It was one of those technicolor spring mornings as I hiked a mountain trail in the Santa Ysabel Preserve near Julian a few years ago. Wildflowers dotted the spring-green meadows, the sky was bright ...

As you travel along, I’m sure you’ve noticed birds on the gravel roadside. Many of them are northern flickers searching for ants to eat. Many others are finding weed seeds that are in the gravel, and ...

by STORY AND PHOTOS JERRY BUTLER Special to the Democrat-Gazette Special to the Democrat-Gazette/JERRY BUTLER Water cascades over the body of an olive green sparrow as it bathes in a puddle. Although ...

Morning Fresh Farms in Platteville raises chickens in cages, and chickens free from cages. The chickens without wire walls receive certification from American Humane, a Denver nonprofit that has been ...

I took a dust bath once, just to see what it was like. Then I had to take a shower. Dear Gary: I had an influx of finches in my backyard this weekend. They found a corner of the yard with no grass and ...

I am sitting outside at 9:30 a.m. with my cup of tea, watching the birds come to our creek. A male white-breasted nuthatch selects a lower section of the creek. He dips his head and bill into the ...

It was a perfect spring morning in the fresh green fields and oak woodlands near Santa Ysabel. Soft sunlight filtered through the trees, and nature seemed content as the season of abundance had ...

It was a perfect spring morning in the fresh green fields and oak woodlands near Santa Ysabel. Soft sunlight filtered through the trees, and nature seemed content as the season of abundance had ...

Humans may take baths with water, but there are plenty of animals out there that prefer using dirt to get themselves clean. It may seem counterintuitive, but dirt baths are an important hygiene ...

While most pets clean themselves with water or require traditional baths, a chinchilla dust bath is the best way to keep these adorable rodents clean. These adorable, fluffy creatures have some of the ...

Which bird baths are best? If you enjoy birdwatching, a bird bath is an easy way to draw many different types of birds to your yard. Since their advent in the 1800s, these garden ornaments have ...