Our yard tends to be shabbier than most of our neighbors’, even now that we use a regular mowing service. Dandelions proliferate, and crabgrass competes with the clover. However, for the most part, it seems to be healthy, if not too closely managed. The crabapple and sand cherry trees, and the lilacs, butterfly and bridal […]
Category Archives: biophilia
If you get too excited, “Just take a slow deep breath,” they say. The sense of cool, clean air entering our lungs has a calming effect on anyyone. But what if the air we breathe is neither cool … nor clean? The BBC’s Melissa Hogenboom reports, “Emerging studies show that air pollution is linked to […]
Well, it’s late April, nearly Earth Day, and I think that Mother Nature is just showing off. It’s been pretty mild this spring and we’ve really enjoyed the massive blooms on the crabapple and the small, scatteredblossoms on our very old, very tall pear tree. Many of the shrubs are just coming in bloom. But, […]
There’s a new hole in the ground that goes under the edge of one of our flower beds near the bird feeder. Our yard is pretty wild and, probably according to the neighbors, unkempt. Our dog has dug up a few spots, and the squirrels routinely create small excavations in the lawn where they either […]
I have seen a number of articles lately about converting our grassy lawns to insect-friendly gardens replete with flowering shrubs and exotic ground covers. I like the idea, but have struggled with how to implement it. I like having a lawn that opens up the lot and highlights the beds around the outside and facilitates […]
Somedays I really feel my age. It may be triggered by one of my many aches and pains or just from watching some young folks do something that I used to enjoy doing. Now days, I’m more of an observer than a participant in sports or athletic endeavors, but I like to think I’ve earned […]
“Bye Bye BirdieI’m gonna miss you soBye Bye BirdieWhy’d ya have to go?(Bye bye) No more sunshine (no sunshine)It’s followed you away (you away)I’ll cry Birdie (Birdie)Till you’re home to stay I’ll miss the way you smileAs though it’s just for meAnd each and every nightI’ll write you faithfully(Bye Bye Birdie ) ~ Lee […]
Our part of town is over a hundred years old with historic houses built pretty close together and aged lawns, flower beds and tree-lined streets. There are plenty of old trees and swaths of ancient shrubbery coursing through the yards and alleys. Our proximity to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains (just a few blocks […]
“If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” ~ President Harry Truman Climate change doomsayers predict inevitable catastrophe due to massive flooding, horrific hurricanes and tornadoes, and years-long droughts. Some of that will occur in some places, but the one climate change prediction most likely to become reality is global warming. Luckily […]
We seem to think that expanding agricultural productivity will require more and more chemicals, and methods that are detrimental to natural ecology. There are, however, all kinds of efforts underway to capitalize on the efficient and eco-conscious use of agriculture without destroying Mother Earth. Journalist Zach Zorich reports, “According to Archaeologist John Hart, Iroquois farmers […]
Writes of Nature 