Courtney Denning
Member since Oct 2006
hiden location 
Courtney has posted 250 photos and 5 comments
Offline, Last Logged on Jun 29, 2009 13:51:12 
Category: Events
Photo Subject: bird, banding, female north american cardinal
Date Shot: Sat, May 17, 2003
Photo Subject: bird, banding, female north american cardinal
Date Shot: Sat, May 17, 2003
Camera: Kodak EasyShare DX6490
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Submitted: Thu, Sep 4, 2008
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No Biography found.
patricia tommi wrote on Wed, Sep 2, 2009 22:57 [ Send Email ]
Hello,I am Patricia Tommi. I am 24 years old. From Ivory Coast. I saw your profile at (www.myparkphotos.com). I think i will appreciate your friendship. Could you please contact me at this my e-mail address (ptommi68@yahoo.com) for my picture and
Hello,I am Patricia Tommi. I am 24 years old. From Ivory Coast. I saw your profile at (www.myparkphotos.com). I think i will appreciate your friendship. Could you please contact me at this my e-mail address (ptommi68@yahoo.com) for my picture andYou need to login before post a message
Franklin Park Conservatory // May 22, 2008
A plant ecology field trip to the Columbus Franklin Park Conservatory allowed my classmates and I the unique opportunity to travel through different parts of the world based on the plants found growing in these locations. The FPC has a huge greenhouse featuring biome rooms, large glass sculptures by John Chihuly and special collections of bonsai and orchids (Sobralia rosea, Yellow Red, Purple Close-up). The biomes include: The Himalayan Mountains, Tropical Rainforest (Water Streamlet, Oncidium globuliferum, Vine Ceiling, Vinyl Streamlets, Oncidium globuliferum 2), Arid Desert (Thorny Cacti, Green Droplets, Cacti Close-up, My Truffala Trees) and the Pacific Islands (Dont Be Koi).rnrnAs a student tired of long lectures indoors with only PowerPoint examples of the plants being studied, I was eager to get up close and personal with these exotic plants. Trees are my passion; they’re why I’m studying botany today, so the bonsai exhibit was of particular interest to me. I’ve always wanted to grow my own miniature trees, but I haven’t quite figured the process out yet.rnrnAt the time, the orchid collection was of little interest to me. Yes, orchids have gorgeous flowers, but they seemed the sort of plant someone with a lot of money and time on their hands would tend to. Not a budding plant ecologist. Almost a year later, and after a few more ecology courses, I marvel at these unique plants! Some species of orchid (unfortunately none that I recall seeing at FPC) mimic the appearance of female wasps (they even smell like them!) so that male wasps attempt to mate with them, and in the process pollinate the orchid flower. The male wasp doesn’t seem to realize his partner isn’t a wasp, let alone not even an insect, and will mate/pollinate other orchids in the area. The flavoring vanilla also comes from orchids, a parasitic species.rnAfter a recent tropical plant ecology course, I feel the need to revisit the Franklin Park Conservatory. It was refreshing to see so many different species of plants in one place as we walked from the cool, moist air of the “Himalayan Mountains” into the thick, humid and warm climate of the “Tropical Rainforest.” The “Arid Desert” contained interesting “viney” cacti and palms that resembled Dr. Seuss’s truffala trees from The Lorax. Like the Lorax, the FPC offers an important message on the importance of biodiversity and conservation. One I hope to review again soon through future visits and the continuation of my studies.Huron-Manistee National Forest // Jan 4, 2008
Being the nature geek, nut, and freak (take your pick) that I am, I recently went on a canoe trip with the Aullwood Audubon Center located in Englewood. Our five-hour canoe trip took place on the beautiful Au Sable (pronounced “Au Sabo”) River, in Northern Michigan.
I don’t have very many opportunities to canoe, so I put up with the thirty-some degree weather of Michigan in the fall. I knew before I left Ohio that it was going to be cold, but it still seemed strange to be wearing three or four t-shirts, a hoodie and winter coat (and that’s not counting the layers of pants and extra socks I wore) when just the weekend before I had been in shorts and a jersey at a cross-country meet. While the temperatures were not ideal, I would most definitely venture out in the cold again for a similar canoe trip.
Michigan is gorgeous (I don’t care what Ohio State and Michigan football fans may say about the opposite state, both Ohio and Michigan are gorgeous, especially when it comes to our parks and refuges.), and I think the cold air emphasized that. With mist floating around the tops of trees everything seemed clear and fresh. When the sun shone the landscape seemed to sparkle.
The only disappointment I have from this trip is that I didn’t have my camera with me while in the canoe (We didn’t take anything that wasn’t waterproof or that couldn’t be stored in a waterproof bag in case our canoe flipped, which thankfully didn’t happen to anyone in our group.). I would have loved to capture an image of the osprey that stayed just a few trees ahead of us, disappearing only for a moment to appear again around the bend of the river. We saw two mink running alongside the bank and I wondered how anyone could bare to wear one as a coat, they are such magnificent animals. The pine and spruce trees offered beautiful views as well, the spruces tall, pointy tip reminding me of church steeples.
I didn’t just see the beauty of the river; I felt it as well. When we were in a straight part of the river where less paddling was required, I would close my eyes and just enjoy the feeling of floating. It’s an amazing feeling, to be able to move by a force of mother nature and not by GM or Ford. It’s relaxing, if not meditative.
While I don’t have any more canoe trips planned in the near future, I do intend to return to the Au Sable for another trip or two (or three or four). Perhaps next time I’ll invest in a water-proof camera.Superior National Forest // Oct 28, 2006
Before starting my freshman year of college, I attended a two week-long canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota with other soon to be freshmen. I have always enjoyed nature and being outside, but had never been camping or in an area as remote as the Boundary Waters. I felt humbled by the enormous size of the lakes yet proud of how far our group was able to travel in them. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to sleep outside. The ground wasn’t that comfortable, but I was more in tune with the earth and the change from day to night. We went to bed when it the sky darkened and rose fairly early in the morning. It felt natural to be on the same cycle as the rest of the diurnal animals living in the woods.
The trip was also a credited class, besides canoeing and camping we studied the history of the area and learned basic outdoor survival and camping skills such as bear bag building, cooking and how to build a one match fire. Everyone in my group listened to our trip leaders and followed the rules for being out in the wilderness. Following the Leave No Trace principles became incorporated into our language with phrases like “That’s not LNT” or “I think that’s leaving a trace.” The beauty of the Boundary Waters wasn’t loss on my group either. We were all respectful of the wilderness and of each other.
The gorgeous scenery, fresh air and open waters of the Boundary Waters set a perfect backdrop for studying and learning more about preservation and conservation. We each had our own booklet for the trip which gave us facts and figures about why this land was protected. We also had to write what we felt were the differences between preservation and conservation. This information was made more relevant and important by what we were able to see and to experience in the wild. When you’re somewhere as clean, quiet and full of life as the Boundary Waters, it’s easy to see why this area and areas like it need to be preserved for future generations.
When the trip first began, I was conservative in how many and how often I took pictures. I was afraid my battery would die or that I would use all of my memory space so I was critical of myself before taking a shot. As we neared the end of our trip and I realized I wouldn’t run out of memory space, I became more relaxed in my photos. I experimented with black and white and took some macro shots of the fauna.
I hope to return to the Boundary Waters some day for another canoe trip. Until then I have my memories and photographs from this gorgeous, secluded area.