Category Archives: Natural History
What seasonal nature signs have you been noticing? Are you keeping tabs on anybody in particular? Do not worry about feeling like a busy-body; it is unlikely the birds or flowers will mind your curiosity. Do you remember last month when you first heard the raspy call of the male phoebe calling, “Fee-bee? Fee-burt!” Did…
Throughout the winter you may have your eye on some of the most well-known year-round resident Passeriformes – also known as perching birds and songbirds. These may include the Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Blue Jay. You may also observe several varieties of woodpeckers including Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, and Pileated. But there may…
“Red and green, together be seen, in the dark times of the year. Red and green, together be seen, to bring us hope and cheer.” Even though the deciduous trees have shed their leaves and the herbaceous plants have died back to their roots and/or sent out their hopes and dreams for future generations in…
If you didn’t feel it already, November marks summer’s end with the holiday Samhain (pronounced Sow-wen). This is the time of year when you bring in the last of your harvest – all that will sustain you through the dark months ahead – hopefully. What are the things you need to help you weather the…
What is in a name The word “turkey” first was applied to the large ground-dwelling American bird in England in the 1550s because it was (mis)identified with a specie of guinea fowl that came from Spain by way of North Africa, which was at the time under the Ottoman (Turkish) empire. The name “turkey” stuck…
July and August is a perfect time to gather flowers for food. There is an abundance of wild and garden edibles. Wake up your green salad with a splash of nutrients-rich color! Make a “Flower Petal Salad.” Walk around the lawn, garden and fields, collecting such flowers as bee balm, day lily, red clover, yellow…
Hearken to Avalon 