While most people who head somewhere on Ohio's highways rush by the clusters of reed-like trees that dot the landscape, Rick Pratt is on the lookout for them. His livelihood depends on them. The patches look a bit like mushroom clouds in the distance. Once you know what you're looking for, you too, can know a willow patch when you see one.

Rick follows the growth of about 50 patches, mostly in the northern part of the state, to keep track of which ones have grown to what sizes. Larger ones get used for table legs. Thin ones may be made into picture frames or bent into baskets.

Along with his wife, Denise, Rick has been at this for years. While he does a lot of the grunt work, which means heading out at the crack of dawn on some days (like at 4:30ish, I know because I dragged myself out of bed for a ride-along)--and he makes most of the furniture and the accessories that are snapped up at high-end craft fairs across the United States, Denise is the main designer.

Their offerings through their company, "Around the Bend, " in Wooster, are quality fare that range from the classic to the contemporary. You can even have them make you a one-of-a-kind design. Some folks have ordered custom made corner cabinets and headboards, for example. Check out the Around the Bend website where you can see a sample of what they sell and order on-line.

Here is a link to an article about Rick and Denise that I wrote for Ohio Magazine.

Oscar season is here and I have a job to do. Last year I was one of the winners of the Columbus Dispatch's Columbus Academy of Motion Pictures Pickers (CAMPP) contest. As a winner, I promised to see all the movies nominated in the major categories. Some movies I rented; some I saw for a bargain, and the rest I saw at a matinee price. I just received an email to see if I am interested in being part of CAMPP this year. You bet! I am lining up my strategy to figure out where to see the movies I haven't seen yet in time for my deadline.

Considering one reason I was picked for this contest is that I'm a movie fiend, if it's one thing I know , it's Columbus's theaters. Here are my favorites, but not necessarily in this order. Depending on my mood, depends on where I'll head.

Studio 35 Cinema and Draft House. I recently saw "The Queen" and "The Departed" here. Great movie going because you can order beer, wine and stellar pizza from Clintonville Pizza next door. I also like this place because it's a local business and it has a certain personality that can't possibly be matched by a commercial venture.

Carriage Place Movies 12 and also, The Screens at the Continent. – What can I say? They're cheap and the quality is not any less because they are movies for a bargain. The last movie I saw at The Continent was "Flushed Away" (not an award nominee). The last movie at Carriage Place was "Pirates of the Caribbean- Dead Man's Chest."

The Drexel Grandview or Drexel East. Who cares? The movies at either are usually high caliber and interesting. The last movie at the Drexel East? "The Oh in Ohio." In Bexley? I can't remember.

The Arena Grande- A winner for its easy to get to location, great seats, easy and cheap parking and the fact it helps pull folks downtown. There is a sense of importance about the place. Last year I went to the Academy Awards night here. The Academy Awards are broadcast live on a big screen, plus there's food, raffles and a contest to see who names the most winners. Proceeds go to charity.

With so many great movies out there to see, don't stay home. Head to a silver screen. If you go to a Drexel Theatres Group theater, pick up a free Movie Lovers Pass to earn points for free goods.

Ohio is on the radar for puppy mills. It seems that the number of pet stores in Ohio is a possible indication that many dogs are forced bred in this state to produce the dogs that people want. Puppy mill dogs are a problem from what I've read and heard. Over bred dogs are unhealthy since their bodies don't recover between litters, plus dogs bred in a puppy mill may have more behavior issues and poorer health.

Since we're not exactly designer dog people, and we wanted a dog that was stellar in other ways, we took a tip from a woman I met who had a cute black Lab (I'm not sure if I'm a dog person at all,) and headed down to Vinton County to Camelot Puppy Sanctuary . We ended up picking out a terrier beagle mix. If you want your own Fido or Rover, go here. I was impressed by the unhurried approach when we were looking for our dog. Instead of thinking that we had to make a quick decision, we watched the dogs romp around the property's pond for an hour or so until our minds were made up.

At the sanctuary, there are always several dogs, mostly young ones, available. Check out the website to look at the dogs and then call ahead. The phone number is listed. We didn't plan on getting this particular dog type, but when we were among all the adoptable options, our dog picked us.

