In my last blog, I told you how this website would be nowhere without the work from Mark Roberts and Lara Donovan of GoWeb1. And I shared Mark’s photos with you that he took when he was on safari in Tanzania. Today, the first thing I want to share with you is a photo Lara […]
The leaves, stems, and the tubular calyxes just below the flowers of this Royal Catchfly plant are hairy and a bit sticky. Insects can get trapped – hence its common name of catchfly. This plant is not related to the carnivorous plants like the Pitcher Plant we find in bogs and wetlands in North America […]
Mark Roberts and Lara Donovan are the heart and soul of GoWeb1. They not only administer this website, but they also hold my hand, teach, encourage me through all my ideas, and they make all my changes. And keep in mind that technology and I have an uneasy relationship at best, so this has not […]
I did not know this shrub until I designed and developed the native plant garden at Rock Springs Nature Center in Decatur, IL. Besides being a formal garden of landscaped beds of only plants native to central Illinois, it was also a demonstration garden to show homeowners and gardeners how native plants could be used. […]
When I saw the midnight moonless sky atop Sagehen Hill I knew I had made the right decision traveling that night. The endless layers of stars held encrypted all the secrets of the past and somehow knew the future as well. Resting without ever sleeping, the long-awaited silence was music to my ears. The early […]
This past February, we had a Pileated Woodpecker visit our backyard for 3 days in a row and then it did not return. These crow-sized woodpeckers live across the lake from us in an over 200-acre riparian woodland*. Our Pileated flew straight across the lake from this riparian woodland and landed on the trunk of […]
The birds are having an unsettled time in our yard this week. This is a week of severe thunderstorms, high winds, and tornado warnings. Cleon and I have our emergency bag all ready for the storm shelter we have in our basement. Water, snack, laptops, cell phones. Today is the worst forecast – severe tornadoes […]
Spring migration followed by nesting season is just the best time in our yard to sit and watch birds. We have a patio and fire pit close to our small lake and as it is on the north side of the house, it is always shaded. Perfect for these late afternoons and evenings. If there […]
Cleon and I have to get up early these days to spend time in the garden. Neither of us are as tolerant of heat and humidity as we once were. But this morning was simply beautiful. Clear blue sky, only a slight breeze and at 7AM, it was 53ºF. About 8AM, I spent some time […]