A friend came to visit us and after eating homemade Belgian waffles I suggested I take her and my family to Pod Meadow, which I had discovered on a walk with Transition earlier in the week. The weather was a balmy 55F and only partially overcast. Pod Meadow is an amazing conservation area in my …
Category Archives: nature study
Edible Wild Plants Walk with John Root, and Homegrown Mallow
John Root conducted an Edible Wild Plants Walk at the organic Lindentree Farm in nearby Lincoln yesterday evening and I was there. I learned that that weed, of which I pulled thousands from the old compost heap, is Lamb’s Quarters, that it is absolutely yummy and nutritious and grew itself for free and without my …
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That Old Buttercup, and Friendly Fungi
I’ve always been fascinated by evolution in all its aspects (or at least those I can comprehend) but, I realize now, for different reasons than some if not most people. Usually people’s  interest in evolution is in a theory of advancement, even perfection. These people reach for the light, like the  plants that developed vascular systems …
Botany in a Day
My copy of Botany in a Day by Thomas Elpel arrived yesterday and I am hooked. Clearly written, humorous but without fluff and to the point, tightly structured, and beginning in the beginning and ending with the end. Just the way I like my books on the structure and evolution of plants. I plan to …
This Year’s Robins Nest
Every Spring, since we’ve been here, we’ve had a Robin’s nest near the house. That’s why we call the place Robin Hill – plus it has a little bit of Robin Hood in it. Year One (2008) they chose the rafters of the carport and Year Two they chose the nook next to Year One’s …
Wild Is Old (Owls)
The other night my birdwatching neighbor came over to tell me there are is Barred Owl (Strix Varia) nesting in the trees behind our property and that I should listen for its calls. That evening, there it was, that typical “Who Cooks For You” call. By the time we got the mike out there, the …
Fisher Cat?
I heard the sound again and this time we ran out to record it. It was further away and it sounded a little different from last time – less catlike – but though the “words” are different, the voice seems the same (to the one in my memory). In any case, if you can tell …
Of Calcium in the Soil and Plants – Part 8
You guessed it: it’s time for another episode in the Calcium in the Soil and Plant series! Take heart: we’re getting close to the end (maybe only one more part to go?). Actually, it took me so long to post on this again because this one took me a long time to figure out. If …
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Some Quick Notes Before I Dissapear for a Few Days
Friends are coming to visit for a couple of days, and I doubt I will have the time, or the inclination, to interrupt the fun we always have to post here. But before I go, a few notes: ~ Turns out that the bobcat I heard a couple of weeks ago was most likely a …
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Of Calcium in the Soil – Part 7
This is already the seventh part in a series on how calcium and other nutrients get into the soil and then into plants. Here we finally meet the plant roots, and investigate how they take up water. Click to read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4, part 5 and part 6. ~ …