Camelot Puppy Sanctuary is a dog paradise of sorts. Run by two women who delight in saving abandoned dogs, the sanctuary is a wonderful option to consider when looking to expand your family. Reading the website descriptions is a lot of fun since each blurb captures a specific quality about each dog's personality.

The dog featured in the picture is Nickolas, a Laborador Retriever/terrier mix. Here is his description.

Here is an article about the puppy mill problem from an NBC channel wkyc.com.

Yes, it's finally snowed to the point that it looks like it counts. Sledding, cross-country skiing, down-hill skiing, the possibilities for outdoor winter fun have arrived. If it lasts, here are some places for some good sled riding if you get the chance. One possibility is to head to a metro park. At Columbus Metro Parks, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, Blacklick Woods, Highbanks and Sharon Woods have sledding hills.

In Cleveland, check out The Chalet in Mill Stream Run Reservation for tobogganing, and for sledding there are several possibilities that range from Hinkley to Rocky River to Chagrin Falls. Within the options there are some places that have lights for night sledding.

For any of you who live in other parts of Ohio, here is a website: Ohio Sled Riding Locations. It lists 64 sled riding hills across the state. There are comments, as well as details,about a hill's steepness and location. If you have your own sled hill favorite and want to share, submit it to the website and let us know here as well.

This video is astounding in a way. Neil Armstrong, the Ohio astronaut who put Wapakoneta on the map, can be heard, clear as a bell, when he is walking on the moon. There is more here than just the famous line . There is also a description about what it is Armstrong is doing while he is walking around on the moon. John F. Kennedy's speech is interesting to hear in terms of what he thinks landing on the moon will mean.

It's not just the fact that a glass of wine costs $1.50 that gets me to Larry's Bar on a Monday night a few times a year-although, that's not a bad reason. I go to Larry's because of the poetry and because hearing people read their poetry makes me think of word choices. There's a mysterious quality that I enjoy. The question, "How do people see the world and how does this translate into words that have a certain sound and meaning-a sense of weight?" Or weightlessness if the poem is meant for whimsy and nothing more.

At Larry's Bar (voted one of the best "dive bars in Columbus, 2006) at 2040 High Street, in the fall, winter and spring, Poetry Forum at Larry's offers some of the best poetry anywhere. The poets who are the featured readers are contest winners and published in some prestigious publications. Some even have their own books, and not ones they Xeroxed off themselves, but ones a publishing company actually said yes to. These poets are the type that people like me sometimes envy if one is given over to envy. I'm not. But if one did envy published poets, you might envy them because they stuck with their craft and have publications to prove it. The Poetry Forum gives them a chance to actually get their poems out there and into the air where poems are meant to be. Poems shouldn't be trapped unread on a page in a book-forgotten or unclaimed in a book that no one bought.

The Ohio Arts Council even recognizes the importance of the Poetry Forum and has funded it since 1985. If you go, once the featured poet is finished, you can read your own poetry during open mike, or just listen like I do. Steve Abbott, the person who is the ringleader of sorts, is a hospitable emcee. You'll feel welcome. It's a great way to find out what is going on in people's minds. There are so many ways to look at the world and so many versions of a life worth having.

Here is the schedule through March 3. Don't hold me to this though since this may have shifted thanks to the OSU football game. The forum was postponed or canceled for that day, so that may have shifted things.

Jan 24 Helyn Dell
Jan 31 Mikel Romine
Feb 07 TBA
Feb 14 Jeanne Desy
Feb 21 Erica DeWeese
Feb 28 Jeff Jarosch
Mar 01 TBA

Travel writing is one of my niches, and when I'm writing about something not exactly travel oriented, my tendency is to look for a travel angle. Currently, I'm working on a story on rare and native plants in Ohio which has led me on a little journey to southern Ohio. Here are some facts I've learned about, again, through the Ohio Division of Natural Resources (ODNR). (If you don't know this already, this is a stellar group of people passionate about Ohio's natural glory-and there's a lot in Ohio to be passionate about).

