so that we can find them. Now, you can find clues to the ancient past by looking at the limestone and shale rocks in the Cincinnati area.

These ancient fossils are the remains of past life. In Ohio, fossils are everywhere. They are found in all 88 counties of the state. The fossils found in Ohio are special because amazingingly enough, they are OLDER than the dinosaurs! Fossils are useful to us in many ways. They are evidence of animals of the long-distant past, they show the appearance of different life forms and they are the documents from which development of life in the past can be traced. Scientists from all over the world travel to the Cincinnati area to view these special fossils.

One example of a fossil you can find in Ohio is the trilobite. Trilobites are one of the earliest forms of the group arthropods. The name trilobite means “three-lobed”, based on their body plan. Trilobites were predators on the ocean floor and they came in many different sizes and shapes. Some can be so small you need a microscope to see them and some can be up to two feet across. In Ohio, our state fossil, Isotelus Maximus, is a trilobite and is one of the largest species we find. Many times when we find them, they are rolled up in a ball, meaning they had used their hard exoskeleton for protection. There were many species of trilobite, but all are now extinct. However, a close relative of the trilobite is a horseshoe crab. If you are looking to find a trilobite, look in the layers of shale rock where you are more likely to find an unbroken, whole fossil.

Take some time to explore and see if you can find a fossil treasure. Take time to think about what the animal may have looked like or how it may have moved and hunted for food. Challenge yourself to find the smallest individual fossil or try to find a rock with the most fossils embedded in it. Use our fossil guide to look for all the different types of fossils we have here in Ohio or try the Greenacres ‘Ordovician Sea Floor’ Coloring Page. Take time to learn what is under your feet as you explore the fossils of Ohio. Happy fossil hunting!

11 May 2020

Radish Greens Pesto

Radish Greens Pesto

Don’t toss those tops!

Radish greens are a nutritional powerhouse, similar to broccoli and kale in terms of antioxidants.  They’re also high in vitamin C and calcium. Instead of letting them go to waste, stretch your grocery dollar by utilizing these crisp, peppery greens. 

Early in the season, radish greens are young and tender and they can be eaten raw, as you would any baby green. Later in the season the greens become more fibrous, perfect for braising or for this simple pesto.

 

Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Acid (lemon juice, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
  • 4 cups Radish greens, packed (about 4 bunches of small early-season radishes or 3 bunches of larger, later-season radishes)
  • 1/4 cup Nuts (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds or other mild nuts or seeds work well)
  • 1/3 cup Olive oil
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan or another hard cheese, grated
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Mince the garlic clove and combine in a small bowl with the lemon juice or vinegar. Allowing this mixture to marinate for a few minutes will mellow out some of the fiery, raw garlic taste.
  • Separate radish roots from the greens, and wash the greens thoroughly. Radish greens grow close to the earth, so they may be a little muddy.
  • Add the nuts or seeds to the bowl of a food processor and process until minced. Add the greens and process until thoroughly minced, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add oil, the garlic mixture, salt and pepper and process until the mixture is smooth and emulsified. It will turn a slightly lighter shade of green. Add cheese and process to combine.
  • Serve tossed with hot pasta like a basil pesto, spread on a sandwich, topping grilled chicken, or use as a dip for chips or spring roots, like radishes or carrots.
Keyword Pesto, Radish, Vegetarian
11 May 2020

Chicken Feet Stock

Chicken Feet Stock

Make your own liquid gold!

Inexpensive and unassuming, chicken feet are the perfect basis to make your own nourishing, mineral-rich golden broth. Chock full of gelatin, this broth is the kind that achieves a full gel when refrigerated, luxuriously smooth and delicious. Sip on its own, use in gravies and soups, or replace water when cooking grains.

Course Ingredient
Servings 2 Quarts

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb Chicken feet 1 package of Greenacres pastured chicken feet
  • Optional: add your favorite ingredients for additional flavor Examples: chopped carrot, onion (keep the papery skin on for a boost of flavor and golden color), celery, garlic, ginger root, whole peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, etc.

Instructions
 

  • Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large stock pot. Add the chicken feet and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the feet. This step removes impurities and keeps your final broth clear.
  • If cooking in a stock put: Add prepared feet and all remaining ingredients to your stock pot, and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 6-8 hours. Check and add a little water as needed to keep the feet submerged.
  • If cooking in a pressure cooker or instant pot: Add prepared feet and all remaining ingredients to your pressure cooker or instant pot, and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Cook at high pressure for 90 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release.
  • Strain the broth. If desired, continue to boil strained broth on the stovetop to reduce and concentrate the flavor to your liking. Pour into lidded containers or jars. Once cooled, store broth in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze for longer storage.
Keyword Broth, Chicken, Stock
08 May 2020

Exploring the Forest Floor

Exploring the Forest Floor

When most people visit forests, they tend to look mostly upwards, into the trees looking for birds and squirrels, or off in the distance hoping to glimpse a deer or coyote. But if you want to have the best chance of seeing a lot of animals, you should look down. The forest floor habitat teems with small interesting animals that are easy to find and observe.

