The paw paw has the largest fruit of any native tree in the United States. Learn how to identify this tree and when you should go looking for the paw paw fruit. For most people paw paw is the best food that they have never eaten. Find out what parts of the paw paw you want to eat and those to leave alone. Spoiler alert! Do not eat the seeds they will make you throw up.

Our sources for this episode include:

• Paw Paw In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit by Andrew Moore
• Picking up Paw Paws
• What is Paw Paw?
• America’s Forgotten Fruit Tree: The Appalachian Banana | Appalachian Magazine
• Paw Paws, A Uniquely American Fruit by Earthy Delights
• Paw Paws: America’s Best Secret Fruit by Serious Eats

 

Bill and Bob never saw deer when they were growing up in the 50s and 60s. This is an animal that many people now see on a regular basis. You may even see them in your neighborhood. Learn how to deal with them if you see them while driving. Find out what can happen if they lock antlers.

Our sources for this episode include:

• Avoiding Deer Collisions
• The First Months Of A Whitetail Fawn
• Tarsal Glands: What We Know | QDMA
• Interesting facts about white-tailed deer

Bill loves to smell millipedes! They have all kinds of interesting smells and they are easy to find. Join us to find out how many legs millipedes really have. This arthropod loves moisture and will sometimes find its way into your home. Turns out that monkeys have found some very interesting uses for these creatures.

Our sources for this episode include:

• How to tell the Difference Between a Centipede and Millipede
• Yellow-banded millipede invades Broward and Palm Beech
• Sowbugs, millipedes, and centipedes in the home
• 10 Fascinating Facts about Millipedes
• The Ecological Importance of Arthropods

Bill is on fire about moss! He even compares moss to his childhood haircut. Bob wonders if a rolling stone can gather moss. If you would like to know more about moss check out “Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses” by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Our sources for this episode include:

• Bryophyte – Importance Of Mosses – Peat, Producing, Cells, and Source – JRank Articles
• Does a rolling stone gather moss?
• Nature Lover Karen Nierlich is the author of the book “Moss and Lichen” and takes photos around the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Moss for Healing & Moss Can Grow on Anything
• The Magic of Moss

Bob sees the movie Dunkirk. He is excited to find a possible connection to Dunkirk and Milkweed. Tune in to find out all about the plant that Monarch Butterflies just cannot live without.

Join us as we explore the amazing story of the Monarch butterfly and caterpillar. Bill will tell the story of what the Cincinnati Nature Center is doing to help out the Monarch. We will cover the life cycle and also the incredible story of migration.

To find out what you can do to assist the Monarch Butterfly check out these websites:

• milkweedtomonarchs.org
• www.monarchwatch.org

This is a bird that likes to attack windows! Join us to find out why and what you can do about it.

Bill has a friend who sent an email with a picture that inspired this podcast. The second picture below is a large patch of a plant called Indian Pipes. Learn more about three parasitic plants that you can look for on your next woodland hike.

Listen to Nature Guy’s episode Sitting by a Beech.  See the story about Indian Pipes on Lloyd Arneach’s website.

Special thanks to listener Karen Gaker for the photo of Indian Pipes.

Do you know how Blue Jays get other birds to leave so they can have your feeder all to themselves? Join us to find out if Blue Jays really are the bullies of the bird world.