The facts:

Adams County is the one with the biggest diversity of natural plant life in the entire state. Lucas County is a close second. In Adams County, between the two state parks, Shawnee and Adams Lake, plus five state preserves: Adams Lake Prairie, Chaparral Prairie, Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve, Johnson Ridge State Nature Preserve and Whipple (Robert A.) State Nature Preserve, PLUS the two state forests, Shawnee and Brush Creek, there are plenty of places to go wandering to see what plants you can find. I've been to Shawnee State Park and stayed at the group campground. Excellent. The nature center there has award winning naturalist , Jenny Richards who is delighted to tell folks about the area and organizes events through the center.

While I was talking with the folks at ODNR I also found out that besides overseeing our state's land, the division also partners with private preserves. Here's one that popped out as a don't miss. The Highlands Nature Sanctuary is located in what is called the Arc of Appalachia that includes a five county range in the Appalachians of Ohio. You do need a permit before you go hiking, and the permit needs to be applied for at least a week ahead of when you are planning to go. The sanctuary won't make exceptions so don't think you can show up and beg. You can get the permit from the website.

If you really want to apply ahead, think about going to the Highlands Nature Sanctuary-boasting 88 gorgeous acres with at least 43 rare plants- for the 2nd Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage, April 20-22. There's information about this event plus others on the sanctuary's website as well. The above photo is from the sanctuary, and they kindly agreed to let me use it. One more thing. On the Highlands website, you can sign up for their free e-magazine. This place is an Ohio gem.

If you've ever thought about getting away from it all, here's an option. This photo was taken by Mike Kapusky at Gilboa Quarry. If you want to go down to the deep yourself, get in touch with Paul Verbanick of Aqua Marine Scuba Diving, Inc. He sent me this photo which was taken during one of his class sessions.

This is one of those posts that can go either way. It could be about The Arts Castle in Delaware, or it could be about Suanne M. Goings, the artist whose work I went to see. If it's about Suanne, I would say Suanne is one of those artists whose work exudes soul, and at the same time incorporates fun--even when there is great loss in the background story. Suanne's beloved daughter, Brandi died in a car crash four years ago, almost to this day. At first, with grief overwhelming her, Suanne couldn't so much as read a book. Art came to the rescue.

The wonderful thing about Suanne and her work is that it celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit through whimsical altars festooned with objects of significance, such as the alter where she included things that Brandi and she had given each other. The result evoked a feeling of peace through the use of shades of blue. Then there was the word search made out of wooden blocks--the kind with alphabet letters on some of the sides and pictures on the other. The wooden blocks spelled out words like "alchemy ." A handout was available so you could take the word search home. That's just like Suanne Goings. Her artistic expression is about using art to give inspiration to others. When she's not making her own art, she facilitates the artwork of others through the classes and workshops she teaches through organizations like Art for a Child's Safe America Foundation (ArtSafe), the Columbus Museum of Art, and other community programs. One of her specialties is mural projects where she helps enable other people's ideas to take shape based on interpersonal concepts she envisions. But then she lets go as others step in. Here is an artist statement of sorts.

Now, if I was to write about The Arts Castle, I would say that its purpose is to nurture the arts in Delaware County through exhibits, workshops and classes. The gift shop alone is worth a trip--also the building. Once an elegant private residence, it is a lovely tribute to the concept of transforming one family's home into a home for artists and their work.

Sometimes travel writers don't actually go to the places they write about, unless of course, one needs to go for an indepth look. Often articles are just a round-up of ideas, thus an actual see-it-for-yourself is not necessary. For example, several years ago I was writing a piece on the best fall foliage pieces in Ohio. The due date was in August. The research was done in July. With good research though, you find the people who actually know the places and write in a way that entices others to go there. In my case I called places like the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to see what they would suggest. Such was the case when Conkle's Hollow was included in my article round-up. Since then, I have been there which qualifies it as a place I feel confident about naming as one of Ohio's natural wonders.

