Red wiggler worms are quiet, low-maintenance pets that help turn food scraps into nutrient-rich compost. Make a vermicompost bin using two plastic totes, bedding like shredded paper, food scraps, and worms. Keep the bin moist like a wrung-out sponge, feed small amounts at a time, and cover the food with bedding. Once established, share worms and castings with others to help reduce waste and improve soil.

Fall brings scattered seeds and busy wildlife. Acorns hold protein-rich nut meat squirrels love. Kentucky coffeetree pods look like bananas but are toxic unless roasted. Black walnuts have tough husks and bitter nuts enjoyed by animals and used as dye. Milkweed pods release fluffy seeds that float in the wind and help with nesting. There’s plenty to discover on autumn trails.

White-tailed deer leave silent signs like scrapes and rubs that reveal their presence and behavior. Scrapes are made under low branches and marked with scent and urine, often during mating season. Rubs are made when bucks shed velvet from antlers or mark territory using tree bark and scent glands. These signs help deer communicate without sound, especially during the rut when bucks become more active and visible.

Puffballs are spherical mushrooms that release clouds of spores when touched or hit by rain. Found in grassy areas and forests, they help decompose organic matter. Giant puffballs can reach massive sizes and were named Illinois’ official state mushroom in 2024. Some species have medicinal uses and were used by Native tribes. Common types include gem-studded, stump, purple-spored, and brain puffballs.

Snakes move without legs using four types of motion: serpentine, sidewinding, rectilinear, and concertina. These are powered by strong muscles and up to 400 ribs. Serpentine is the most common, while sidewinding helps on smooth surfaces. Rectilinear and concertina involve scooting or stretching movements. Legless lizards, like the slender glass lizard, move like snakes but have eyelids and ear openings. Earthworms use a similar method, gripping soil with tiny hairs as they mo

Acorn weevils drill into acorns to eat and lay eggs. Their larvae hatch, grow inside, then chew a hole to escape when the acorn falls. They burrow underground to become adults, which can take up to five years. Leftover acorns are used by other animals and insects, including acorn moths. You can collect acorns to observe the process, but return any larvae to nature so they can complete their life cycle.

Gray wolves are intelligent, social animals that live in family packs, communicate through howls, smells and body language, and play a vital role in nature by keeping deer populations in check. Once common in Illinois, they were hunted to local extinction but are now protected. While no full-time packs live in Illinois today, occasional wolves still wander in from nearby states.

House and purple finches can look alike, but timing and subtle features help tell them apart. House finches stay year-round in Illinois, while purple finches visit in winter. Males differ in red shades—house finches are orangish-red, purple finches are raspberry-colored. Females are brown, but purple finches have bold face markings. Both eat seeds and visit feeders. Cassin’s finches look similar but don’t live in Illinois.