Category: Natural History
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Whistle While You Eat
Forget your trouble Try to be Just like the cheerful chickadee And whistle while you work ~Alternative lyrics to the Disney song from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs A brief post today to share a remarkable scientific study on an unusual caterpillar behavior. In an earlier blog, I mentioned the unique sound-producing capabilities of Read more…
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Sexy Slugs
The mating of the leopard slug is one of the most sensuous film sequences you’ll ever see in your life. ~ Sir David Attenborough The bizarre happenings just outside our door continue to astonish me. As is often the case, this discovery came while I was out on a completely different mission. I had several Read more…
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Fall Herps
One of the most beneficial and valuable gifts we can give to ourselves in this life: is allowing ourselves to be surprised! It is okay if life surprises you. It’s a good thing! ~ C. JoyBell C. The busy schedule at home and work have left little time for getting out and about these past Read more…
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A Fondness for Caterpillars
And what’s a butterfly? At best, He’s but a caterpillar, drest. ~John Grey Another season of caterpillar finds and larval programs is winding down. We have been searching high and low for larvae and, consequently, caring for a menagerie of crawling critters for several weeks now. My caterpillar programs have ended, and Melissa’s will be Read more…
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Hiking Among Giants
Walk in the Sequoia woods at any time of the year and you will say they are the most beautiful and majestic on earth. ~John Muir I am far behind in posting about recent events, sightings and travels. But I guess that is a good problem to have – doing and seeing so much that Read more…
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Sweeping Grass and Rolling Logs
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~Mark Van Doren We had an adventure on one of the last weeks of summer camp at the Garden. It was all about discoveries – trees, dragonflies, aquatic macroinvertebrates, field and forest insects and animal tracks and signs. A highlight for me was sharing the Read more…
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Garden Ramblings
A garden must combine the poetic and the mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy. ~Luis Barragan If I am going to be working, it may as well be in a beautiful place like the North Carolina Botanical Garden! Just walking to and from my car offers glimpses of beauty and wonder every day. Read more…
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Backyard Rambles
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. ~William Butler Yeats There are times in this blog when I don’t seek to tell a detailed story of the life of some natural creature, but simply to share the awe-inspiring scenes that surrounds us, in this case our backyard Read more…
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Catching Up
You are surrounded by gifts every living moment of every day. Let yourself feel appreciation for their presence in your life and take the time to acknowledge their splendor. ~Lou G. Nungesser It has been a whirlwind summer thus far with work keeping me a little busier than I care to be at times. I Read more…
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Plight of the Polistes
Let us turn elsewhere, to the wasps and bees, who unquestionably come first in the laying up of a heritage for their offspring. ~Jean-Henri Fabre, entomologist, 1823-1915 We had a wasp sting two weeks ago at summer camp. The wasps had a nest inside the locking mechanism for one of our pedestrian gates, and when Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 