Sedges have edges
Rushes are round
Grasses are hollow right up from the ground.
There are exceptions to this basic rule. But poetry is a valuable learning tool in nature study.
I am blessed with an amazing range of nature educators. Some are dedicated to teaching. Others do not even know they are teachers, but their impact rivals that of Barry Keegan.
I taught 12-year-old Caleb how to harvest wild garlic. He responded with that well-known poem by an unknown poet, before bounding off to share his new discovery with his parents.
I was not the one to find the first morel of the year. Luckily, I’m very fond of my friend Zaac, who has a wonderful ability to spot an emerging morel in leaves.
I was surprised to see how much time this garter snake spent checking me out:
Pictures say more than words when it comes to winter giving way to spring in the Shawangunks. I hiked the recently saved ridge yesterday, lucky to enjoy the best weather we’ve had in weeks.
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L) blooms and sends out leaves later.
Yup, that’s snow under the hemlocks. This photo was taken about 90 minutes after the coltsfoot photo was taken on April 10, 2008. (more…)
When it gets hot and humid, I try to take sunrise hikes. Right now, sunrise is closer to 7:00 AM. I typically end my sunrise hikes by 7:00 AM in the summer.
I got close enough to these birds to be sure they are not turkey vultures. Black vultures have white legs and white marks on their wings.
This is one of two days in a calendar year when the length of day and night are the same. In my neck of the woods, the official time is 5:51 EDT this morning. From here on, the nights will be getting longer. (more…)
The weather in my neck of the woods has been unseasonably cold. Too cold for the black trumpet mushrooms, but apparently not for this giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea).
I was out early, but not early enough to keep a few insects from taking a bite or two. This thing weighs at least 3 pounds.
What’s really neat is that I’m on my way to my first Clark Rogerson Foray, held annually by COMA. I’m going to bring this along.
