Brooklyn
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On the geese
Back in Brooklyn and controversy: uproar over the gassing of 290 Canada geese in Prospect Park. I believe in a personal, emotional connection to wildness; I think this is profoundly important, but, like most things emotional, it can be carried too far. Into the realm of obsession, of people who think they are the caretakers…
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Mosaic Reflections
The “Departures and Arrivals” mosaic at the Jay St./ Borough Hall subway station (A, C, F trains) here in Brooklyn. Artist Ben Snead’s notion here, as explained on the plaque, is that species come and go, just like peoples. “The artist is interested in how the natural world mirrors our local population; in both great…
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Do you roll your own?
So do some insects. There are what seem to be eggs inside of these.
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In the Valley Water
The Valley Water is one of four water bodies in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. It is the closest to the 5th Avenue entrance and a regular stop on our excursions through the place. We stopped by over this last weekend. The joint was jumping: bull frogs, green frogs, and a smaller species, with plenty of big…
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Poppy pollen
Another look at the California poppy now flowering out back. I became enamored of the wild versions of these north of the SF Bay several years ago. It’s the state flower out there.
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In the Back 40 Now
If you are new to this blog, the Back 40 (inches) is my small concrete backyard. From the top, left to right, we have California poppy, which came from seed; one of several ant condos, which came on their own; sunflower, self-seeded from last year; a volunteer aster of some kind, perhaps bushy; and marigold,…
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Maize Field
“This used to be a parking lot/Now it’s all covered in flowers.” — David Byrne. And before it was a parking lot? It was covered in flowers then, too. And if not flowers, then the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. At Bergen & Smith Streets, the three sisters grow in Brooklyn, thanks to Christina…
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Beach-combing
I could spend the rest of my life beach-combing. You never know what will turn up. Previous discoveries have included an enormous leatherback turtle and a piece of whale vertebrae, although, admittedly, neither of these was in the New York Bight/Hudson River estuary system region. This small fish was. I found it, quite desiccated, on…
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In the Back 40
A sunflower maggot fly, Strauzia longipennis. Scoping out my sunflowers, which have not yet budded. You can’t really see the red in the eye in my photo, so take a look at this image.
Backyard and Beyond 