Karen Keninger, Author at Heartland Safari

Bird with bright blue wings and a feather crest perches atop a feeder attached to a tree trunk. Black-edged, light grey face with round black eye. The blue jay grips a seed in its black beak.

A Trick of the Light: Blue Jays

Updated December 4, 2023

Blue. A primary color. One of the most beloved colors. And, speaking of Owl Acres, a rare color indeed, if you don’t count the sky and the blue jays. The sky is blue. But not really. That is, it looks blue because of the way the air molecules in the atmosphere scatter the short blue […]

Birds

A small, grey song bird with a feathery crest sits on a twig, staring down a pretender. Tufted titmouse.

Peter-Peter-Peter: Tufted Titmouse

Updated November 30, 2023

Some 25 songbirds overwinter here on Owl Acres and surroundings. Sturdy little fellows that they are, they have figured out how to find food and survive in subzero temperatures. One food source that gets their attention is backyard bird feeders like the one we enjoy on Owl Acres. These little birds tend to flock together […]

Birds

Chomp. Thirteen line ground squirrel scores a graham cracker.

Squinnies: Thirteen-line Ground Squirrels

Updated November 29, 2023

One sunny day in mid-October, we watched a little critter sitting up in the yard inspecting its domain. When it noticed us, it scurried through the grass to disappear under a washed-out section of the sidewalk. It was about eight inches long not counting its two and a half-inch tail, and sported black and tan […]

Mammals

Closeup of the Meadow Vole in the talons of the namesake tree sculpture at Owl Acres.

Not Mice: Meadow Voles

Updated November 23, 2023

On Owl Acres, we have a chainsaw carving of a barred owl. Captured in her talons is a mouse-sized critter whose short tail suggests a vole rather than a mouse. Mother Nature seems to have several niches for little mammals like mice whose main job is to convert plant material to meat for a whole […]

Mammals

Bird with red crown (indicating male), tight white and black stripes in back and fluffy light grey breast, clings to a tree trunk, inspecting the suet feeder overhead. Red Bellied Woodpecker.

How Do They Do That?: Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Updated November 30, 2023

There’s a lot of drumming going on at all seasons on Owl Acres. Our band consists of seven of the 23 species of woodpeckers native to North America. When we put up our birdfeeder this winter, one of our first visitors was a red-bellied woodpecker come to investigate the new food. He didn’t stay long […]

Birds

A grey, mouse-size critter with pointy snout, brush-like whiskers and a short tail, rests in Karen's hands. It's dead, possibly mauled or road killed. It's tiny eyes are not visible, buried in the soft fur covering its head. Northern short-tailed shrew.

Untamable: Northern Short-Tailed Shrew

Updated November 16, 2023

There’s nothing better than a personal, physical experience to help me see something new. That’s why, on our walk the other day with both Dave and Clancy, Bryan put a dead, but intact, northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) into the palm of my hand. The soft furry body of the tiny mammal just covered my […]

Mammals

Dense cluster of black berries and long, shiny green leaves of Common Buckthorn thrive at the edge of the soybean field. The overwintering birds will eat, and the aphids will live to challenge next season’s beans.

Invasive Bully: Buckthorn

Updated November 13, 2023

Winter food is abundant this fall, with the seeds from foxtails, ragweed, ditchweed, and all the other seeding plants. Berries are ripe, too. Juniper berries, elderberries, pokeberries and more hang in invitation to the birds. And in one spot by the railroad tracks, we found lots of red, white and black berries. The red ones […]

Trees

Boxelder bug reaches the end of the line, courtesy of a giant, hairy, black-eyed beast. The robber fly scores a tasty, fragrant dinner.

No Harm Done: Boxelder Bugs

Updated November 9, 2023

It’s time for fall colors. The trees are turning red, orange and yellow. And the bugs from the same color palate are looking for a warm place to spend the winter. There’s a gathering of them on the south-facing garage door just now. They’re basking in the sunshine. When it gets cold, though, they’ll head […]

Insects and Spiders

Dark purple berries of pokeweed hang in an inviting drupe from a plant in the ditch next to Owl Acres.

Red is for Poison: Pokeweed

Updated November 6, 2023

It was a beautiful autumn day. The walnuts had turned yellow, and the maples sported orange and red. The elms were still green, and several plants with berries were inviting the birds to feast in the ditch. It was a perfect morning for a walk with the dogs, so we headed out with Dave, my […]

Plants

Standing upright against the blue sky of late summer, the (in)famous Ditchweed, aka Iowana, aka Hemp. Hand-shape leaves made of 5 to 7 long, saw-tooth leaflets. Seed clusters run along rambling branches that stand out from a beefy stem.

Up in Smoke: Hemp

Updated November 2, 2023

It’s standing in the ditch with its scrawny arms outstretched. At its center, the pole-like stem is about an inch thick and slightly faceted. It rises above my head. Its leaves have gone from robust hand-shaped to curled and dried fragments entangled with clusters of little seeds at the ends of each branch. The seeds […]

Plants