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Raptor Wednesday
Journey around an adult Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). The bird flew low over a veritable herd of Golden-crowned Kinglets, more than I’ve ever seen before, scattering them hither and yon, before perching not so high off the ground. The brick-red tail of the year-old-plus bird shows very nicely in the sun here. Take heart: Bush…
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With a Wild Surmise
Tillamook Head was the southern-most reach along the Oregon coast of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery in 1806. Captain Clark came in search of a beached whale and called the view here “the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes ever surveyed.”This is now Ecola State Park. The sea-stacks in the distance are…
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Setting Moon
About half an hour ago, the Moon set behind the Watchung Mountains of New Jersey. Thus was the view from my nest atop the Harbor Hill Moraine of Brooklyn, as mediated by my hand-held digital camera. The planets roll on. Meanwhile, here on Earth, Donald Trump has hired the white suprematist Steve Bannon as his…
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Pitcher Plant
One of the Sarracenia pitcher plants at NYBG; they’ve at least 7 American species in the Native Garden, though only one, S. purpurea, is native to New York. Something’s blocking the tube here, but this moth still can’t seem to get out. No, this isn’t a metaphor for the times. But, speaking of natives: my people came to…
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Oregonia
There’s your beautiful world, NW edition. Here’s Masha Gessen, an old hand at autocracy, on surviving Trumpism, very necessary reading now.
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Bronx River Dreams
Knowing the new regime is Republican is enough to know that the environment will be under assault. The air we breath, the water we drink, the soil that feeds us ~ it’s all real estate to these folks. Trump made many scattershot promises and threats, and his M.O. is blustery bullshit ~ his scriptwriter calls…
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Giganteum
Seeds of the Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow, and the largest trees in the world from these itty-bitty little seeds. Speaking of interesting facts, did you know that 3/4s of all Americans DID NOT VOTE for Donald Trump? In fact, fewer of them voted for him than for the Democratic candidate. But, you…
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Woodcock Wednesday
Scolopax minor, the American Woodcock, blending in with the leaves. A lesson for today? Blend with the leaves, probe with the bill, and resist!
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Zounds!
Black Tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica, in all its autumnal glory.
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The Riddle of the Trees
So the NYC Street Tree Map is now available on-line and it looks amazing. Excitedly, I went to my corner of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Uh-oh. The trees right outside my window are Hackberries (Celtis), but they’re both mapped as Hawthorns (Crataegus). Leaves. The really distinctive bark. It so happened that I passed a pair of…
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Backyard and Beyond 