mthew
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I Dream of Winter
Winter this year consisted of two brief cold snaps and a couple of snowfalls. One storm was substantial, but it had no follow-through, and was preceded by spoiling absurdities of municipal and media hype. Yesterday, when I took this photo on Union Street, we’d had a little bit of snow, but it was mostly gone…
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6th Anniversary Highlights
Just a smattering of posts from the 1,925 I’ve published since March 3rd, 2010. That time a Bald Eagle broke the branch in Green-Wood. The Ladybug Who Came Home, but didn’t stay. The Case of the Headless Mouse, A Central Park Mystery. Yeah, we got whales: a big-winged New Englander in the Bight. Ouroboros. Some…
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In the beginning
Originally posted on Backyard and Beyond: “We must tackle and grasp the larger, encompassing themes of our universe, but we make our best approach through small curiosities that rivet our attention — all those pretty pebbles on the shoreline of knowledge.” — Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life Chrysemys picta
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Atlantic Sturgeon
I recently added this reduction print by Lisa Studier to my natural history art collection. This is not a bad representation of the colors of the original: the combination of blue fish in purply water on black paper is winning. I once saw a yard-long dead Sturgeon on the Far Rockaway beach. It was all…
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Honey Bee
Spotted my first Honey Bee of the year on the sidewalk by the bus stop, on the sunny side of the street. (Shadow provided by me for better definition in the photo.) Crocuses are out and willows have cracked open their buds to reveal the fur within. You don’t need a Farmer’s Almanac to tell…
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Pigeon Hawk
Originally posted on Backyard and Beyond: A really nice and extended look at a Merlin (Falco columbarius) yesterday in Green-Wood. The bird gave me the big, beady eyes, too.These falcons are known for perching for a long period of time, eyes on the lookout for the prize. The surroundings were busy with Blue Jays and…
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Sweet Spot Soured
Neither too close nor too far from the sun, Earth has been described as a “Goldilocks planet” because it’s just right. The term is also used for similar planets, those of the over 2000 exoplanets now discovered that are situated just right, too. More formally, planets in sweet spot orbits are in the “circumstellar habitable…
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It’s No 2015
Last winter, the Bald Eagles were thick in the air up the Hudson at Croton Point. This winter, which has been absurdly mild, not so much. The rivers aren’t frozen further north, so there’s no reason for these fish-eaters to pile up further south. We did see 1-3 adult Baldies yesterday over a span of…
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One Tough Naturehood
At 4th Avenue and 38th Street, where the D train curves towards Coney and emerges down below for two-cars length of light, this enormous sign has lately appeared. Subway cut-friendly Ailanthus, Paulownia, and Norway Maple: my neighborhood has trees, but let’s be real, some trees do not a forest make. It’s definitely got “naturehood,” though…
Backyard and Beyond 