Damselfly

When damselflies drop by, I always wonder where the pond is that they grew up in. Is it in someone’s yard? Do they spawn in the Charles river, and fly as adults far and wide? All I know for sure is they are beautiful little hunters, and I hope they catch lots of bugs to […]

What to do when a thunderstorm is coming

When the sky rumbles like a delivery truck over a pot-holed street, and the wind tears into the branches, when the light thickens and raindrops spatter on the ground, before you go inside, there’s something you have to do first. Pick a strawberry. Eat it. Enjoy the show!

It’s time to praise buttercups

It looks like it’s time for my annual post about Creeping Buttercups, or Ranunculus repens. They can really take over the place but there are three reasons why I let them:

One wild rose

One wild rose pinking the end of spring Hints at the bouquets cultivation would bring. Poised in the moment between opening and fraying Its eye open wide in search of bees straying.

In which I whinge about the heat

It’s not even all that hot, and I’m not used to it. I had forgotten how unpleasant it is to drive home from a friend’s barbeque with your back glued to the car seat. Or when your hands are sweaty and sticky between the fingers so it feels like you ought to wash your hands […]

Spring is over-rated

“Miss Kim”, my late-blooming lilac is now spraying sweet-smelling, nose-tickling fragrance all over the yard. It’s a lovely way to wrap up what’s actually a fairly typical New England spring. There’s very little of the sort of cool sunny weather you wish spring meant, and lots of winter dregs raining on you day by dreary […]

Bees fly and bee flies fly too

The fake bees are here, too. Currently I’m seeing fairly big ones, about the size of a honeybee, but their buzz sounds more like a whine. They look just enough like bees to fool you as they stroll around the flowers, but when they land — no way! That’s a fly.

A Zalea

Here’s a pink azalea, just to let you know that not all my flowers are white.

Green bees in the spring sun

I’ve actually been a bit worried about the bees, what with all the grey weather lately. Too cool for most bees to come out. Mostly I’ve seen bumblebees lately. In the last few days, though, the nice and sunny weather is back. I think I’ve seen miner bees. I’ve definitely seen cuckoo bees. Today, I […]

Alien Raccoon Sighted

The first annual sighting of the four legged aliens commonly known as “raccoons” occurred last night between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. In this blurry photo, the said alien is visible beyond the broken pieces of its flying saucer. The witness who provided the photo said that it made piping sounds, as if it was trying […]