By Terry W. Johnson

The winter of 2009-2010 is one we will long remember. Snow has blanketed the state from Rising Fawn to the peanut fields of South Georgia. If that wasn’t enough, temperatures have plummeted into the teens. This caused the cost of heating our homes to soar skyward faster than our national debt. Homeowners who had the foresight to winterize their homes by caulking the cracks around windows and doors, and took other measures to reduce heat loss, actually are being rewarded with lower energy bills. 

By Terry W. Johnson

Now that the Peach State is in the icy grip of winter, it’s hard to imagine that a handful of birds are actually nesting. One of these is the great horned owl, and it may be sitting atop a nest in your backyard right now.

By Terry W. Johnson

While drinking a cup of hot, steaming coffee on a recent cold winter morning, I noticed that most of the wildlife activity in my backyard centered on my bird feeders. Nearby, a nesting box stood like a silent sentinel watching the parade of birds and squirrels dining at my wildlife café.

While it appeared the box served no purpose this time of the year, I knew better. One late afternoon about a week before, as the sun was seemingly dissolving on the western horizon, I just happened to see two bluebirds fly into the box.

By Terry W. Johnson

There are a number of birds that we associate with Christmas. Some such as the robin, dove and goldfinch owe their association to this holiday because legend tells us they were present at the birth of Christ. Others are linked with Christmas because they are commonly depicted on Christmas cards. Over the years I have received Christmas cards featuring birds such as ducks, geese, blue jays, quail, chickadees and, of course, the all-time favorite – the cardinal.

By Terry W. Johnson

By their very nature, holes are dark, mysterious places. Whenever we find one, we can’t help but wonder what creature is lurking just beyond its shadowy entrance. Many folks strongly believe that holes should be avoided at all costs and give them a wide berth. They are convinced that these deep, dark tunnels harbor creatures that might harm them.

By Terry W. Johnson

Later this month our homes will be visited by an odd assortment of tiny goblins, witches, ghosts and other strange characters. They will arrive at our front door under a cloak of darkness, and utter three words that we once repeated ourselves too many years ago, “Trick or treat?”

By Terry W. Johnson

One of the most fascinating and valuable plants in my backyard is not found in a flower bed, nor is it watered or fertilized. It grows in a narrow, undeveloped border between my yard and my neighbor’s garden. Here you will find an ungainly plant that some might consider nothing more than a weed on steroids. Most Georgians call this native plant pokeberry, pokeweed, poke, poke salad, pigeonberry or inkberry.

By Terry W. Johnson

Has it been hot enough for you? It has been for me. For days on end, in my neck of the woods daily temperatures have soared into the mid to high 90s and heat indexes routinely topped the 100-degree mark.

When it is this hot most of us spend the majority of the day in air-conditioned comfort. Whenever I am inside cooling off, I feel guilty when I think about my wildlife neighbors. They can’t escape to an air-conditioned hideaway when the temperature sky-rockets.

By Terry W. Johnson

Whenever I walk out my backdoor I step into a world where countless life and death struggles are played out every day. However, unless I actually see something like a robin pull a wiggling worm out of the ground or a fly struggling in a spider web, most acts of predation go unnoticed.

During summer, a bevy of predators inhabit a typical Georgia yard. The more familiar ones include birds, snakes, toads, frogs, spiders, dragonflies, cats and dogs. Yet, one of the deadliest predators that hunt our yards is an animal known as the robber fly.

By Terry W. Johnson

Now that school is out, kids throughout the state have lots of free time until classes resume in August. This provides a golden opportunity for parents and grandparents to nurture in children what the famous author and environmentalist Rachel Carson called a sense of wonder – a deep, abiding appreciation of the plants and animals with which we share the world.