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Tuliptree
The way a tuliptree bud unfurls with exploratory leaf at the ready…. A big question around here in the epicenter is how long the virus lasts. The report that it was found on one of the plague ships over two weeks later is misleading. That was just particles, not active virus. Bits of RNA or…
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I self-isolated the political commentary for a week
but now I’m erupting: I’ve been calling the GOP a death cult for a while now, and lately they’ve only been too happy to show the label isn’t hyperbole. Trump’s fools are swallowing fish-tank cleaners because of his criminal rambling on the TV about chloroquine: a sixty-year-old Phoenix man is now dead and his wife…
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Raptor Wednesday
Through the new year, sightings of Merlins, or at least a Merlin, were pretty regular here from the #ViewFromTheMoraine. Then, after a single sighting in January, nothing until last Saturday in Green-Wood. It could be that I just haven’t spotted any. More likely is that more of them are on the move now and passing…
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Timber! It’s Timberdoodle Season
Saw six on my last excursion out three days ago. As is typical, they saw me first and bolted. Social distance geniuses! Here’s another. A crappy photo, but giving some suggestion of the gorgeous russet belly.
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The View From Here
I hope everybody staying inside as much as possible has something to look at outside. If I may say so, the view from here is one of the best damn ones in the city, especially considering its price. I recently wrote about hawk-watching from the living room for the Clapper Rail. But there are also…
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Sheltering-in-Place
Tucked in. Doorman. Deep embedding. That’s a squirrel snout visible in this floor-through. Two hours later, this Great Blue Heron was still there.
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Midge
Non-biting midge bigger than your average fly, characteristically holding his forelimbs out in front. The feathery antennae are reminiscent of some moths. Probably cold, letting me get the phone camera close up.
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You’ve Heard of Moonrise
Well, this is Cardinal rise… The Cardinals in Green-Wood are going full throttle. There’s is also a local one who likes to sit in a tree in the backyard across the street. He’s a small red speck to the eye, but his cheer-cheer-cheer voice travels. And boy, is that clarion welcome right now! Spring arrived…
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Blooming Now
Red maple. Wych elm. Apple. Cherry. Star magnolia. Ginkgo. Henbit deadnettle. (These are tiny, you’ll need to get down on your knees to see the detail.)
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Raptor Wednesday
If you crossed Rear Window and The Birds… The local American Kestrels making more little falcons. Copulation lasts about ten seconds. Frequency seems to be key. They’ll do it multiple times a day, totaling hundreds of times over the pre-brooding period.
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Backyard and Beyond 