I have had twinleaf in my yard for two years now, and they seem to be doing well except for one thing – they have not yet flowered. The soil composition may be to blame for this – after all, the specimens were grown on a native plants farm in Western Massachusetts. They normally thrive […]
Archive for December, 2010
Jeffersonia diphylla (twinleaf)
Posted in Flora, Interesting on December 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on December 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This member of the Saxifragaceae family is an excellent shade plant for the woodland garden. I have planted seven of these over the last two years, and they are already starting to form clumps. The species prefers moist and rich soils, but it seems to tolerate the poor and dry Cape Cod soil very well. […]
First storm of the season
Posted in Rants & Raves on December 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Winter weather is finally here. It came announced but underestimated. They said we’d get some flurries, maximum accumulation of an inch or so, maybe. It would have been nice to know the real character of this storm before I left for work this morning.  In hindsight, I would not have left at all. Four hours of mostly […]
Anticipating the catch
Posted in Edible, Fauna, Recipe on December 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I guess there is no better way to jinx oneself: Talking about what to do with the catch before the fishing trip even starts. I should know better, since my only fishing outing to date, a few weeks ago, merely produced some tentative nibbles from who-knows-what and one Perca flavescens (yellow perch). While the perch […]
Bearberry
Posted in Edible, Flora, Recipe on December 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I will have to see whether the common bearberry(Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) will thrive this time around. Last season, I had a couple of these plants tucked away in a no-sun part of the yard, and although they flowered and sprouted new leaves, they quickly died in the fall. I suspect too much moisture (rain run-off and […]
Recipes for a rainy day using Mercenaria mercenaria
Posted in Edible, Interesting, Recipe on December 13, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Sunday morning low tide proved to be another gem. The oysters were still abundant, although a bit smaller than previous weeks. A half a peck got me about 50. There was a lot more work involved when it came to the littlenecks and quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria – different names for different sizes) – I got […]
Holly Jolly Xmas
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on December 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Ilex opaca (holly shrub or tree) is fairly prevalent on Cape Cod. I have two cultivated specimens and a few that have propagated naturally. Long Pasture, which is not too far from where I live, has some very nice mature (ok, old) examples of this plant. The most striking features are the obvious evergreen foliage […]
Bioswales
Posted in Interesting, Rants & Raves on December 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
With all the problems involving run-off and high nitrates in the coastal zone, I wonder if retro-fitting some of our yards and town properties to include bioswales and raingardens would be helpful. Some of the blame may go to septic systems, to be sure. But Cape Cod is not immune to our unfortunate desire to […]
Lost and stranded – the pitfalls of overstaying one’s welcome
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on December 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Another unusual visitor to our shores. And another unfortunate victim of the Cape’s geography. This 8-foot ocean sunfish (Mola mola) was found on a Brewster beach on December 5th, 2010. Photograph courtesy of New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA) Just as we are seeing with turtles, other sea creatures such as this ocean sunfish are […]
Cimaphila maculata (spotted wintergreen)
Posted in Flora, Interesting on December 6, 2010 | 2 Comments »
As mentioned before, I have a cluster of spotted wintergreen (sometimes called striped wintergreen or pipsissewa) in the yard. Although it is widely distributed on the East coast it is considered rare in New England. It propagates by runners and by seed, although the latter method seems to be more effective after wildfires, something I […]