On my daily walks, I’m always scanning the contryside for goodies. I recently spied this wild crab apple tree loaded with fruit. Came back with a basket and boiled them down for jelly. It was so incredibly delicious, I went back to collect a second basket. Super easy to make. Just chop in half, toss in a pot with half as much water, and boil undisturbed for several minutes. When the apples fall apart, strain the … Read More
Before we moved here, the longest I’d stayed anywhere was a few years. I remember the first day I stood on this land and felt a connection that went down deep into the ground. I knew at that moment it would be hard to leave. But there’s something strange about living in the same place for decades. You think you know the landscape because you’ve seen it thousands of times.
And then one day, something changes.
This tree has been … Read More
It’s that time of year.
And every time this year, while I’m picking our Asian Pears, I think of one of Cait’s favorite childhood books. If you have young children and haven’t discovered this series yet, you’re in for a treat. Click on the cover to go to Amazon.
If you love Asian pears as much as we do, you might also enjoy these recipes»… Read More
Long-time readers know my passion for looking up so I just had to share. One of the most rare types of lightning, the Red Sprite lightning. Enjoy.
If you’ve been a regular reader, you’re probably almost as familiar with our pond as we are; it’s in nearly every outdoor shot. If you’re not, here are a few pics through the seasons.
What you may not have guessed is that we built it. The year before Cait was born, we reclaimed it from a mosquito-infested swamp. For the first year, there was no life in or around the pond; all was still. In the second year, the … Read More
We’ve had Great Blue Herons visiting our pond for decades. Seeing this pose is a first.
This pose is known as “horning” or sun-baking (often referred to by birders as the delta wing pose).
While it looks like it might be trying to do a yoga stretch or impersonate a dragon, I discovered there are a few practical reasons behind this striking behavior:
1. Thermoregulation (Sunbathing)
On cooler mornings or after spending time in cold water hunting for fish, herons … Read More
If you’ve ever heard a bird song and thought, What bird is that? The Merlin Bird ID app is for you. It’s free and it’s fabulous at what it does. (Scroll to the bottom of the post to get the link.)
This screengrab shows what’s currently singing in my neck of the woods. I’ve used this app for so long now, that I can identify most of the bird songs on this list. The Song Sparrow iw always a little … Read More
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