I have to admit, I was one of the people the blog post below rants about. I simply did not care about nature for most of my life. Places without lots of people seemed “boring”. But two circumstances changed that for me. When deciding where to travel I used to only consider cities – places where I […]
Archive for the ‘Interesting’ Category
Who cares about nature anyway?
Posted in Guest blogger, Interesting, Rants & Raves on September 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Deadly patience
Posted in Interesting on September 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This nursery web spider (Pisaura mirabilis) is patiently awaiting dinner on the petals of a blackeyed susan. Woodland garden, August 2011
Peepers are not just for spring
Posted in Interesting on September 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Pseudacris crucifer (spring peeper) waiting for prey on a flower in the woodland garden. August 2011.
Irene
Posted in Interesting, Rants & Raves on August 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Irene hit Cape Cod on Sunday August 28. It was mainly a wind event, taking with it branches and leaves of the white oak and black locust trees. The latter (Robinia pseudoacacia) were decimated, in fact. The trees look like bare pencils with some remnants of the compound leaves. One specimen – my favorite because […]
Coreopsis rosea (pink threadleaf coreopsis)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on August 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This species of coreopsis likes well-drained soil and full sun. It is the only coreopsis with pink flowers (most others are yellow). It is native to 8 states on the East Coast, including Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia. It is endangered or of special concern in most of these places. I have several cultivated coreopsis species, […]
Milkweed critters
Posted in Fauna, Flora, Interesting on August 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The sole reason for adding milkweed to my yard was to attract, and feed, butterflies. The orange flowered butterfly weed has been visited by scores of bees, flies and butterflies, and now that the bloom is waning it is evident that the plant has benefited as well – large seed pods are developing on the […]
Nothing familiar about it… Enallagma civile (familiar bluet damselfly)
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on August 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Despite the fact that the nearest pond is at least a mile or so away, I get many damselflies in my yard. Water is important because damselflies mate over water, either in flight or perched on reeds or other plants. After the mating ritual, the female damselfly lays her eggs on submerged vegetation. The eggs […]
Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Rants & Raves on August 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This vine is native to eastern North America and can be found in roadside hedges here and there on Cape Cod. The highway beautification crews up in the Boston area use this vine to cover the sound barriers along Route 93. It is often planted for its attractive, reddish orange, and sometimes yellow flowers. It […]
Asclepias amplexicaulis (blunt-leaved milkweed)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on August 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Asclepias amplexicaulis is also known as sand milkweed and grows to 3 or 4 feet in height. It has pink flowers like the common milkweed, but the flower cluster is less dense. The distinguishing feature of the plant, however, is the way the leaves are curled or whorled. This milkweed prefers dry soil conditions, and […]
Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on July 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve known about Echinacea, the herbal supplement, since childhood. In Europe it’s been an essential ingredient of several cold and flu medications. Most of the research on the uses and benefits of this plant was done in Europe, Germany in particular. Although there remains some scepticism about the validity of the studies, researchers contest that […]