Before we built our house, there were two dead Oak trees on the lot that we had to have cut down. They were in the way of where our house was going to sit and seemed like a magnet for lightning. Even knowing that, having them cut down pained me. Now, a dozen years later, … Continue reading Planning Trees
Category: Nature
Recalibrating
I've been quieter than I'd like to be here lately. Last month, my grandmother died. She lived to be 96 (and a half) years old, and died peacefully at home. Her death was not unexpected, but it was still a loss, and in the weeks since, I've been experiencing time in that weird, sometimes-lengthened/sometimes-compressed way … Continue reading Recalibrating
A Charm of Hummingbirds
Last year, at a bird banding at our friends' home, I had the experience of hearing a hummingbird heartbeat against my ear. It was (probably) a once-in-a-lifetime experience and so awe-inspiring that I haven't found the perfect words to convey all my feelings about it yet. What I can say is that that moment sparked … Continue reading A Charm of Hummingbirds
Summer Light Seeking
It's the first week of July and it feels like summer has finally hit. After days and days of cool weather and rain, we went directly into oppressively hot days without hardly any transition. Everything is green and swollen with humidity. We harvested the spring peas and carrots from the kitchen garden. The lilies, daisies, … Continue reading Summer Light Seeking
Scenes from a Burrow Building
Our resident mother chipmunk looks like she's getting ready for a second litter soon. From what we can tell, she's eating about the same amount, but looking a little rounder, and more significantly, she's getting her little paws dirty and undertaking a big renovation on her burrow. She has filled in the previous main entrance … Continue reading Scenes from a Burrow Building
Desire Paths
And so, the grass over here is often longer (and greener!) than it might be elsewhere in the neighborhood. And recently, I’ve noticed that this has a new practical consequence: in a lawn a bit in need of mowing, the garden wildlife’s desire paths become easier to spot.
Graduating Squirrels
It's graduation season, and over the past few days, we've had four young squirrels graduate from their drey to our garden. Their mother (a beautiful, chunky, slightly beleaguered-looking female-- as many a good mother is) has been a regular at our feeders for a while and, last week, she introduced her children to our yard. … Continue reading Graduating Squirrels
People-Watching Animals
Recently, I've started collecting photos of backyard animals watching me watch them. I don't mean our eyes meet across the yard as I'm photographing them going about their foraging/nesting/mating/romping activities; I mean I'm catching them chilling somewhere (usually on a branch or on the fence) expressly checking me out. I spend a fair amount of … Continue reading People-Watching Animals
A Little Death
Today I held one of the chipmunks while it took its last breath, cradled in my hands, my fingertip against its slowing heartbeat. Having so much life in the garden means there's also at least a little death. Sometimes that looks like a shattered eggshell, or a mess of feathers, or a ransacked burrow...and sometimes … Continue reading A Little Death
Phototrophic Field Guide 