Brooklyn
-
Liquidambar
I did a double-take over these. They are similar to the pods of the American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua):but smaller and with much longer points; these are evidently persistent styles. (The pods look rather Goth after they have opened up and dried out.) Also, the leaves are three-lobed: Our Sweetgum has five to seven lobes:So at…
-
Silent Nests
Revealed by the thinning of the leaves, two more Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nests:Note the differences in the color pattern of the wood-pulp paper between the above nest and the one below. I have some paper that is predominately reddish, but the one above is the usual pattern I see here in Brooklyn. The all-gray…
-
Eclipsed
The hybrid eclipse of the Sun this morning was mostly drowned in the clouds over the Rockaway Peninsula. A little bit of our life-giving star was briefly visible, through Nate’s DIY binocular hack, with the dark curve of Moon upon it. Still, a gorgeous morning to watch the sunrise from the oceanside end of the…
-
Low hanging fruit
I hope your Halloween was without plastic, styrofoam, and corn syrup.
-
Acorn
This time of year, I enjoy the satisfying “PA-TUNK” of acorns hitting the metal drums of car roofs. This bronze finial, noted on the Block of Perpetual Renovation, would probably dent the roof…. Its twin on the other side of the stoop is missing.
-
Green-Wood Harvest
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa).Three different hickories, genus Carya. Bitternut, Mockernut, Shagbark? Bulllfrog tadpoles (Rana catesbeiana) were still to be seen swimming. A single Common Green Darner was flying. There was also a bee of some kind passing by. Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum).A field of Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra): these were thudderdudduding down in the wind;…
-
-
In the Spartina
They seemed to be taking whole reeds, perhaps to line their nests in the rocks. Rats can be awfully finicky about their nests. Rattus rattus, baby. Updated: Evidently actually Rattus norvegicus. See comments.
Backyard and Beyond 