When you look near barnyards, roadsides, or other disturbed areas this time of year, you may notice a low-growing weedy plant with finely divided leaves, and a yellowish-green flower head. I suspect most people dismiss this plant as just another weed, but its common name pineapple weed, or perhaps wild chamomile, indicates something a little different.
Aug 29
2 min
Dveryone has heard of the Venus flytrap, but North Dakota's Turtle Mountains is home to a different carnivorous plant — the round-leaved sundew.
Aug 22
2 min
The goldenrods are starting to put on their annual floral show. Much as the pasque flowers in bloom serve as harbingers of spring, the goldenrods are harbingers of fall. They are telling us that the days of summer are numbered and fall is fast approaching.
Aug 15
2 min
Two noteworthy celestial shows are coming up on August 12. The Perseids meteor shower is expected to peak that evening, and a partial solar eclipse is expected to be visible in parts of the state. So, get ready and hope for clear skies.
Aug 8
2 min
The United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists to “honor and raise awareness of the important role these lands play in creating a sustainable environment and economic growth for communities around the world.”
Aug 1
2 min
If you frequently walk through the prairies and woodlands, or perhaps even your own backyard, you may come upon a rather delicate, whitish translucent tube of thin material that’s several inches long and has a scale pattern that resembles the skin of a snake. Well, it probably is a snake skin.
Jul 25
2 min
A rather common sight across North Dakota during the summer months is a large hawk with broad wings and a wide, rounded tail soaring high overhead. Although there may be other species, the odds are good that it would be a Swainson’s, red-tailed, or ferruginous hawk.
Jul 20
2 min
It might come as a surprise, but an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 Mandan lived in and around the confluence of the Heart River and Missouri River in the 16th century. And the Heart River, particularly the area around the confluence, represented the “hearth” of the world and was important to their creation story.
Jul 11
2 min
Are you familiar with grosbeaks? They are birds, similar in size to an oriole, and known for their rather short and conical beaks. Three species can be found in North Dakota.
Jul 4
2 min
Elm trees, once abundant and widely distributed in North Dakota and highly valued as an ornamental died by the thousands, mostly in the 1970s. Something similar may occur with ash trees and the emerald ash borer.
Jun 27
2 min
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