Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center

22/10/2026

The Evening Bat, scientifically known as Nycticeius humeralis, is a small, dark brown bat with black and hairless wings, forearms, and ears. They have a short, blunt tragus that is curved forward. Its fur is bicolored above (dark brown at the base and dull grayish brown at the tips) and lighter brown below. It is a part of the vesper bat family, and usually weighs between 6-24 grams with a wingspan between 10-11 inches.

These bats are carnivorous (insectivorous) creatures. They prey on beetles, bugs, winged ants, moths, and other flying insects. Evening bats are also nocturnal. Their flight is slow and steady. Members of this species fly high early in the evening and lower later at night. They use echolocation to pinpoint the insects that they feed on.

Evening bats prefer the forest and open habitats such as river corridors and wetlands all throughout the southeastern United States. These are forest bats and are never found in caves. Instead, the Evening Bat roosts in hollows of trees, under loose bark, or in buildings. They mate during the fall, and give birth to two or three pups in late May or early June. They are social and migratory. They roost in colonies of around 30 individuals. In October, females in northern populations migrate south.

Bats are an important part of our ecosystem. They pollinate plants, keep our pest and insect populations down, serve as prey to other animals, and disperse seeds to help maintain plants and forests. Click on the link down below to learn how to safely remove a bat from your home, how to prevent bats from your home, and how to build a bat house to provide an alternative habitat for bats.

22/10/2026

It's a beautiful day, and there's still a few tickets left for trick or treating tonight ... why don't you snag some of those tickets and join us??

Here's the ticketing site, spelled out as Facebook won't let us include links that take you away from Facebook anymore:

norskedalen dot ludus dot com

Or call Norskedalen for details. See you tonight!!

22/10/2026

There are almost 7000 species of jumping spider on the planet, with the family comprising 10–13% of all spiders. Found on all continents except Antarctica, they can live at altitudes of up to 7000 m and are even capable of surviving under water, thanks to hydrophobic hairs that hold a bubble of air around the cuticle. They vary in size from 2 mm up to 25 mm from front to back.

Jumping spiders can jump 50 to 100 times their body length. When preparing to jump, the spider crouches and contracts muscles in its cephalothorax. This squeezes the body cavity and forces a sudden rush of spider blood straight down into its legs at high pressure. This sudden wave of fluid slams the legs open like a water hose snapping rigid, launching the spider into the air in a fraction of a second.

Most jumping spiders are generalized predators, so they'll prey on pretty much anything up to twice their size, but some are ridiculously brave and will hunt really big prey. A lot of jumping spiders also feed on nectar for energy to allow them to hunt later on. The pickiest animal on Earth is Evarcha culicivora, the ‘mosquito terminator’, as we call it, because they primarily feed on blood-fed female Anopheles mosquitoes. But the vast majority of species eat pretty much anything. Once they have caught prey, they use extra-oral digestion, so they eject venom and digestive enzymes into the prey, which liquify the prey within the exoskeleton, and then suck up the juices.

Jumping spiders of one of the many beneficial species of spiders. They help with pest control, namely mosquito management, and they can also make great pets!

22/10/2026

Oftentimes, the photos that we share are focused primarily on C**n Valley and the nearby farms, but today we’re travelling just a little bit down the road to Westby, WI. Here we see the Unseth & Bekkedal building which is located at what is now the corner of W State Street and US-61. Naturally, the businesses in the building have changed over time, but in this photograph we can make out the R. H. Nustad Real Estate offices in addition to the bank, a restaurant and a drug store to the left.

22/10/2026

Nestled in the corner of the Engum house here at Norskedalen is a small container that we often get asked about. This particular artifact (the design of which was patented by the Englishman Thomas P. Bethel in 1906) was used to transport eggs. Inside the wooden frame is a series of cardboard slots that would more or less keep the precious cargo from prematurely cracking open.

20/10/2026

This is our last spooky stereoscope card of October and while it's not technically about a werewolf, the grandma-munching antagonist of Red Riding Hood is absolutely a wolf monster. Additional props to the photography company, while the wolf is undoubtedly a taxidermy model, he manages to look pretty dang spooky.

19/10/2026

19/10/2026

Haunted mental institutions are somewhat of a horror movie trope and with good reason. Institutions such as the now abandoned Lier Psychiatric hospital have a rather gruesome history, with inhumane experimental procedures. Since the mid 1980s experiences of supernatural activity such as disembodied voices and shadowy doctors and patients have been reported in the building and on the grounds.