Brooklyn
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Acer Color
Is that spotting something amiss? (Well, not amiss if you’re a fungus.) * Trump’s corporate puppet on the FCC is trying to end net neutrality, a disaster for democracy. So it’s “break the internet” in protest in advance of Thursday’s vote. Once again, I’d rather join people in the streets, but until then…
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The One, The Many
In fact, you almost always see Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) in pairs, year-around.A herd of Rock Doves (Columba livia), not quite as denim-y as they looked that day.
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Onwards!
The sound of a single leaf scrape-skittering across the road, Or the sound of hundreds, dry susurrations and crinkly waves, crumpling beneath the feet, parting before the bow of the shins: I’ll take both those paths.
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Bur!
Quercus macrocarpa, the bur oak, is supposed to have the largest fruit (macro carpa) of all North American oaks. This acorn is in a 1.5″ long mossy cup. One of the species’ distinctive, pinched-waisted leaves on the plate, too. The plate was purchased by my parents in my natal Japan. How about these apples, from…
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Kestrel Wednesday
I walked by the Kestrel perch the next day, on the off-chance he would be there. Nope. But I was on a round-trip errand, so when I returned, there he was. Not the same branch, but the same linden. This time I was on the avenue, meaning rather closer to his height on the tree…
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Belted
The female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) was tick-purring at Valley Water again recently. This time I got some better photos and got to listen to her for some minutes. (Long-time readers may recognize the hedgehog galls glimpsed on the leaves of this oak, and also that the tree has gotten a bit taller in four…
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Oak Wilt, Damn It
Word around the corner on the avenue, although of course it should also be in Spanish (as here) and Cantonese. Greenwood Heights is located some twenty blocks away, tucked around Green-Wood Cemetery. There are plenty of oaks in Green-Wood, where the disease may have first been noted, as well as on the street. Here’s a…
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Hickory Harvest
Carya cordiformis, Bitternut. A rich fall. Bitter they may be, but somebody likes ’em.They are very thinly husked.
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Raptor Wednesday
Peregrines are pretty regularly spotted above Brooklyn Borough Hall and Columbus and Cadman Plaza parks to its north. There’s a long-time scape (nesting site) nearby in the Pokey, and I heard from a passerby that there has also been one at the federal court house north of the Centrol PO. First I’ve heard of that.…
Backyard and Beyond 