When you visit a natural place, you are in a habitat. A habitat is a place where an animal or plant lives and gets all the things it needs to survive and reproduce (food, water, shelter, and space). Habitats can be very big or very small. A bald eagle’s habitat would be thousands of acres in size and might contain several lakes and rivers, and many patches of forest and field. A spider’s habitat might be a single plant where it builds its web and spends its entire life. Larger habitats contain many ever-smaller habitats, nested within the larger ones like Russian dolls.

Very small habitats are called microhabitats. Two very different microhabitats can be within a very short distance of each other, and they are distinct because they have different characteristics such as moisture, temperature, or soil type.

The food of the forest floor habitat is provided largely from above. Trees make food all summer and then drop it in the fall. Outside of the annual leaf-fall, trees drop branches, leaves, fruits, and even whole trunks during other parts of the year. This tree “debris” (as we might think of it) is the energy that keeps the forest floor ecosystem going. Leaves are the main food of the forest floor, and branches, logs and soil also provide a lot of shelter.

One way to uncover the secrets of the forest floor is to roll logs, or move rocks or pieces of bark and see what is underneath. Always remember that as a visitor to the forest, you have a responsibility to be non-destructive. Most parks require that visitors stay on trails because if everyone rolled logs constantly, the habitat would soon be damaged. So if you do this, make sure you are allowed, and do it in moderation. When you overturn a log or rock, always carefully place it back just as you find it to preserve the qualities that made it a good place for something to live. And if you do find something living under there, be careful not to drop the log back onto it. Finally, don’t turn logs in cold weather, as you will cause animals that are seeking warmth to freeze to death. One way to expand your searching opportunities is to add habitats to your own backyard natural area by putting down plywood or sheet metal pieces (or logs, of course). These can later be searched, and you will see that animals will move in quite quickly.

When you move a log, notice that the microhabitat characteristics under the log make it a unique place. When it is very dry near the log, it will be moist under the log. If it is hot out, you’ll notice that it is much cooler under the log. Often, there are no leaves, which makes the soil accessible to the animals. If the log is decayed, there are hundreds of little hiding places. You will often see the white thread-like hyphae of a fungus. Fungi are decomposers, so they break down things like logs, releasing the nutrients back to the soil. As they break down the log, the log becomes food, and so do the fungi. Another great benefit to living under a log is protection from predators. If a small snake is living under a log, it is safe from bird predators (a bird can’t roll a log like you can).

So what are some common animals that you might find under a log? Or, put another way, what members of the forest floor community might use a log as their microhabitat?

  • Perhaps the most common log-lovers around here are terrestrial isopods, usually called sowbugs, pillbugs, or woodlice. They are actually crustaceans, and breathe through gills. Therefore they require very moist conditions to survive.
  • Another common and familiar animal seen on the forest floor are slugs. An interesting feature of slugs are their eyes that rest on stalks. The stalks can be retracted, so you might have to be patient to see them. When the slug gets used to your presence, the eyes usually pop up.
  • Millipedes are many-legged tubes that bulldoze their way through decaying matter. There are many types of millipedes in Ohio, but they are all slow-moving eaters of decaying plants (and the fungi that is also involved in the process). Many types roll up their bodies to protect themselves when threatened.
  • Centipedes have fewer legs than millipedes (one pair per segment rather than two pairs per segment in millipedes). But their legs are longer, and the centipedes are speedy predators. They have venomous fangs for paralyzing their prey, and bigger ones can bite a person. This would not be a serious injury, but most people would want to avoid handling centipedes.
  • Spiders are another venomous predator attracted to the log by the prey that it might find there.
  • Harvestmen, or daddy-long-legs are very common on the forest floor, and notice that they are not listed with the spiders. Harvestmen are arachnids, but they are not spiders. They lack the two-part body plan, venomous fangs, and silk-spinning features of spiders. Harvestmen are thought to be omnivorous, scavenging dead plants and animals, and maybe catching a slow-moving insect here and there.
  • One of the most exciting things to see under logs are salamanders, such as a red-back salamander. This is one of the lungless woodland salamanders – they only breathe through their skin, so they must keep their skin moist in a humid microhabitat. Avoid handling salamanders to keep from damaging their skin.
  • If you’re lucky, you might see a mammal such as a deer mouse or a vole under a log. They often build little nests out of leaves and hair. The nests are like little comforters to keep them warm in cold weather. You will often see chewed up acorns under logs, which are a sign of some small rodent.
  • Finally, you might find snakes under logs. They are there to hunt for prey, to hide from their own predators, and maybe to keep cool on a hot day. One of the common log dwellers is the tiny ring-neck snake, which is a predator of earthworms and salamanders.
Centipede
Centipede
Millipede
Millipede
sowbugs
Sowbugs
Harvestman
Harvestman
Red-Back Salamander
Red-Back Salamander
Ring-Neck Snake
Ring-Neck Snake

Exploring under logs and other covering objects is a great way to open up a new world of nature awareness. I hope you will give this a try in your neighborhood, but remember to be responsible and create as little impact as possible. Also, please never collect wild animals – they should always remain wild. A responsible explorer can learn a lot about the hidden world of the forest floor. I would love to see what you discovered in the microhabitats in your very own backyard – this could be on a tree, a small garden or even a patch of grass. Please feel free to send me your photos or questions to the email listed below: jmarshall@greenacres.org