Raucous cries echo over the marsh. The great blue herons are back! They shriek and flap in the treetops ringing the marsh, giants jousting for prime nest sites. Over the last few weeks, they’ve drifted in—first, intrepid individuals, and small skeins trailed across the sky. Then a few weeks ago, Read more…
Bluebirds always make my heart leap, especially in winter. Their extraordinary shade of blue brings to mind warm skies and summer days. It’s funny though, because these birds mostly flock to my feeders in the heaviest of snowstorms and on the coldest days. My mind should think of them of Read more…
Some mornings, the ice on the marsh is pitted and pocked. Other days, it’s laced with bubbles— the slow exhalation of turtles sleeping deep in the mud. Breath caught by a flash freeze. Today, the surface looks like a crystal garden grew overnight.
On a recent afternoon, I crunched through fallen leaves and pockets of old snow down to the water’s edge. Marsh stubble poked through the ice, pale under the winter sun. The silence was broken by a sudden, toothy, rasping. I scanned the woods and marsh. Nothing moved. Barely breathing, I Read more…
Saturday, this female cardinal was chest deep in snow, with wet flakes pelting down around her. Sunday dawned in the 20s, but the temperature leapt to 60 degrees by afternoon, and we spotted our first butterfly of the year—a lovely Eastern Comma with a tattered left forewing. This butterfly would Read more…
It’s ten degrees outside. The yard is crusted with snow, but don’t despair! It’s the perfect time to plan a pollinator garden. Bee and butterfly populations around the globe have plummeted. Habitat loss, disease, pesticides, herbicides, and the changing climate are wreaking havoc on many species. This is not just Read more…