Soil is made of minerals, organic material, air and water and is full of living organisms. It forms very slowly over time, shaped by climate, organisms, landscape, parent material, and time (CLORPT). Particles in dirt are categorized into three groups: clay, sand and silt. Soil varies in texture and color depending on its mineral content. In Illinois, the state soil is Drummer, rich in organic matter from decomposing prairie plants and is found on over 1.5 million acres.

More than 250 years ago, French fur traders and Potawatomi people in Illinois wore very different undergarments - or none at all. Potawatomi wore loincloths or simple skirts with no undergarments. French people wore linen shifts or shirts to absorb sweat and dirt, as they bathed less often. Wealthy individuals had many, others had few. Girls wore layers like petticoats and stays. Laundry was tough, sometimes using stale urine or scrubbing with soap and water!

North America is home to 17 woodpecker species, and seven live in Illinois. Woodpeckers hammer away to search for food, build nesting cavities, and to store their food supply. A woodpecker’s skull is designed to withstand repetitive pecking, and they have long tongues to help them reach for insects in tree bark. Unlike other songbirds, Woodpeckers have a zygodactyl toe that helps them climb and grab onto trees and other structures.

“Mangy mutt” may sound playful, but mange is a serious, contagious skin disease caused by direct contact with mites. It leads to hair loss, scabs, and severe discomfort in mammals like dogs, coyotes, and squirrels. Mange weakens animals, making them lethargic, depressed and susceptible to infections. It’s diagnosed via skin scraping examination and can be treated with medication, though severe cases may be fatal. Mites can also affect humans, causing scabies, which is treatab

Both beavers and muskrats are semi aquatic rodents that live in lodges with brown fur and long tails making them hard to tell apart in the water. They are not closely related but have evolved to have many shared behaviors and traits. The main differences between them are their size and tail shapes. Beavers are considerably larger and longer than muskrats and have flat, wide tails while a muskrat has a long, skinny tail covered in black hairs. Also, only beavers build dams whi

A mourning dove’s cooing can be heard in the early morning and throughout the day. They are diurnal ground seed eaters with grayish-brown feathers and black spots on their wings. Baby mourning doves rely on their mother’s crop milk, also known as pigeon milk, for a week before becoming about the size of an adult mourning dove and ready to leave the nest two weeks after hatching. Their ability to fly up to 55 mph allows them to escape from predators such as cooper’s hawks and

You can hear a woodpecker’s tattooing, or tapping, echo throughout the whole forest, especially from late winter through early spring. Woodpeckers will use more than just trees as their stage to make the most noise. The main reasons for tattooing include attracting mates, claiming territory (aggressive drumming), and to communicate with their partners. Woodpeckers peck away at trees for food and can find where insects are hiding based on sound.

The gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is the only canid in America that climbs trees. They use their front legs to grasp a tree trunk, then use their back legs to push themselves up. Gray foxes are opportunistic foragers and use their sharp senses of sight, smell and sound to find their food. Breeding season for the gray fox is February through March where three to five pups on average are born by mid-May. Pups are ready to mate even before they are 1 year old.