Turning to nature at this time can help us all find a sense of calmness. Springtime in Cincinnati is especially uplifting and spiritually healing. Now in Nature highlights some of the wondrous and fascinating changes that are taking place around us. Here's a quick look at what's happening in our area.
We LOVE bees!  
Mason bees are super active this time of year. They are gentle, solitary, native pollinators and represent about 25% of all the world’s bee species. After mating in spring, females lay eggs with a pollen sac in chambers plugged with moist clay. Here's a couple 'enjoying' the warmer weather. Setting up a bee hotel is an easy way to attract these pollinators to your land.
Here Come the Mayapples
Looking almost like a movie scene of alien invaders, mayapples are pushing through the ground in area woodlands and gardens. The single stems will feature one or two umbrella-like leaves, but only the two-leafed plants will bear a single white flower in early May. Each lovely flower eventually turns into a fleshy, greenish fruit which looks like a small apple.
Violets are now blooming in many yards. Sometimes considered a nuisance to the pristine lawn lover, these native perennials definitely serve a purpose and provide food for native mason bees. Their leaves are also food for many Fritillary butterflies' caterpillars, and the flowers and young leaves are edible for humans too.

Go Easy on the Spring Cleanup!
Homeowners can give nature a hand this season by choosing to leave a patch of lawn un-mowed for flowering plants to grow. Try creating a brush pile for shelter, delaying mowing so that bees can harvest pollen and nectar from violets and other early bloomers in your yard, and allowing moles to aerate your soil. We can share our space with nature to the benefit of us all!
Salamander Celebration
Jefferson salamanders (left) and spotted salamanders are two common types of salamanders in this area. They spend most of their time feeding underground in tunnels made by moles or other animals, somewhat near a small body of water or temporary spring puddle (aka vernal pool). Once a year in spring they emerge at night to mate and lay eggs in the water before returning underground. Larva with gills hatch from the eggs and remain in water until their gills disappear and then move underground. Another type of salamander eggs, belonging to mole salamanders, are getting ready to hatch in small bodies of water such as in this little backyard barrel pond (left).
Looking for ways to explore and discover nature at home? We've created a one-stop shop for fun and enriching nature-themed activities. It's our way of continuing to bring programs to you and your family. We have videos, lessons, projects, blogs, and more.
Just click on the AT HOME with Nature image here.
Enjoy!
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