I have not been posting very regularly because I have been so quietly busy. There were preparations for the fabulous Bridge of Flowers Plant sale which went off on Saturday without a hitch. I think we had 36 plants left over. Out of over 1300! On Sunday we hosted the Presentation of Elliott (in the plaid suit) and celebrated. And celebrated! Monday was just one thing after another and yesterday, in the heat, I was out of the…
This opossum has been a regular evening visit to our compost pile. I don't think it is heating up at this time of the year but at least s/he is loading up on nutrituous peels. ADDENDUM - I had forgotten that oppossums are Marsupials - just like kangaroos. Only smaller, of course. Lots of fascinating information about oppossums here from the National Oppossum Society.
The first thing Cynthia Boettner had to explain to me about the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge is that the Refuge consists of the 7.2 million acres of the Connecticut River Watershed that runs from the far reaches of New Hampshire, through Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut before it exits in Long Island Sound. That is an enormous charge and responsibility. As Boettner explained how she works to monitor, control and eradicate invasive plant…
Beavers have been working this area out on Rte 8A and now the water has risen nearly to the road. The pond has become quite large and there is more. It's hard to see the steps of the dam below the beaver pond but the water is rushing here. And here is evidence that work continues. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
I think the black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes) is really pretty and I have never complained that it eats so much of my dill. How unlike the Giant swallowtail butterfly caterpillar I showed yesterday. However they both have the forked osmeterium that they exhibit when they are provoked and alarmed. It sends out a bad smell to discourage predators. I got to see what I thought was a forked tongue when I was trying to put my…
Some creatures will do anything to keep from getting eaten by a bird! Great camouflage Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes). For more Wordlessness on Wednesday click here.
Frank, a natural creature, is red in tooth and claw. He has caught a few of the many rabbits that have been marauding my garden, and gardens all over Heath this year, but he doesn't usually bring them in doors. This rabbit was mortally wounded. It was amazing that it had so much energy to run around the kitchen. I went out to cut flowers for an arrangement for church and I became the prey. I got…
Deer have come and gone in my garden. Our gardens (and house) are essentially in the middle of a large field bordered by woodland. The deer population crosses the field and goes down to our Frog Pond. Very beautiful when they are not hungry and there is plenty of forage. But are they satisfied? Earlier in the spring I did not see any deer in the garden and I thought perhaps I had planted so many deer resistant…
As Athol celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Athol Bird and Nature Club celebrates the gardens of Athol, 12 in 12 a self-guided tour of 12 outstanding gardens on Sunday, July 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Four themes dominate this tour: the drama of glorious gardening and natural rock, the surprise of secret treasures, the bounty of home vegetable gardens and locally grown food, and the ecology of gardens that appeal to birds, butterflies and other…
For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.