Conkle's Hollow, named for the man who carved his name, W. J. Conkle and the date 1797 in the sandstone rock on the west side of the gorge is a hiker's gem that I think might get overlooked by the close by Old Man's Cave which seems to get more press. Both are in Hocking Hills. Conkle's Hollow is a state nature preserve with well-marked trails. One of them takes you around the top of the hollow. Think gorge. Since my travel piece enticed me to go there myself, I did one of the hikes. At the time our daughter was 5. If you go hiking, be careful about the trail you choose. The one that is around the top (not the one we went on) is dangerous in spots because of the sheer drop-offs.

Some features about Conkle's Hollow that made me think of it as one of Ohio's Natural Wonders.

• It's considered one of the deepest gorges in Ohio. The vertical cliffs are more than 200 feet.
• The foliage runs the gamut from wildflowers to hardwoods that are protected due to the state preserve status
• There is a legend that settlers found a petroglyph made by Indians on a gorge wall to hide the location of buried treasure. This really isn't a natural wonder element, but it makes for a cool story.

If you've gone to Old Man's Cave, Conkle's Hollow is past there. It is easy to find and worth the trip. You could actually take in both places in the same day. Even if you don't hike one of Conkle Hollow's trails you can get a good view of the gorge from the bottom. The hiking is year-round.

You can download a brochure of Conkle's Hollow from the ODNR website.

The post office lines are picking up with folks looking to get a passport. If you have any plans to travel outside of Ohio, say to out of the country, even if it's to Canada, you need a passport. It seems every time I've gone to the post office lately, someone is processing his or her paperwork to get one. Not any post office will process the passport paperwork. In Ohio there are 368 locations. There is a link from the U.S. Passport Services to all the passport facilities in the U.S. Here is the link to those pages. On the drop down menu, you can plug in Ohio, or you can type in your zipcode. Also, here is a link to the Columbus Dispatch article that mentions the details of the passport rules.

Instead of going to the post office to get the application, then going back to mail it after it's filled out, you can download the application yourself from the same website.

Here is the good news. If you have forgotten to get one, and you plan to leave the country fairly quickly, you can pay to expedite the processing. We are proof that a passport application can be processed from your post office and the passport will arrive at your house in less than two weeks. I think it took 8 days to get the passport we needed. It worked out to be about double the cost if we had gone the regular route.

If you want some more help with this passport stuff and you happen to live in Central Ohio. There are U.S. Passport Fairs being held in the Columbus area on Friday and Saturday (19-20) Here is the link to that information. Bon voyage, but come back.

Bob Evans Restaurants show up a winner every time Ohio Magazine asks people to list their favorite best value restaurant. At least that happened when I was there. Once there was a rule that chains weren't to be nominated-just to give some other restaurants a chance to shine. No matter. People in Ohio are wild about Bob Evans. At least the folks who enter restaurant contests are.

As one reader stated, "You said no chains, but we go there all the time. The food is always good, as are the service and the prices."

I like Bob Evans myself, especially for breakfast--and recognizing that breakfast is one of its hallmarks, the chain has cooked up a different kind of contest itself. This one is on Ebay. People are bidding on a 3-day vacation and breakfast with Bob Evans himself. The neat thing about this, is that proceeds are gong to Habitat for Humanity.

What's the impetus for all this? With its roots firmly in Ohio, even though it's reaches are far outside the state's borders, Bob Evans Restaurants have a new item on the menu and their own blog, "One Stack at a Time." The blog is basically devoted to Stacked and Stuffed pancakes. Readers can add their favorite choices. There is also a video that shows how to make Stacked and Stuffed pancakes yourself. The listed favorite from the blog is roasted apple carmel cream. Here's a link to the press release about the contest and Bob Evans's new endeavors. Also, if you want to join in the auction, hurry. You only have two days left. This is a great opportunity to have an Ohio vacation and help charity as well.

