Friday, June 2, 2023
Sky-Watching with Maria
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Got Ants in your Plants?
- Do you see ants on the plants?
- Do the ants look like they are collecting nectar?
- Are the flowers open or still closed buds?
- Are the ants eating other insects on the plants?
- Do the ants leave pheromone signals letting other ants know how to get to these sweet treats?
- Do you see other pest-eating beneficials on plants, such as ladybug larvae or lacewings?
You can find out more about ants and peonies at Illinois Extension and the master gardeners at Penn State. And by observing peony flowers wherever you find them!
Friday, May 26, 2023
When a Whale Dies ...
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Tree Watching
Friday, May 19, 2023
A Sweet Book about a ... Skunk?
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photo by Betsy Michele |
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ a Field Trip to Sapsucker Woods
Last week I walked around Sapsucker woods (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). This is a great time to see trilliums (trillions of trilliums flowering across the forest floor), fiddleheads, mayapples just beginning to bud. The air was filled with the songs of birds and frogs. So today I'm sharing some of the things we noticed. Can you see the robin?
Monday, May 15, 2023
Cover Reveal: The Pie that Molly Grew
Friday, May 12, 2023
These books will Light Up your Life!
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Dandelions (and the bugs that love them!)
- carpenter bees
- wasps
- flies of all kinds
- miner bees
- honey bees
- bumble bees
- spiders
- butterflies
- slugs
... or even something else! Spend some time watching them. Draw a picture and jot down some distinguishing characteristics of the critter you find. For example: that tachinid fly in the bottom left corner. See those short antennae? The white patch on its butt? The way it holds its (single pair of) wings out at an angle?
If you'd like to grow some flowers for bees and other pollinators, check out the list I have in this post from a few years back.
Friday, May 5, 2023
Spring Books Bring Trees & Frogs
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Violets in the Lawn
Friday, April 28, 2023
A Tale of Love and a Tree
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Yellow Flowers
Every season has its colors. For our area, spring starts out yellow, with daffodils, dandelions, coltsfoot, and these - forsythia and willow. What color(s) does Spring wear in your area?
Friday, April 21, 2023
A Climate Change Toolbox
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Explore outdoors ~ trilliums!
What flowers do you find in shady places?
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ emerging daffodil
- Do they hang out in groups?
- What colors do you notice?
- Are your flowers on trees or shrubs?
- How many petals do your flowers have?
Friday, March 31, 2023
Women scientists for space and sea
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Colors of a new season
- Where do you find them?
- What textures do they have?
- What colors do they come in?
Friday, March 24, 2023
Women Find the Cure!
- The founding of Moderna
- A job at BioNTech
- And the work that went into creating the COVID vaccine
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Explore Outdoors ~ Spring is Here
Monday was the first official day of spring, according to the calendar. But spring, it seems, comes in fits and starts - at least this year. We had warm days that enticed daffodils to push up from the soil, followed by icy days. I could hang laundry outside to dry one day, and build snowpeople the next.
This is the time of year when we say: what a difference a week makes! Check out these photos - from the woods road near my house. They are taken a week apart. The one on the left from March 13, the one on the right taken March 20th.
Once spring gets started, it's on a roll. Snow and ice melt, water trickles down into gullies, tinkling musically as it gathers and falls from rock to rock. Chickadees are changing their tune; robins are everywhere.