I never moved very far from where I was born and raised. For my first twenty years I lived in Farmdale, Ohio. Farmdale is a rural farming area with mostly dairy farmers, full or part time, as some farmers worked other places to make ends meet. As a kid in the 50’s, we pretty much kept busy and entertained ourselves outside. Television was in its infancy and most families in the country didn’t have it yet. There was no such thing as cell phones or video games, and desktop computers were another 25 years away from even the simplest ones. In the summer we rode our bikes all over on the roads and walked through the fields, pastures, and woods. Crossing through private property was not a problem since most of the owners knew us and would often stop to talk. We were able to enjoy the outdoors and all of Mother Nature’s world (mammals, birds, reptiles, plants, insects, and features of the land).

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, which protects over 8000 acres of land in the Big and Little Darby Creek watershed, and 13 miles along the Big Darby Creek, is adding more wetland habitat. This is great news for the watershed, but also for the birds that call the area home for part or all of the year.