Our weather is showing some cool night time temperatures, but frost is still 2-3 weeks away and there is lots of insect activity and still some late bird migration underway. Fall fruits are much in evidence, offering immediate snacks and […]
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As summer draws to a close, there is still a great deal of animal activity and a different group of late blooming flowers. I seem to appreciate the sunrises and sunsets more in part because I am tired of working […]
On a recent bike ride along the New River Trail in VA I was more or less in auto-pilot and was paying less attention to my surroundings than I should have. My biking companion Mason suddenly shouted that he had […]
Late summer is a time in our area of southwest Virginia for flowering of natives such as goldenrod, ironweed, impatiens, virgins bower, wing stem, green headed cone flower, great lobelia, thistles and others. Many of these flowers are an important […]
It is possible to judge the approximate time of year at a certain location by looking at what is flowering and what the animals are doing. Here I show some typical signs of middle to late summer in SW VA […]
So much is happening in nature and in our human constructed world that we tend to ignore some of the most obvious events of the natural world. Plus there are literally thousands of sights and sounds vying for our attention […]
Now in late July on our VA farm the predominant color of the landscape is GREEN, as shown in this panoramic view of one of our hay fields cut six weeks ago, overlooking our farm house next to a pond […]
In general I do not recommend trying to improve on nature beyond the boundaries of the yard since the beauty of natural scenes is often incomparable. However creation of a Pollinator Field from a portion of hay fields or pastures […]
As July starts, the nature lover can continue to enjoy some breeding birds and observe an increasing number of interesting insects. New flowers are blooming, such as day lilies and catalpa trees and we are starting to be bothered […]
Here on our VA Blue Ridge Mountain farm we are still having some cool nights in the 50’s, but many days are sunny and warm and nature is in full growth and reproduction mode. I enjoy re-acquainting myself with the […]
Here on our VA Blue Ridge Mountain farm, June is a time of rebirth and renewal in nature. Creatures seem to be in a rush to breed and of course must consume many resources to raise their young. It is […]
Although I am Georgia born and a creature of eastern N America’s low mountains, piedmont and coastal plain, there is no denying the majesty and amazing natural wonders to be found in the American west. So when we made a […]
Any family trip is an opportunity to explore the natural history of a new area and rejuvenate your powers of observation dulled by residence in one area where you tend to see the same things over and over. Thus when […]
The predominant color of middle May in the Blue Ridge mountains of SW VA is green. There is an explosion in growth of plant life so an overall view of our farm shows a verdant landscape. Of course the re-awakening […]
Spring is a wonderful time of year, with leaves and blooms emerging, birds singing, and amphibian reproduction in full swing. But breeding occurs over a prolonged period since different species have distinct tolerances and adaptations for seasonal progression in temperature […]
During spring time a virtual river of birds migrates from Mexico, and Central and South America to the eastern United States and Canada. These neotropical migrants take advantage of the mild weather and abundant food in northern latitudes during the […]
In middle April a sizeable proportion of the human population of the Englewood, FL, area either have left for their northern summer homes or soon will do so. We got a preview of what is in store for us […]
The calendar tells us that official spring is here and we can see that ourselves by our observations of nature. One of my favorite harbingers of spring is the glorious flowering of the pink trumpet tree, Tabebuia, at the end […]
It has been an unusual winter weather-wise in SW FL although I sometimes wonder if the weather is ever “normal.” It was unusually wet and warm earlier but has become a bit cooler with less rain. Natural events illustrate […]
Loons are a northern freshwater snowbird that winter here in SW FL in bay and near-shore ocean waters. They probably rarely set foot on land except when breeding. Thus one wonders, how do they sleep? We have a backyard loon […]