There is a group of people in Central Ohio who recently have made other people's day in a fairly low-keyed way. Starting the middle of December they have: bought bicycles for people who need bicycles to go to work, given funds to a training program for young women in Guinea; funds to an AIDS organization in Ohio; bought chairs for an orphanage in India; gave money to Grandma's Attic, a charity organization that serves Appalachia, bought art supplies and more for an orphanage in Ghana, gave money to an orphanage in Bolivia, adopted an animal at the Columbus Zoo plus gave to a few more projects that I can't quite remember. These people have provided funds because they are Ohioans (or Ohio transplants) who have first-hand experience with seeing how a bit of money can make a huge difference.

The Central Ohioan Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Association (CORVA) members have seen all parts of the world among them. We're not talking the Club Med parts of the world, but the parts where the day to day things we take for granted like clean drinking water that comes from a pipe that goes all the way into our houses is unheard of. (Not every volunteer lives in a small village, but they've been there.) Because they lived in countries on grass-roots levels, these Ohioans know a thing or two about giving help when it's needed.

And where did the money they gave away come from? A lot of it came from watermelon. If you were one of the people who bought watermelon from the CORVA booth during ComFest, Thanks! If you missed the booth, look for it this coming June. Your watermelon purchase may help a person get a most needed bicycle. Check out Pedals for Progress.

Oh, and by the way. If you are interested in the Peace Corps, there is a Peace Corps recruiter at Ohio State University. The office serves the region, not just Ohio State students. The last week of March there is a recruiting event on the OSU campus.

With the holidays, traveling and one thing leading to another there are still three things I want to see in Columbus before it's too late.

Degas Landscapes at the Columbus Museum of Art. This exhibit features more than 20 works that Degas painted of the seaside resort of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme on the northern French coast. I have until January 21 for this one. Since Impressionism is my favorite style of painting, I'd hate to miss this just because I haven't taken the time.

Picturing What Matters: An Offering of Photographs from the George Eastman House Collection and The Armory Wall: A Tribute to September 11 Photographs by John Taylor and Dianne Dubler at The Ohio Historical Center. This is a collection of 123 photographs that represent aspects of American life. I'm always interested to see what images others chose as tributes to how we live and what's important. This one is open until January 28.

Ride Around the World: The Amazing Global Journey of the Cowboy at COSI. This is the IMAX movie about cowboy life around the world over the last 1,000 years. This film takes viewers to various countries from Spain to Canada to Argentina and Morocco. I have some time for this one, since it will be around until March 11, but still with the way time flies. . .

There is no time like the present to start scuba-diving. I've been working on a travel article about scuba diving in Ohio and came across one scuba diving instructor who I want to highlight. Paul and Karen Verbanick own Aqua Marine Scuba Diving, Inc. which is touted as having "The Most Convenient Classes in Ohio." Paul said that even if only a couple people want to take lessons, that's a class. This is a great way to have quality family time. He'll arrange classes that will be convenient for students. Initially, classes are taught at a swimming pool until the final dives at Gilboa Quarry located a few miles from Ottawa, Ohio.

There are reasons why I've never taken up scuba diving but after looking at Paul's website and talking with him, I'm rethinking this.

One of the excuses I might use for not scuba diving is: I'm not the best swimmer. (That's really not true, but it's an excuse I might give.) It wouldn't work anyway because a person doesn't have to be an excellent swimmer to scuba dive--the requirement is being able to swim 200 yards and be able to float or tread water for 10 minutes. That's for a PADI Open Dive Certification. (Paul also offers advanced scuba diving classes as well.)

Another excuse might be: scuba diving is expensive. Wrong again. For less than $400.00 I can have enough classes to get certified and have the equipment rental provided, so I can get dive practice to get certified without having to invest in my own scuba gear . I suppose scuba diving is not that cheap either, but it's not out of financial bounds either.

Another excuse might be: I don't have the time. Another wrong notion. One can learn to dive in two weekends and earn certification in two weeks. Doable.

Really, I don't have a whole lot of excuses to not take up scuba diving. Since I keep writing about it, maybe I should put my money where my keypad is. If you are at all thinking about going into the deep end yourself, go for it. Ohio is not a bad place to dive--more on that later.

The photo is of a whale shark. It was not taken in Ohio, but it was taken by Paul on one of his dive trips to someplace warm. Hey, that's another thought.