Just a week or so after my last post where I had the outlandish idea that someday we may find out that paper wasps are able to differentiate human faces as well as pheromones, New Scientist came out with a story that these wasps indeed can recognize their own faces. “Despite having a brain less […]
Archive for the ‘Guest blogger’ Category
Winter Brings A Little Too Much Contemplation
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting on December 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Sparse Serenity
Posted in Guest blogger, Interesting on November 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Cape Cod in October and November is not quite as colorful as other parts of Massachusetts; the particular native and non-native trees in our yard don’t put on the show that other species famously do. Hurricane Irene and the recent Nor’easter also put a damper on what is typically a leafy green/brown/yellow fall, as much of the trees […]
For the Birds: Woodpeckers In My Cape Cod Backyard
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting, Rants & Raves on September 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
For two years I have watched what I believe to be the same group of woodpeckers interact at the suet feeder in my Cape Cod backyard. One species, the “downy woodpecker”, tends to feed most often at the suet feeder. You can tell a downy woodpecker’s gender by its coloration – the males have a red spot on their heads […]
Hummingbirds on Cape Cod
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting on September 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Until recently, I had no idea that there were hummingbirds in Massachusetts. But a hummingbird feeder and native plants Cardinal Flower and Bee Balm in my yard have attracted a pair of hummingbirds who hung out all summer long. These little guys (actually the ones I have seen in my yard are both female, unlike some other birds they don’t […]
Who cares about nature anyway?
Posted in Guest blogger, Interesting, Rants & Raves on September 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I have to admit, I was one of the people the blog post below rants about. I simply did not care about nature for most of my life. Places without lots of people seemed “boring”. But two circumstances changed that for me. When deciding where to travel I used to only consider cities – places where I […]
Breadcrumb Bug
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting on July 25, 2011 | 7 Comments »
The diversity of the fauna in my backyard never ceases to amaze me, the other day I discovered a bug that was so well camouflaged, I thought it was a breadcrumb or a piece of lint. I was brushing it off my shirt when I realized the breadcrumb had legs. Hours of nature show watching alerted me […]
Confessions of An Unenthusiastic Bug Killer
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting, Rants & Raves on July 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
For the past two months I have been on a bug killing spree. I am guilty of being a very non-eco friendly person lately in my treatment of bugs and I am not happy about it.  I would definitely never make it in one of those religions where you’re forbidden to kill living things. First I committed premeditated […]
Beach Blanket Spider
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting on July 3, 2011 | 1 Comment »
It’s hard to believe I haven’t posted anything since 5/25, I guess spending as much time as possible outside this season has been keeping me busy. A couple recent incidents have given me the need to once again become the amateur naturalist sleuth and seek out solutions to buggy business. As you may know, I […]
Cape Catbirds
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting on May 25, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Living here on Cape Cod has enabled me to observe several types of wild birds such as woodpeckers, flickers and hummingbirds for the first time in my life. I am also reading “The Bird” by Colin Tudge so I guess you could say I have something of a mild obsession with birds right now. I love the […]
cat-tastrophe
Posted in Guest blogger, Rants & Raves on May 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I love cats, but I have about had it with my neighbor’s kitty. He has been spending an inordinate amount of time in my yard – perhaps because of all the wild vegetation and lovely birds. All the things I love about my yard, he seems to love too. Places to hide, things to eat. I […]