Yesterday I wandered down the road to visit my neighbor. Her persimmon trees were loaded with fruits begging to be picked. She has both native and Japanese or Oriental persimmons. I plucked a soft, mauve-rose native fruit, about one-inch in diameter, and popped it in my mouth. Delicious! While I had to spit out the... Read More
What is that light yellow ball on my lawn, I wondered. Is it another black walnut in its green – yellow husk? But a closer look revealed a puffball. Mushrooms seem to be popping up everywhere this week. Perhaps you have some in your own yard. Mushrooms, the fruiting body of fungi, wait until the... Read More
“Those are bird berries. Only birds eat them. They’re no good for people to eat.” That was my warning when my children were young, and we had a lot of red-berried bittersweet nightshade growing along sidewalks in the neighborhood. Actually, while poisonous for cattle and other animals as well as children to eat, I wasn’t... Read More
I have a love-hate relationship with black walnut trees. As a child we had a swing in one of two very tall black walnut trees along the lane. We could swing out a great distance. It was like flying, I thought. But in the fall, walnuts rained down and we girls were expected to don... Read More
Ah, a late summer evening. The air is still warm even though the sun set hours ago, crickets are playing their nightly symphony as lightning bugs send messages of love to one another, and you’re looking up at a cloudless sky with a bit of humid haze. As you gaze into the darkness you see... Read More
My late father-in-law used to say “A weed is any plant in a place where you don’t want it.” Yes, I have a wineberry weed in a stone wall in the middle of a flower garden. Later this year I will have to take apart a section of stone wall and try to dig out the roots of... Read More
How high will the river get during the storm? Will it reach my house? Will it inundate the roads and cause emergency evacuations? For years, the National Weather Service has issued highly accurate hydrologic forecasts used by residents here in Easton and across the country, letting us know what level rivers and streams are expected... Read More
Confession time: despite working at an organization that focuses on helping people prepare for natural hazard events, I never formally sat down with my own family to take the recommended steps for emergency preparedness – until this week. With Hurricane Preparedness Week occurring May 9-15 and Nurture Nature Center hosting upcoming emergency preparedness kit distributions... Read More
Working at a place like Nurture Nature Center, it really does feel like Earth Day every day. Still, many of us will take an extra moment today in particular, on April 22, to appreciate our environment, do our part to care for the planet, and celebrate with others who share our love for the Earth.... Read More
Do you think your neighbors are more or less concerned about environmental issues than they were 10 years ago? How does this compare to opinions across the United States? Would the majority of people support or oppose new government measures to protect open space? These are just a few examples of the many questions that... Read More
