Sheryl DeVore

‘Tis the season of summer phlox and black-eyed Susans. The light to dark pink blossoms of the phlox intermingle with the bold yellow petals and dark centers of the black-eyed Susans.

Five years in, the DNR-funded study has revealed a lack of camera shyness by the state’s deer herd: cameras have captured 67,167 whitetails.

On a cold winter's day, with the sun dipping in and out of the clouds, we walked the neighborhood to admire what many people call pines, trees that are green year-round.

As the below-zero temperatures continue in northern Illinois, I rejoice when each morning a fox sparrow pecks on the ground for fallen thistle seed or when a red-breasted nuthatch grabs a sunflower oiler seed from the feeder.

While watching humans reach new world records in the Winter Olympics this month, it dawns on me that some birds, insects and spiders in northern Illinois deserve medals of their own.

If you're a beginning birder, identifying the roughly 35 to 40 warbler species that come through the region can be overwhelming.

When growing up, I often noticed tiny cotton fluffs floating on the wind in June. I'm not sure when it finally dawned on me that these fluffs were dispersing the seeds of the eastern cottonwood tree.

In June and early July, walk along a slow-moving shallow stream or creek in any woodlands, even very small ones, and you might spot what looks like a black butterfly flittering near the water or among vegetation.

I easily found something to see, touch, taste, smell and hear.