Category: Natural History
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Discoveries
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~Mark Van Doren Melissa was producing a short video on trees as part of her museum educational offerings for teachers when she made a fascinating discovery. While filming the segment, she was encouraging folks to observe trees in their neighborhood and look for interesting things… Read more…
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Still Hanging
Red is the ultimate cure for sadness. ~Bill Blass I’ve been working in the shop on a project and, as was the case last week, the tanagers are still at it, although the mulberry supply is dwindling fast. I am surprised at how tolerant they are as I walk to and from the shop door,… Read more…
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Mulberry Moments
Green gives and red receives. Nature is colour coded! ~Sonali Mohan Some of you may have known him, and, even if you didn’t, you may have one of his bluebird boxes in your yard. Jack Finch started a non-profit, Homes For Bluebirds, to help restore his beloved Eastern Bluebird to the skies of the southeast.… Read more…
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Transformation
We delight in the beauty of a butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou Remember how excited I was to finally photograph a chrysalis of a Falcate Orangetip butterfly in that post a few days ago? Well, I kept watch on the remaining caterpillars, hoping to… Read more…
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Flower Parts: The Iris’ Have It
In the Spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin’s breast;In the Spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest; In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson I’ve been meaning to take a look at this… Read more…
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Success
To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work. ~Mary Oliver I imagine many of you already suspect me to be, shall we say, a nature nerd. This post probably will prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. You may recall a post a few weeks back where I photographed a pair of… Read more…
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Beginning as Poop
Question: What is the white stuff in bird poop? Answer: That is bird poop, too. ~Kurt Vonnegut This is an update to an image I posted a week or so ago about new beginnings in the yard this spring. I found and photographed an egg of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on a Tulip Poplar leaf… Read more…
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Singing in the Rain
I’m happy again I’m singin’ and dancing in the rain I’m dancing and singin’ in the rain ~Lyrics from Singing in the Rain by Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown I will admit to not quite feeling that happy to wake up to the downpour this morning, but somebody did. At least, they seemed happy… Read more…
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Suet Sampler
I don’t feed the birds because they need me; I feed the birds because I need them. ~Kathi Hutton Sunday was a gray, chilly day here in the woods and the birds were quite active at the feeders. One group of birds, in particular, had my attention, the gorgeous Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have… Read more…
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Warbler Watching
The real jewel of my disease-ridden woodlot is the prothonotary warbler … The flash of his gold-and-blue plumage amid the dank decay of the June woods is in itself proof that dead trees are transmuted into living animals, and vice versa. ~Aldo Leopold This final post on our recent swamp trip is about one of… Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 