Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Month: June 2020

  • The Sweet Smell of Milkweed

    Its flowers are very flagrant and when in season, they fill the woods with their sweet exhalations and make it agreeable to travel in them, especially in the evening. ~Peter Kalm, Swedish scientist, on Common Milkweed, 1750’s I don’t really remember how long ago it was that I spread some Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) seeds… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Frills, No Frills

    It is almost impossible to think of something no one has thought of before, but it always possible to add different frills. ~Isaac Asimov Friday morning when I went out the basement door to fill the bird feeders, a fuzzy blob on the window caught me eye. I leaned over and saw this strange-looking moth.… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Day 1

    There is beauty to be found in the changing of the Earth’s seasons, and an inner grace in honouring the cycles of life. ~Jack Cornfield A recent post discussed the eclosure of several Cecropia Moths that had spent the winter with us as cocoons. There was a mated pair when I found them that morning.… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Posing

    Good bug and bad bug Holy pose or killer strike Survival instinct ~G.S. Romero I was working in my shop yesterday when I saw something skitter across one of the work tables. I went over and looked, and found two baby mantids. I carried them outside and released them. A few minutes later, a couple… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Eclosure

    You do not just wake up and become the butterfly. Growth is a process. ~Rupi Kaur Eclosure = the emergence of an insect from the pupa case, or of a larvae from the egg… Nature is always providing examples of remarkable survival and transformation. Witnessing eclosure is one of those magical things to me (must… Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn