2. Bringing along my trusty cameraman, a few friends and a big
yellow dog, we made an afternoon of the assignment. Our
first location was visited at dusk with just myself and the
photographer. Our second location was the next
afternoon, with the addition of a friend or two, and we also
stopped by the lake (our third spot.) We re-visited the lake a
week later and we’re amazed by the change.
3. Ohio University
Ridges Land Lab
A mature deciduous forest
that, with some off-road
hiking, connects to the
Ridges Cemetery Walk and
The Athens Trail.
4. The Ridges
Cemeteries
Nature Walk
This walk offers a
combination of prairie and
mature deciduous
forest, combined with some
new growths put in by the
Civillian Conservation Corps
during the depression. We
focused mainly on the
grasslands of the area.
5. Nagy Pond
A freshwater pond at the
end of the trail, a welcome
break from climbing uphill
and a stunning view of the
dilapidated asylum and
cemetery.
6. Some hiding, some creeping and most of them
sleeping, finding plants was an interesting scavenger hunt.
Identifying was difficult, dormant plants aren’t the most
distinctive, but the photographer was raised on a farm and
knew some of our subjects.
7. Wild Onions
Allium canadense. Also
known as scallions, crow
garlic or field garlic. It looks
similar to wild garlic but a
quick taste test confirms that
it’s onion.
9. Day-Lily
A member of the genus
Hemerocallis. A hearty
perennial that blooms in
early summer but shows it’s
leaves for far longer.
10. Blackberry
A young blackberry bramble
that will have fruit in the
spring. One of the only
plants with leaves we saw.
11. Christmas Fern
Polystichum acrostichoides.
One of the most common
Ohio ferns, it might not be a
Christmas fern but they are
difficult to identify as they all
look remarkably similar and
this one is growing off of a
rock and downwards instead
of up like most ferns.
16. Broomsedge
Andropogon virginicus. Also
known as beard grass or
whiskey grass. Most notable
because of it’s
whispy, feather-like blooms
in Spring and Summer In
Autumn it turns a deep
orange color. In this picture
it’s hanging out in the back.
18. American Holly
Ilex opaca. Not native to
Ohio but widespread
throughout the area. Unlike
other non-native plants the
holly isn’t considered
invasive.
21. Multiflora Rose
Rosa multiflora. Also known
as Japanese rose, seven-
sisters rose, and rambler
rose. It’s an invasive plant
that crowds out native
species.
23. Beech: Fagus sylvatica
As a giant swing. This tree’s trunk can’t be
As a lean-to. Young beeches guard the
seen because it was about 50’ across a
entrance of a home-made tent or trap. ravine.
24. Wild Grapes
A member of the genus
Vitis, wild grapes are
common throughout the
state and often found
growing through shrubs and
hanging from trees. In this
picture it’s wrapped around
the tree-house and hanging
in tendrils from the tree.
25. Common Cattail
Typha latifolia. Seen along
most bodies of water, they
puff into flowers in late
summer and serve as cover
for just about every lake
species ever, include some
very elusive frogs.
34. Star Magnolia
Magnolia stellata. This plant
has flowers before leaves in
early spring and is native to
Japan but has been
naturalized in N. America
and Europe. It is
appreciated by large blond
puppies.
35. Daffodil
Narcissus. Found on the
side of a building this
perennial bulb is a hardy
floweing plant whose name
is still varied by region with
American preferring
narcissus, something I
never knew until now.
36. Creeping Charley
Or Ground Ivy, was once
used as a medicinal herb
but is now a common weed
known for its aggressive
overtaking of lawns and
vegetable patches.
37. Pussy Willows
Salix discolor. The velvety
buds appear in early spring
even before the leaves. In
Europe and N. America the
branches are sometimes
used as replacements for
palms on Palm Sunday.
38. Rose
A tangle of rose bushes-
multiflora and otherwise-
that’s taken over a large
patch of grass. The
multiflora is distinguished by
it’s purple branches but the
others are almost
impossible to decipher until
spring.
39. Crocus
A type of Iris, crocus’ are
one of the first flowers to
bloom in spring.
40. Sedum
Or ‘goldmoss.’Marked by
bright yellow flowers in the
spring and used in ancient
Greece to treat
epilepsy, skin conditions and
trigger abortions.
41. Rhododendron
Known sometimes as
azaleas, the classification is
actually rhododendron.
These ones are wild but
they’re often planted by
gardeners for their bright
flowers.
43. Fungi
Downed tree branch
enjoying its fungus. Around
90% of plant species have
some type of symbiotic
relationship with fungi, many
of them mutually benefiting.
