Continuing from my last post: Janelle lives here in central Illinois and showed me this video on her phone. I was simply amazed! She lives at the end of a cul-de-sac in a small town. Her house sits on top of a steep hill of grass and prairie plants that she mows. At the bottom […]
last summer I rescued these babies from a bed I was being paid to weed, which once again perplexed me- how could someone consider these beauties weeds? not want green hearts and purple flowers in her bed of catnip and irises under the pink crepe myrtle? I brought them home thrown haphazardly into my 5-gallon […]
Spring is a wonderful time to look for and observe birds. Our migrating ducks, grebes, mergansers, and cormorants have started to arrive on our small lake. They rest here generally about 2-3 days, sometimes a week, and then they are off. Here are a few photos of what we are seeing. And yes, it is […]
April is a great time to put up feeders for hummingbirds, orioles and bluebirds. These birds are primarily insect eaters in spring and summer, but all love fruit any time of the year – or as in the case of hummingbirds, sugary water. First, the orioles. If you live surrounded by big trees, many of […]
April is almost here – and in my opinion, this is one of the best times to look for and observe birds. They are migrating, setting up their nesting territories, mating, and even beginning to start nests. And all of this is done right out in the open where we can watch. Even birds who […]
Long ago, somewhere in the eastern deciduous forests, the elements necessary to produce new plant species “realized” that, if they could just manage to grow, blossom, and set seed quickly enough, they could take advantage of several crucial things: the abundant sunshine that reaches the forest floor before the trees leaf out; the plentiful rains […]
The clematis vines we see everywhere are hybrids and cultivars that have been created by botanists and plant hybridizers. For example, a common clematis we can see in so many yards on trellises and twining around mailboxes is Clematis ‘Jackmani’ which is a cross between Clematis lanuginosa and Clematis viticella – neither of these parent […]
Most of us know that the American Chestnut was once a common tree throughout the Appalachian Mountains, but because of a blight, the tree is now almost extinct. What I did not know was how much work is being carried out to restore this tree and that there are two sides to this. One side […]
I find the refreshing gifts of nature so helpful. Going to the porch and sitting out there in the sunshine, looking into the trees – especially the arborvitae now and in any season, and gazing at blooming trees and seeing their contrasts. Listening to the birds, appreciating the ever-changing sky, taking time to daydream, stretch, […]