The spring peepers (pseudacris crucifer) are singing again. It is a sure sign of spring. I heard them late in the evening from the old flooded basement of the broken down community center. The leftover basement collects water in the spring from melting snow and rain....
I stopped yesterday at one of my favorite rest stops on 35W north of the Twin Cities, but south of Duluth. Behind the garage I have seen thousands of white trillium in previous years. But I was too early this year. Instead I found little white and violet colored May...
When I was growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s, we never saw wild turkeys (Mileagris gallapavo). Now we see them along the road in northern Wisconsin, in my son’s backyard in Roseville, MN and strolling across my daughter’s front yard in West Virginia. Wild turkeys must...
In the beautiful garden that my daughter tends in her backyard, an unusual “bee” was pollinating a daffodil. I rarely see bees attracted to daffodils, but this was a very large pollinator. Looking carefully at the picture she had snapped, we could see that this was...
Those old piles of leaves are hiding treasures. They look like trash to those of us who have been taught to clean up around the edges of our yards. But hidden in those leaves are lots of little animals that need protection for just a few more weeks. Soft wet leaves...
This past week the American Society of Botanical Artists held their online spring conference. It was a pleasure to sit comfortably in my living room and watch very talented botanical artists from many different parts of the world talk about their painting processes....
