WriterByNature.com

February 28, 2006 10:18 am

Having perfected my wild blueberry pie recipe I’m savoring the fruits of my labor, along with a serving of humble pie on the cyber trail.

I’d convinced myself that if I used hike time to complete a bunch of work-related tasks, I’d have a worry free Saturday to hike all day. A fine plan until I pushed a button that disappeared an important section of my website. No clients were harmed, but I was in tears. (more…)

February 26, 2006 7:47 am

If my Mom were alive, I’ll bet she would be spending time on Yahoo Answers She was a voracious reader with a perpetually curious mind. She referred to her eclectic knowledge base as her “store of useless information.”

I’ve inherited her love of reading and her curiosity.I hadn’t thought much about it until I was led to Yahoo Answers. I actually surprise myself with what I have learned over the years - and even more with my success in communicating effectively with others.

This site is a terrific resource for information on all kinds of topics. I can honestly say I’ve learned new things to add to my own store of “useful to someone else” information. Yahoo Answers might have given Mom a good reason to rename her vast knowledge base.

February 25, 2006 3:08 pm

I have a favorite blueberry-picking spot, which in a good year yields over 50 pounds of the sweetest fruit I have ever eaten. Last year’s drought meant I had enough to eat in season, but none to freeze. (More about freezing berries at the end of this article.)

I have finally perfected the wild blueberry pie filling so that it is the perfect texture. (more…)

February 20, 2006 4:04 am

Fisher is a rarely seen weasel family member. Finding these tracks in snow was a surprise. I confirmed what I saw by checking my most reliable source:

Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks and Sign by Paul Rezendes

From my journal:

A single set of footprints meander along downed logs, weaving in and out of brush, through holes dug in snow, reappearing up a tree trunk and through branches into a hollow tree. Some tracks show it traveled head-first down the tree. Those prints were not clear enough for a good photo. (more…)

February 19, 2006 5:22 pm

Mnemonics are phrases used to help us remember something important.

Here are a few nature-related mnemonics: (more…)

February 18, 2006 1:40 pm

Most of the time when I see a scarecrow, it’s either in a backyard garden, or it’s a Halloween lawn decoration.

Here’s something else you can do with that scarecrow. It works really well if you have and old shirt, trousers, hat and gloves that look like what the scarecrow is wearing: (more…)

February 17, 2006 7:34 pm

Take a familiar word, rearrange the letters to make another familiar word, and you’ve created an anagram.

Here are a few examples: (more…)

7:27 pm

A Palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards and forwards.

Word examples: Adam, Bob, noon, radar, racecar (more…)

2:06 pm

Nature observation using items found around the house are my favorite activities.

Birds and animals show a remarkable ability to adapt to non-wild food sources. (more…)

1:30 pm

I wrote a poem entitled Natural Snack years before TV reality shows became popular.

I encourage you to read the poem and then try this recipe, remembering that most of us think nothing of eating lobster, which also has an exoskeleton. (more…)