Watch your step!
The winds have changed this past week from north to south. And with this change comes new visitors to the beach. The most obvious are the lines of sea detritus washing up with each successive tide. A mash up of grasses and seaweed lines the beach as would an intricate necklace around the neck of […]
Confusing times
There are some plants that are easily fooled by brief changes in the weather. In my yard, the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) is that plant. When the first hint of warm weather arrives, as it did this past week, the leaves explode with abandon. Every warm day above 50 degrees, these appendages appear to double […]
Skunk alert!
Brisk temperatures seem to come later and later each year. Just last week when I was working outside, the acrid smell of skunk made its way up the hill, something you don’t expect mid-November when skunks are usually in torpor. And its deliverer, perhaps, decided to visit my house the other day as I so […]
Frolicking frogs
Whenever I find an amphibian, like a frog, toad, or salamander, on the grounds I care for it pleases me. It means that I am being a good steward as the lack of these creatures often means there is something wrong with the environment. Happy hopping little ones! 🐸
First woodchuck
A woodchuck is perched on the woodpile underneath the Fringetree surveying the possibilities. The hostas look yummy as does the excess of clover and plantains in my yard and the day lilies in my garden. This could be a long summer.
Bear buffet
Black bear buffet! Well that is what my compost heap became last night as one was spotted in the neighborhood, an increasingly common event. The prospect of egg shells, melon rinds, banana peels and a few rotting vegetables screams Chez Midnight Snack to these meandering omnivores. Every trace of fresh vegetable was gone leaving only […]
Beaver den
I recently discovered a beaver lodge on Turtle Pond, which is hundreds of yards from my home. This pond is undergoing extreme eutrophication as half of it is filled with reeds, organic material, small trees and bushes. When I moved to Ridgefield over 30 years ago, I would take my daughters fishing here to catch […]
Looking for lizards
One of my favorite sightings when I am in the Keys are iguanas. These colorful invaders from Central and South America are highly invasive and typically litter and chomp on the landscape. But this past Christmas, the Keys had record low temperatures, which killed large numbers of these reptiles. So in my daily bicycle rides, […]
Biking the Blue Hole
Juana and I decide to take a short road trip to Big Pine Key with our bikes. Big Pine Key is known for its Key deer, which are very tiny and cute, as well as the Blue Hole, which is an old limestone quarry that now fills with fresh water. This key was hammered by […]
Searching for seafood
The birds are always active looking for a snack regardless of size. Flying high are pelicans, anhingas and ospreys looking for yummy seafood and making a quick and decisive dive to capture a morsel. Closer to the ground are sanderlings that scamper in a pack pecking the sand looking for sustenance. Their quick and coordinated […]