Fight the Frost

There are two ways to cope with winter in Northeast Ohio: Escape it or embrace it. Last week, I suggested a way to escape it, briefly and cheaply. Today I’m highlighting a way to embrace it.

The Fight the Frost Festival is happening from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, at Cleveland Metroparks’ CanalWay Center in Cuyahoga Heights.

The free festival will offer indoor and outdoor activities that are being marketed as cures for cabin fever. Outdoor activities will include snowshoeing and snow play (if there is enough snow). Indoor activities will include carpet skating using old tissue boxes, making crafts and enjoying hot cocoa.

You’ll forgive people who are hoping for some snow next weekend. They need enough to hold all the outdoor events the festival offers, but not so much that the whole thing gets canceled.

There’s no need to register for the festival. Just show up and hope that the right amount of snow does too.

Little Chickadees

My original plan was to write a blog post about hand-feeding chickadees based on firsthand experience. Unfortunately, life interfered. So I’m punting.

If you want to try it — and I still do — there’s an opportunity through the Cleveland Metroparks for a few more weeks. The Brecksville Nature Center is presenting Hand-Feed a Chickadee from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays through Feb. 24.

The Metroparks provides the feed and some instruction to lure the birds. As this YouTube video from Canada shows, chickadees will take the black oil sunflower seeds one at a time from your bare hand. That’s bare, as in no gloves. Let’s hope it's warm enough in these parts to make feeding the little guys a pleasant experience.

You also can hand-feed chickadees at some other spots in Northeast Ohio, including The West Woods in Geauga County.

Groundhog Day

I don’t care whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow tomorrow or not. The same goes for Buckeye Chuck. We’re going to have at least six more weeks of winter in Greater Cleveland.

But even nonbelievers can enjoy a Groundhog Day celebration tomorrow at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The University Circle institution is holding Groundhog Fun Day, which is free with regular museum admission. The event begins at 10 a.m. and includes appearances by the museum’s own Thistle the whistlepig at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.

General admission is $17 for adults 19 and older, but there are ways to save on that fee.

Thistle isn’t the only animal you can observe there. Visit the Perkins Wildlife Center to see wildlife including foxes, owls and bobcats. That also is included in the museum’s admission fee.

Winter Getaway

Photo by Erik Drost

Now that winter has turned into WINTER in Northeast Ohio, we’re kind of over it. Forecasts say tomorrow’s high temperature in Cleveland will be 1 degree below zero. That’s not a typo, unfortunately.

You can escape the weather for a while without getting on a plane or even driving very far. The Rockefeller Park Greenhouse offers a reprieve from the current not-so-great outdoors. There are colorful plants and flowers, warmth and light, things that are in short supply this time of year.

Besides those amenities, the greenhouse offers free admission and free parking. It's at 750 East 88th St., off I-90’s MLK Drive exit, and its phone number is 216-664-3103.

You might just stay in tomorrow if you can manage it. But you can visit the greenhouse another time. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

While you're in the area, there's another place nearby where you can view some flora. Orchid Mania is at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle through March 10. It's not free, however, unless you're a CBG member or a child age 2 or younger.

All Aboard!

Did they say that on Cleveland’s streetcars? Probably not. I was born after the city’s streetcar era, but for several years I lived in New Orleans, where the streetcars have been running for more than 150 years. I don’t recall ever hearing an “All aboard” call on those cars.

My parents used to talk about riding Cleveland’s streetcars, which made their last trip in the early 1950s. As the population moved to the suburbs and more people began driving, the streetcars became obsolete. I liked riding the streetcars in New Orleans and I think I would have liked riding them here.

Although I’ll never get that chance, I can take a trip back in time Saturday, Feb. 2, at Cleveland Public Library’s downtown branch. The library is showing a 2017 documentary called “Moving Places: Streetcar City” and presenting a talk with the film’s director, Brad Masi. The free program will be from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium.

The film will reveal the dark side of the streetcars’ history and their continuing influence on Greater Cleveland. Maybe you can watch the film elsewhere, but seeing it for free and hearing from the director sounds like quite an opportunity.