The wetlands are my favorite parts of the Indiana Dunes park. Not the actual sand dunes, nor the beaches, the wetlands. Marshes, swamps, fens, bogs and pannes… The biodiversity in these areas is insane, with a seemingly endless variety of plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds. As a volunteer I have had multiple opportunities to…

I love these things.  When viewed from above I see so many similarities with fundamental physics principles that it reminds me how physics shows up in literally every aspect of nature.  You have layers of symmetries and branching that are reminiscent of the phenomena of fingering behavior observed in viscous fluids.  Physics, astronomy, chemistry, and…

In the domain of the insects predators come in all kinds of interesting shapes and sizes, in both animal and plant forms. Dragonflies are one of my favorite predators. Their agility and near 360 degree vision allow them to capture anything close to their size. Their eyes in particular are fascinating when viewed up close.…

When out walking a trail, we are used to seeing things from a perspective of 5′ to 6′ above the ground because that is where our eyes are. As a photographer I am always looking for new perspectives on the natural world. One of my favorite perspectives is just a few inches above the ground.…

Several intense storm fronts moved through the area over a two day period recently. Each storm brought 75+mph straight line winds and over a dozen tornados with the last one. One of my primary volunteer duties with the IDNP is monitoring and reporting on trail conditions. So the day after the last storm passed I…

Poison Ivy, the trails at the Indiana Dunes National Park are packed with the stuff. I have hiked those trails almost 300 times in the last 5 years, and the type of photography I do involves getting down close to the ground. I am quite surprised that I have never picked up a rash from…

Bugs, or more correctly insects, are some of the most visually interesting and stunning creatures. Part of their beauty lies in the fact that we rarely see them up close where you can really appreciate them. They have become one of my favorite photographic subjects when out on the trails. Capturing good images of insects…

It is early summer and nature is active in the marshes. Here is some of what I saw on a recent hike on the Great Marsh Trail in the IDNP. Most people think of flys as ugly. I thing this Golden-Backed Snipe Fly shows otherwise. There are over 150,000 species of flys, of which the…

Pinhook Bog in the Indiana Dunes National Park is home to several different orchids and carnivorous plants. The bog trail is only open in conjunction with park ranger led hikes that happen throughout the summer. Typically they start at 8am on Saturdays meaning I have to get up at 5:30am to make it in time,…

Some highlights of the late spring flora along the Cowles Bog trail at the IDNP.