Nature is both fascinating and a little bit disgusting. I recently attached a bird feeder to our deck. I can see the feeder from my office window, and it’s lovely to watch the different birds and chipmunks throughout the day. For the last few mornings, however, I’ve gone out to fill the feeder and found…
I accidentally left the garage door open last night. We keep our garbage can in the garage, and in addition to containing food refuse, it also held a painting tray with a smidgen of leftover paint. So the visitor to our garage certainly had some snacks but also left behind evidence. I’ve got to say,…
Songbirds are declining in numbers due to a variety of issues, including loss of habitat, pollution, pesticides, and climate change. Other than avoiding pesticides, I decided one simple way to help is to keep a feeder with birdseed in my front yard. But as you can see, I’ve attracted a rather large, flightless bird. I…
It’s that time of year…the time when bugs come back to plague us with their presence. I actually find a lot of bugs to be fascinating, even the stinky, bitey, and icky ones. And I suspect your students are also captivated by these little critters. That’s why this collection of insect cards will grab their…
I lingered over the tomato plants during a recent trip to a well-known home improvement store. I love fresh tomatoes, but I don’t have a green thumb. If I don’t kill the plant myself then I suspect my harvest will be picked off by local squirrels and groundhogs. Soon it will be time for me…
I work from home. As I sit here writing this blog, I can hear songbirds, a barred owl hooting in the woods, and a rooster crowing down the street. You would think I live in a rural area, but that’s not the case! I’m glad our winged friends are doing well here despite the population…
I live in a fairly rural area near a few small ponds and random streams. I love that I end up with a variety of critters wandering near my house—but I hate that my proximity to water means I end up with swarms of mosquitoes every summer. Without those little flying vampires I probably wouldn’t…
There was a fly in my carport yesterday. This is the first buggy critter I’ve seen in a couple months, and I’m just not ready for them to come back. There are a lot of bugs here in North Carolina, and most of them seem to like me far more than I like them. It…
Tomorrow is the first day of October! In my mind, October is the month of pumpkins. I’ve noticed that the huge orange globes are already piling up at local grocery stores, despite the fact that it’s still 90 degrees here. I can’t help smiling at the pumpkins because fall is such a beautiful season! …
Tomorrow is World Mosquito Day! This makes me chuckle a bit because it sounds like we should be celebrating those blood-sucking little vampires. But after some digging, I found that this “holiday” celebrates the anniversary of the day (August 20, 1897) that Sir Ronald Ross, a British scientist, discovered that mosquitoes transmit the malaria parasite….