-
Not at all sluggish
I know you’ve all been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first slug of the year in the Back 40, my concrete backyard. Well, here it is. (There were probably others, but as mostly nocturnal creatures, they’re hard to see.) The leopard slug, Limax maximus, slime-delivered. Disliked by gardeners, for they eat greens; loved by…
-
Two birds
Near the dog bathing beach at the Upper Pool in Prospect Park, I found a couple of noteworthy birds the other day:The most common bird species in the park is surely the American robin, Turdus migratorius, which you can find on the meadows and in the woods and everywhere in between. This particular one stands…
-
Tentative IDs
Wildness forensics continues: we found this skull in a kettle pond on the top of Highland Park. I think it’s raccoon: note those molars and check out this PDF to see what you think. On Cypress Ave, we found another mammal, this time definitely a raccoon, that was road kill. In nearby Machpelah Cemetery, where…
-
Earth Day
Seedhead in Prospect Park today.
-
Field Trip: Our Sunken Forest
We took our first trip to Highland Park and Ridgewood Reservoir last weekend. Straddling the Brooklyn/Queens border, the park and accidental nature preserve deserve to be better known outside of their surrounding neighborhoods. More about our discoveries in Highland will be in my next post. But what’s all this about a Reservoir and accidental nature…
-
Save the dates
May 1 The Listening Tour. I will be leading a Proteus Gowanus event on May Day at 6:00 a.m., as part of the interdisciplinary gallery and reading room’s Paradise exhibition. We will meet at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. Then we’ll SILENTLY walk through Prospect Park at the crack of dawn to…
-
Meet a beetle
Ah, spring, when a nature nerd’s fancy turns to whatever is found crawling on the inside door frame. This is a varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci. It is one itty-bitty member of the mighty beetle order, being a hair under 1/8″ long. It was devilishly tricky to shoot, with the macro feature and a 15x21mm…
-
Starlings
A pair of starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, on the Nethermead were locked in combat the other day. Literally locked, as one had the other’s legs in its grasp. The fight went on and on, until the captive one either broke free or the captor relented. Then they flew off in the same direction, and it looked…
-
Birds of Macbeth
We saw Cheek By Jowl’s version of Macbeth at BAM yesterday and didn’t like it much. Among other things, the weird sisters’ brew was cut, and the night watchman’s drunken tomfoolery was stunningly mishandled. But I was struck by all the birds. In fact, Shakespeare is full of birds. These are the birds named in…
-
Spring screen
Baby, we were born to fold. For a miniature Japanese-style screen: 1. Open up image by clicking on it. 2. Print (in color preferably). Carp should be printed horizontally. 3. Trim as necessary. 4. Z-fold into thirds. 5. Position (in appropriate place). 6. Feel the serenity. Or other emotional state (as appropriate).
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Backyard and Beyond 