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Category Archives: environment
Garlic Mustard: The Time is Ripe
Time to get rid of it. Garlic mustard. Sounds tasty, doesn’t it? It’s a pretty little wildflower with lovely white blossoms. The leaves have an attractively scalloped edge, and a savory garlic taste, a fantastic addition to salads, quiche, and … Continue reading
Posted in edible, environment, leaves, plant parts, seeds, spring, Uncategorized
Tagged garlic mustard, non-native plants. invasive plants
4 Comments
A Little Street Art
A while ago I was driving down a street in Albany, NY and happened to see this flash of red in the distance. I’m always a sucker for street art, so I had to do a U-turn and take a … Continue reading
The Crow Show
They start moving as the sun begins to go down. The first birds are so far away they look like grains of pepper against the gray sky. The crows are heading into Amsterdam for their nightly jamboree. Amsterdam, NY, like … Continue reading
Posted in birds, environment, Uncategorized, wildlife
Tagged amsterdam, crow census, crow roosts, crows, ny
5 Comments
The Long Brown Path: Minneriya National Park
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road… Free, the world before me The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune Henceforth I whimper no … Continue reading
The Future of Elephants
This is my favorite moment in Sri Lanka. When I went to Sri Lanka, I didn’t know much about the country. But I knew that, more than anything else, I wanted to see one of my favorite animals: elephants. Wild elephants, in … Continue reading
Posted in environment, sri lanka, wildlife
Tagged asian elephants, human-elephant conflict, sri lanka elephants
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To Feed a Mockingbird
Another day, another parking lot. Now this might not look like a National Park or anything. But I drove into this parking lot in Guilderland, NY the other day, parked, and sat there thinking about nothing in particular for a … Continue reading
Posted in birds, environment, great ideas, plant parts, seeds, wildlife, winter
Tagged birds overwinter, cottonwood, mockingbird, pokeweed, wild grape
4 Comments
Red Orange Yellow Day
It’s the last day of January. The dead of winter. Long ago, I had a terrific boss who insisted that every year the staff celebrate Red Orange Yellow Day. I’m not sure if he made it up, or if there … Continue reading
Celandine: A Cozy Microhabitat
This little green plant is thriving, as so many weeds do, in the crack between brick and blacktop. Somehow a seed got in there, and found enough soil and moisture to sustain life. The dainty scalloped leaves are a non-native wildflower … Continue reading
Posted in environment, leaves, plant parts, Uncategorized, winter
Tagged celandine, microhabitat, winter weeds
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War and Seaweed
Sorry, this has absolutely nothing to do with botany. Several years ago, I wrote a book for young people on a weird and totally obscure topic: a little known historical incident that happened during the weird and totally obscure War … Continue reading
Posted in environment, photos
Tagged Invasion of Sandy Bay, Rockport Massachusetts, War of 1812 history
5 Comments
Hey hey, ho ho, Hydrofracking has to go!
Today I went to an anti-fracking rally at the Empire State Plaza in Albany NY. I almost didn’t go—it’s not like I don’t have a hundred and seventeen other things to do, and besides I knew I would never find a … Continue reading
Unmowed 