Flora-Quest's "Free Friday" and more

Flora-Quest is all about the guides, really. The best. The coolest... the most fun people who have a wealth of talents and a joy for teaching. And what better way to kick off Flora-Quest than featuring the creme de la creme? Miss Jenny Richards, seen here "bearly" containing her enthusiasm for another event!

Jenny, the Ohio State Park Naturalist kicked off the weekend with a program all about Shawnee. Snakes to Orchids- this girls loves Shawnee's hills!

Meanwhile, in Adams County, Chris Bedel did his thing at the Eulett Center. This was a special event, and it was special indeed! Henslow's Sparrows, a Chuck-will's Widow "fly-over" and a skulking bobcat on the way home made this a "almost unbelievable" event!

The Eulett Center has amazing technology. Chris gave us the two dollar tour, and we were blown away with the macro photography-playback system. It was an incredible look at some of Adam's county's most diminutive residents! Water pennies to wasps, we got an up-close and personal look.

Quest trips were styling this year. Most of our fleet was made up of brand new rental vans.

The Saturday trips got some fun in after the morning showers! Heather of the Hills shows the rest of the photographers how to really get into their work. She showed us, to get the great photos - you have to get down on the subject's level.

I followed her example, and pretty soon, I enjoyed some close-ups of the Red Admiral butterfly as well. Tom Arbour and Dave Riepenhoff lead this group through hill and dale in pursuit of the best photos.

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But wait, this is just the beginning. More flora and questers to come!

Fauna-Quest: Birds and Butterflies

Blue Grosbeak photo by John Howard


The most sought-after non-flora on our weekend event was the Blue Grosbeak. At least two Quests produced views of these jumbo-headed Adam County specialities.

My first look at a Blue Grosbeak was during an Adams county trip at the 2006 OOS Conference held in Shawnee. We were thrilled with flickering glimpses of a dull brown female, while both Flora-Quests reported head on looks at a brilliant blue male. In fact, if you would like to see a Blue Grosbeak, there is a pair hanging about the Eulett Center. Now might be a great time to plan a trip to see that new building and pick up a life bird.

Cobweb Skipper photo by John Howard

The butterfly enthusiasts had the toughest go of it, since the temps were pretty moderate. While they did not have huge numbers of sightings, this one rarity made up for it. What I would give to add a Cobweb Skipper to my life list! Not only did they see one- Jaret Daniels, with his incredible butterfly ju-ju caught it mid-air with his bare hands and produced a glass jar for better viewing. Jaret is amazing in the field, and the nicest guy you would ever want to meet. I bet he still walks little old ladies across the street like a boyscout!

More flora to come, but I couldn't help reporting the rarities first-