Welcome to Rick Marsi Online
For the past three decades, Rick Marsi's name has become synonymous with excellence in the following fields:
- Visually stunning slide programs on nature and travel
- Guided nature walks that educate and inspire
- Professionally escorted nature tours in the USA and beyond
Purchase Rick's books and photos, hire him as a speaker for your next meeting or special event, or engage him to lead you on a guided nature walk.
Available for sale here now...
Rick's new book of nature
essays, "Log Cabin Year",
48 Reflections from Our
Seasons Past with illustrations
by Jan Mars
Price reduced to $19.95
Click on the book cover to view sample pages
View Rick's log of December nature sightings by clicking "diary" at left.
------------------------------------------------------"Caught in Flight" photos in "Bonus Content" at left.
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FOCUS ON GLOSSY IBIS
You can't see it here, but the Glossy Ibis features a long curved bill used to extract invertebrates from wetland muck such as this. Formerly found mostly in southern states, Glossy Ibis have steadily expanded northward in recent decades. I took this photo in central New York in early spring. Another Glossy Ibis photo is in "Bonus Content" at left.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
The Beauty of Trees Without Leaves
It can be argued, and I would agree, that trees are easier to identify and appreciate after they have dropped their leaves in October and November.
Here are a few of my favorite hardwoods...
White Ash (Fraxinus americana)
Grows to 120 feet high and 6 feet wide. Wood is tough, strong and hard. Burns as firewood even when green. Splits easily.
American Basswood (Tilia americana)
Grows to 80 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Produces large, heart-shaped leaves. Wood is light, soft and fine-grained. Prized by carvers. Makes a superior honey.
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Grows to 150 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Excellent shade tree, good fuel tree. Makes lovely flooring and furniture.
Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)
Grows to 120 feet and 4 feet wide. Barks strips off in long, loose pieces, lengthwise to the trunk. Wood is exceptionally hard. Nuts are prized by wild food enthusiasts.
White Oak (Quercus alba)
Grows to 75 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Trees growing in clearing produce 50-foot-long horizontal branches. Doesn't grow fast but may live to 600 years old.
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
Grows to 135 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Sap contains 2.5% sugar. Average tree may produce .5 gallons of syrup, but large trees can produce 15 times that amount.
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Grows to 170 feet all and 11 feet wide. Found in wet woodlands and along rivers and streams. Bark peels off in large sheets, often with many layers showing.
Photos by Rick Marsi
All rights reserved.
DESCRIPTION OF NEW AND REVISED "WALK THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST" PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE. CLICK ON "SLIDE SHOWS" - (3/20/2015)
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