#FridayEd – Land Between the Lakes

05 Nov 2015

Why do Leaves Change Colors?

#FridayEd, Community, Environmental Education, Field Guide, Plantsautumn, color, fall, fall colors, Kentucky, land between the lakes, leaf watching, leaves, scenic driving, tennessee, trees

Submitted by Dennis Wilson, Forester at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area Colors The easiest way to explain why leaves change colors has to do with the time of year. The longer and cooler nights trigger the changing colors and falling leaves. None of the other environmental influences – such as temperature, rainfall, food supply – are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature's autumn palette. A color palette needs pigments, and there…

09 Oct 2015

By LBL_Admin

Voices from the Past

#FridayEd, Community, Historybetween the rivers, community, connecting people and place, Constance Alexander, family heritage, former residents, history, home sites, Kentucky, land between the lakes, Murray State, oral history, radio, stories, tennessee, WKMS

As we walked through the woods today in Fox Hollow, we came upon some former home sites. This reminded me that we have a link to original recordings of former residents who lived Between the Rivers, which became Land Between The Lakes. Take a listen to stories and voices from the past. Constance Alexander, along with Murray State University’s WKMS NPR radio station, recorded residents’ stories and pulled them together in a series of audio programs. The Kentucky Historical Society (http://history.ky.gov/) offers the series in their oral history and audio visual materials collection. Check the stories out. Enjoy, Jan Bush Connecting People…

08 Jun 2015

By LBL_Admin

Osprey Family Finds a New Home

#FridayEd, Community, Field Guide, Nature Station, Wildlifebirding, boy scout, eagle scout, Kentucky, land between the lakes, Nature Station, Nature Watch, osprey, project, tennessee, trail, volunteer

When Daniel Hagan of Boy Scout Troop #422 constructed and put up a nesting platform for osprey in Land Between The Lakes for his Eagle Scout Project in the spring of 2011, he had high hopes. He hoped that a pair of these magnificent fish-eating hawks would adopt his platform and use it as a safe place to build their nest and raise their young. He hoped that his platform would give visitors to Land Between The Lakes great views of nesting osprey, since he installed it in an easily viewable area near the Woodlands Nature Station. One year went…

08 May 2015

By LBL_Admin

Volunteering – All in a Day’s Work

#FridayEd, Community, Customer Service, Recreation, safetyKentucky, land between the lakes, safety, tennessee, volunteer

Submitted by Brian Truskey, Communications apprentice at Land Between The Lakes How important are volunteers at Land Between The Lakes? While driving on the north end of Land Between The Lakes, volunteer Richard Marlar noticed a vehicle stuck in a ditch. The man inside the vehicle had been trapped there overnight, without his medication. Richard recognized the danger, called law enforcement, and stayed with the man until help arrived. Without his aid, the man may have been stuck there even longer. “Volunteers like Richard give so much to Land Between The Lakes, and ask nothing in return,” says Gary Hawkins,…

01 May 2015

By LBL_Admin

Polecat Ponderings

#FridayEd, Environmental Education, Field Guide, Wildlifedog, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, odor removal, owl, pets, polecat, rabies, recipe, skunk, skunk recipe, spray, tennessee

By John Pollpeter Often we don’t give them much mind. We smell them dead on the road or checking out our campsite late in the evening. Skunks, or locally known as “polecats,” are a unique member of our Purchase Area ecology. The term “polecat” comes from a close relative found in Eurasia. The name transferred with European settlement. It is an old French word meaning chicken- “poule.” So in essence, polecat means “the cat that eats chickens." The word “skunk” comes from the Algonquin name, as does other common American animals like moose and opossum. One thing that makes…

12 Feb 2015

By LBL_Admin

Wildlife Refuges

#FridayEd, Community, Environmental Education, Field Guide, Hunting, Recreation, Wildlifebird, bird watching, birding, eagle, environmental education, habitat, hunting, land between the lakes, migratory birds, Mississippi Flyway, nature, Nature Watch, recreation, tourism, trails, wildlife refuges, wildlife watching

Submitted by Brian Truskey, Communications Apprentice at Land Between The Lakes At Land Between The Lakes our visitors can enjoy a variety of activities. Some of our most popular include off-highway vehicle riding, swimming, canoeing, camping, biking, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, environmental education, and of course, wildlife viewing, and birding. We manage and protect wildlife habitat in order to ensure that our visitors will be able to see wildlife in years to come. What are Wildlife Refuges? Wildlife refuges consist of land and water areas where wildlife can go to rest, winter, and feed – free from human intrusion. Land…

14 Nov 2014

By LBL_Admin

A Guest for the Winter – Asian Ladybug

#FridayEd, Field Guidebeetle, exotic, invasive, ladybug, pest, species

Submitted by Brian Truskey, Communications Apprentice at Land Between The Lakes It's that time of year again, when many of our homes play host to a familiar visitor, the ladybug. Or more specifically, the Asian lady beetle. Though most ladybugs make their homes outdoors, this often uninvited guest will happily bunk with you over the winter. What's in a name? Laybugs, also known as Ladybirds or Ladybird beetles, were named after the Virgin Mary. “Beetle of our Lady,” the precursor to many of the names we use today, was used as far back as 1699. Some sources claim that the…

22 Oct 2014

By LBL_Admin

Celebrate National Bat Week!

#FridayEd, Customer Service, Nature Station, Restoration, Wildlife#SavetheBats, bat, conservation, environmental education, home school, National Bat Week, Nature Station, teacher resources, white nose syndrome

By Aviva Yasgur, Woodlands Nature Station Naturalist Help #SavetheBats Bats face many challenges these days -- from habitat loss to a lethal disease called “White-nose Syndrome.” Join us as we become involved in a promising new effort to help them. Join us in the first annual National Bat Week October 26-November 1 People around the country will be celebrating bats, learning about bats, teaching others about the importance of bats, and participating in bat events and programs. And you can be a part of it all. The Organization for Bat Conservation (http://www.batconservation.org/) initiated this big bat bonanza. If you visited…

17 Oct 2014

By LBL_Admin

What is it? Yucca

#FridayEd, Field Guide, Plantsfibers, landscaping, Native American, North South trail, trail, wildlife biologist, Yucca

Submitted by Jan Bush, Communications Department Manager at Land Between The Lakes Nate Brelsford, our Twitter friend @theUltinate, sent us a photo asking about a plant he spotted along the North/South Trail. I suspected it was a Yucca plant having recently moved from New Mexico. For more of the story, we went to our Wildlife Biologist Elizabeth Raikes. Elizabeth tells us that the Yucca plant is also known as “Beargrass” and officially labeled “Yucca filamentosa.” Yuccas thrive across the Southwest yet can be found sparingly elsewhere in United States. I remember first encountering Yuccas as a kid riding horses across…

10 Oct 2014

By LBL_Admin

A Day in the Life…Elk & Bison Prairie

#FridayEd, Elk & Bison Prairie, Wildlifebison, Bugle Corps, elk, elk and bison prairie, Friends of Land Between The Lakes, Ray Stainfield, volunteer

Submitted by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes This is one day in the life of the critters who call the Elk & Bison Prairie home at Land Between The Lakes. They are becoming more active now that the weather is cooling off. Our Bugle Corps members volunteer to help watch the herds and make sure all is well. Ray Stainfield, a long time Bugle Corps member, has a knack for getting some great shots. Thanks Ray! For more information about Volunteering at Land Between The Lakes, visit www.friendsoflbl.org or call 270-924-2007. Last Thursday this group of…

Category: #FridayEd