Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

  • Something to Wash Out The Hate

    If you’re still recovering from the shameless exhibition of fear and loathing that was the finale of washed-out TV personality Donald Trump’s grotesque career — that tirade in search of a balcony, that harangue for a meaner, nastier America — then this one’s for you. Two species of bees, two species of wasps, one skipper……

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  • Stump

    When I spotted Brian Nash Gill’s Woodcut recently, I was intrigued. A few days later I came across this character-laden stump in Green-Wood. Of course, this isn’t a print, it’s just a picture with the “Noir” filter on my iPhone camera.

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  • The Dragons Are Hunting

    The shed exuvia of an Odonata. Dragon- and damselflies spend their larval stage underwater. These voraciously predatory nymphs climb up on reeds and other vertical structures, anchor themselves, and begin to break out and unfurl their wings, harden off, and then take to the air, leaving these ghostly husks behind.A male Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera), our…

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  • Bull

    …Frog (Lithobates catesbeianus). And bull! too, to the repulsive display of nativism, racism, ignorance, and unparalleled mendacity at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

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  • Freshwater

    Originally posted on Backyard and Beyond: I was enjoying the life above the Duckweed (Lemnaceae) recently, marveling that I’ve never seen so many Eastern Amberwings (Perithemis tenera).There were also a few Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis), making more Blue Dashers.A damselfly of unknown provenance was depositing eggs. And then, along the edge of the lake, some…

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  • Milestone Shell

    A milestone: after six and one half years of blogging, I have reached WordPress’s 3GB maximum of free image storage. This is at least one picture a day, probably more on average, for some 2375 days. Wow! Feel free to wander about in the voluminous archives, loosely cataloged by subject… But now I have to…

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  • Pokemon Go This

    If I understand it correctly, the children (of all ages, horrifyingly enough) playing this game are “capturing” virtual cartoons in “real life.” I can’t say I see the appeal. There is entirely too much life to explore in this life, on this world, in this neighborhood. You can’t see the detail in the picture here,…

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  • Cicada Season

    Last Sunday I heard my first annual cicada (Tibicen species*) of the year. It was just a quick stridulation in the native flora garden at NYBG. We didn’t hear the bug again during the hour we explored that summer wonderland. This week, I’ve heard a few cicada bursts in Green-Wood and in Sunset Park, across the…

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  • Water Birds

    A Great Blue Heron in up nearly to its knees. In birds, the knees are very close to the sternum; the next joint down the leg, which most people probably think is the knee, is actually the heel. What you can’t see here are all the dragon- and damselflies going about their business as the…

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