I don’t have nearly enough shelf space for all my books, so they tend to pile up in all the expected places around the house. This is 1/3 of one of the 4 piles on the desk in my office – the top of the tallest pile that threatens to topple over at any moment. … Continue reading Too many books?→
I’m kind of at my wit’s end with trying to figure out what these flowers are. Maybe someone can help? I know, I know, I’ll never learn to key out a plant by cheating this way! This looks like it wants to be some sort of hyacinth, but the leaves are all wrong. These were … Continue reading Get out your wildflower ID books!→
When I was a newly-minted master gardener I went out and bought two great reference books so that I would sound smart when answering questions on the helpline or during community events where we volunteer. My dear friend Debbie likes to tease me that I am never able to answer any of her gardening questions. … Continue reading Books for plant geeks→
My home is filled with books. So many that I often don’t realize what I have here. Sometimes, when searching for a particular book I come across others that I’d forgotten about. This post on Lake Life today reminded me of a treasure. The Burgess Bird Book for Children was originally published in 1919. My … Continue reading An old treasure from my bookshelf→
He who limps is still walking. ~Stanislaw J. Lec I love wandering in the woods to find the first sleeping plants that awaken from the forest floor. It’s something of a rite of spring for me, despite the fact that I no longer have to suffer through a cold northern winter. Many of these spring … Continue reading Wildflowerin’ gone bad→
I’m discovering that “city life”, as it is commonly thought of, is not very much to my liking. There’s no surprise in this for me, really. The pointless traffic and acres of asphalt leave me wanting for home… One perk, though, is that the mass of humanity I live among is a stop on many … Continue reading One thing to love→
My dad’s health had declined so suddenly early in 2004 that he couldn’t live alone any longer and my brothers and I were left scrambling to make arrangements for his care. We also had to figure out what to do with his house and all the stuff in it. The short story is that we … Continue reading My mother’s cookie jar→
“What a needy, desperate thing to claim what’s wild for oneself…” Can a kept hawk ever be a *happy* hawk, I wonder? Falconers will say their birds are well-loved and are cared for properly. I don’t doubt that. Educators who work with non-releasable birds will say that many people who otherwise wouldn’t … Continue reading Fishing the sky→
: ) The 7th Annual New Jersey Meadowlands Festival of Birding is scheduled for next weekend, September 11 and 12th. An urban oasis, the NJ Meadowlands is made up of more than 8,000 acres of wetland habitat and is home to better than 280 species of birds. A designated Important Bird & Birding Area, much … Continue reading A Jersey stare down→
Just me rambling about birds, books, bunnies, or whatever!