-
Emergence
“Paging Dr. Kinsey, paging Dr. Kinsey! Gall wasp emergence on Henry Street…” Before he went into human sexuality in a big way, pride-of-Hoboken Alfred Kinsey was a specialist in gall wasps, a vast and largely unknown kingdom, at least to us non-specialists. Back in early February, I posted about two species of gall wasps on…
-
Everywhere
Nature is everywhere, and representations of nature are likewise. This is one of Deborah Brown’s mosaics at Houston Street, part of a work called “Platform Diving,” which envisions the station underwater — not so hard to do anymore — with turtles, dolphins, and this octopus swimming through the old rattle and roll.This I found in…
-
We are here only a moment
Green-Wood Cemetery, like the city at large, lost a mess of trees during Sandy. One of them was this giant, which was also the home of a Red-tailed hawk nest for several years. Judging from Facebook, these pins were probably put in by the Cemetery’s tree specialist, Adam Rychlicki, who has been doing this sort…
-
Beechwood
Looks like something you’d find along the banks of the Withywindle, doesn’t it?
-
Flushed Apps
What a fascinating life cycle! After their soft and spongy innards are consumed by female Homo sapiens, these indestructible exoskeleton-sheaths journey through the social network of the sewer system. (Males H. not so sapiens do sometimes use them, although judging from HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, only in a metaphoric sense.) Ubiquitous on our beaches,…
-
Bark Question
Interesting bark in Prospect Park. I don’t know what kind of tree this is. Any ideas?
-
Urban Myth Busting
“Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?” Well, yes, and now so have you. After all, they do not spontaneously rise out of nothing fully feathered as adult birds. I have seen the young ‘uns both in the nest and recently fledged, and, as in this unfortunate case, dead. Yup, the Rock Pigeons (Columba livia)…
-
Breakout!
Peekaboo. The magnolias are busting out of their winter furs right now in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
-
Spring spider
Last week, on the first day of spring, a spider found itself in the tub.An American House Spider (I think), Parasteatoda tepidariorum. I got close with the camera and somehow brushed a line of silk, so that when I moved away, I inadvertently pulled the spider with me: it danced like a tiny puppet at…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Backyard and Beyond 