46. Self Fungus
It comes in a variety of
shapes, colors and species.
Sometimes harmful and
relatively common.
47. Alpine
Strawberry
Fragaria vesca. Found on
the edge of
roads, bridges, open fields
and gravel, the wild
strawberry will bloom with
flowers before sprouting the
berries that are quickly
eaten by nearby animals.
48. Malus
M. Domestica or an
ornamental crabapple.
Planted by someone
because of its white flowers
in spring and edible, but
pesky, ‘apples’ in the fall.
49. Birds are easy to hear but hard to photograph and fish look
pretty blurry without a great lens and lots of patience. Still, the
sounds and sights of spring are everywhere – in
burrows, nests and holes or gliding along the water.
51. Salamander
The woods contain a few
small creeks and we briefly
spot a salamander. He’s
faster than the camera in
this low light. It’s probably
the Notophthalmus
viridescens viridescens or
Eastern Red Newt often
spotted in early spring in this
part of the state.
56. Northern
Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis is the
Ohio state bird and
characterized by it’s red
breast. Cardinals often build
nests in overgrown bushes
and brambles, like this
one, and here have utilized
the abundant wild grapes
(the curling tendrils.)
59. Puppy
Labrador Retriever. Humans
were a huge part of our
journey, even in the most
secluded of areas. This was
a very friendly and very
young puppy that got away
from its owners.
61. Bluebird
A birdhouse designed for
Sialia sialis or the Northern
Bluebird. Tiny blue thrushes
that like to fly around the
area and hate to be
photographed. Attempts to
photograph the inside of the
box, while the bird was
there, proved futile.
62. Spider
There are over 40,000
species of spiders and a few
hundred in Ohio. Attempts to
identify this one further were
incredibly disturbing as I am
terrified of them. Even the
tiny ones.
63. Minnows
Common name for the
largest family of fish in North
America, usually refers to
the tiny fish used as a bait.
Further identification proved
hard without disturbing the
fish.
64. Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus. My
companion promises these
are bluegill, one of the most
common types of freshwater
fish. Not wanting to bother
them, I took his word for it.
65. Grey Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis. These
fluffy rodents were a rare
occurrence on our
excursion, we found this one
near the lake trying to
mooch off picnickers.
68. Groundhog
Marmota monax. Also
known as the land beaver or
woodchuck. These giant
rodents live in a series of
underground tunnels
marked by large hole
openings.
69. Chipmunks
From the genus Tamias
which means ‘storer’ a
reference to their habit of
collecting things for
hibernation. These cute
rodents have been living
under a porch.
70. Tree Squirrel
We think it’s Tamiasciurus
hudsonicus, the American
Red Squirrel. A squirrel
nests high in hardwood
trees when it’s not foraging
on the ground.
72. House Centipede
Scutigera coleoptrata.
Found under the same log
as our millipede, this bug is
a little more ferocious but
relatively harmless to
humans. It’s also incredibly
fast.
74. Goldfish
In no way native to
Ohio, goldfish are a breed of
carp meant to stay small
and cute in a tank at home.
When you dump them in a
lake or river, however, and
the goldfish will grow. We’ve
confirmed that this is
actually a goldfish.
75. Mallard Duck
Anas platyrhynchos. Easily
the most recognizable breed
of duck. The green-headed
guy on the left is male, the
others are female.
76. American Black
Duck
Anas rubripes. Varied in
color from a dark brown to
the deep purple on its
wings, the black duck feeds
on things on the water’s
surface rather than diving
for its food.
77. White Goose
We think this a domestic
white goose, Anser anser
domesticus, that’s gotten
lost at the lake. Maybe it’s a
snow goose passing
through on its way home?
78. Duck?
We’re pretty convinced that
this duck is an unintentional
hybrid. Maybe a mallard and
something much paler?
Although ducks travel in
pairs this one was certainly
unique looking.
81. Rabbit
Sylvilagus floridanus or the
Eastern cottontail. The most
common variety of rabbit in
North America. Largely
nocturnal, these rabbits like
burrows in relatively open
fields.
83. Orb Weaving
Spider
Araneus marmoreus. With
more than 2,800 species
worldwide the orb-weaver is
the third largest family of
spiders. Largely harmless
and found near woods.
84. Exploring the variety of wildlife so near us was exciting but also
saddening. Most of our plants and animals were affected negatively
by human influence. Invasive plants have over-run native
species, giant goldfish and domestic geese exist where they shouldn’t
and litter was noticeable even on the most isolated trails. It was striking
how even a preserve isn’t safe from our meddling hands.
