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Back to the lake

June 30, 2018 - As a sign of just how chilly the spring and early summer have been, I have not been to the lake until this afternoon. Af...
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Unexpected floral return

June 29, 2018 - My dad, who passed away almost a quarter-century ago, was something of a gardener, and one of his favorite flowers came...
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Rock frame

June 28, 2018 - There were rumors of heavy rain today—not surprisingly, very little actually arrived—so we scheduled a visit to New Have...
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Raven quotes

June 27, 2018 - Stasia was amenable to a hike today. Actually—and this has been something of a surprise from her recent, I-no-longer-wan...
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Snake at a distance

June 26, 2018 - We've been trying, for the past couple of years, to get my eight-year-old granddaughter Stasia off of the bicycle traini...
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Catalpa climax

June 25, 2018 - As I've noted too many times—OK, whined about far too often—it's been a pretty bad year for most flowering plants... exc...
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Monarchs, incoming

June 24, 2018 - A couple of generations past the overwintering congregation in the Mexican highlands, the Monarch butterflies are back o...
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Amazing goats

June 23, 2018 - My now eight-year-old granddaughter Stasia is back at the ranch for the early part of summer and, after a bike trip—she'...
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Botanical yard sale

June 22, 2018 - Summer is officially here and that can only mean one thing: time to get in the car and drive 90-plus miles northwest to...
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Astilbe mystery

June 21, 2018 - I love a good mystery, particularly one that involves insect identification. Usually, however, I manage to solve the mys...
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Harvestman's treat

June 20, 2018 - An old friend of mine wanted some Bloodroot plants for her garden, so I unearthed a few that had made fine seedpods and...
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Maidens among us

June 19, 2018 - I will walk a mile to spot a rarity... in fact, to see a rare fern, I'll walk at least a mile and a half. That's certain...
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Shady character

June 18, 2018 - Once again, luck was with me... really with me. A flash of sunlight on fairly big wings drew my eyes towards a cruising...
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Red-spotted perfection

June 17, 2018 - At first glance, I was sorely tempted to dismiss this little gem as yet another Spicebush Swallowtail, the butterfly spe...
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Partridge food precursor

June 16, 2018 - I'm not sure how the tiny, flowering native vine we call Partridgeberry got its common name—incidentally, there's a divi...
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Study in calico

June 15, 2018 - You never know what you're going to find in a field, and I rarely can resist exploring, even though I'm all too well awa...
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Meager magnificence

June 14, 2018 - No surprise here: it hasn't been a good year for Mountain Laurel flowers. The patch in our yard along the edge of the wo...
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Painted perfection

June 13, 2018 - I was afraid that this was going to be a very mediocre dragonfly season, but, in daily increasing numbers, the odonates...
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Bobs linking

June 12, 2018 - For no particular reason, I decided to give myself a present today and paid an overdue visit to the Miner preserve. My m...
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Shedding prep

June 11, 2018 - When I spotted this medium-sized Garter Snake in a section of flower garden today, I was surprised it didn't flee instan...
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Hovering pro

June 09, 2018 - Every morning when the sun's been shining, I've been greeted by an incredible sight: one or two, but sometimes a small s...
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Life's a beech... fern

June 08, 2018 - One of the great joys of returning to an area over and over again... over the years... is that you begin to know what to...
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Bold beetle

June 08, 2018 - Some discoveries happen on ambitious treks; others occur closer to home. This one, of a beetle known as the Chestnut Bar...
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Spectacular spangles

June 07, 2018 - Today's walking accomplishment was something less than aerobic, and while my heart doctors would, no doubt, tut-tut, my...
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Mini-hummer

June 06, 2018 - With the Dame's Rocket flower heads in full glory, I'm almost obsessively watching the blossom show in the hope that I'l...
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Spike driver

June 05, 2018 - I don't want to sound too one-note, but I'm finding that, all too often, I'm invoking the "spring-that-wasn't" as an exp...
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At the swallowtail bar

June 04, 2018 - It was a banner year for an earlier-spring flowering shrub known as the Spicebush. It was a great 2017 for the plant's s...
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Refuge guardian

June 03, 2018 - I probably should have resolved to stay home and work around the house, but National Trails Day is actually National Tra...
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Posterior perch

June 02, 2018 - Last night, I almost postponed the National Trails Day walk I was scheduled to lead in this morning—the Weather Channel...
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Sez who?

June 01, 2018 - Tomorrow is National Trails Day, and I, of course, am scheduled to lead a public walk, this time to the Avalonia Land Co...
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