Happy National Pollinator Week!
Seriously. It’s National Pollinator Week, June 16 – 22, 2014. It’s a national…well, not exactly a holiday–a national time to stop and think about it. Of course they have National Everything Week–not a day goes by but it’s National Something Day or Week or Month. National Women’s History Month (we only have enough history to fill up one month). National Jazz Appreciation Month. There’s National Pig Day (March 1, put it on your calendar for next year). National Ice Cream Month, a worthy cause indeed, officially designated in 1984 by Ronald...
Read MoreBig Night for Amphibians
It’s still a little chilly, but soon will come a night of warm spring rain. And if you’re driving after dark, you know what that means—hordes of pesky little frogs hopping across the road. Where are they going? Why so many? Are they trying to commit suicide? Frogs, toads and salamanders breed in the spring. They all get together in the same spot, usually a small pond, and then the males show off and try to attract females. It’s kind of like a singles bar. So if it’s a damp night and the temperature is about 40 degrees or so, tens of thousands of frogs and salamanders are sharing the roads...
Read MoreIce Storm
A few evenings ago, I was backing the car down the driveway, and thinking about something else at the same time. A sure recipe for disaster. And sure enough, I edged into a snowbank. The temperature was just above freezing, the snow soggy and soft, so I stuck fast. Not to worry, I got out the shovel and began to dig. It had been a rare warm day, full of rain, and the temperature was slowly getting colder as the rain drizzled down. The snow was gray and heavy as wet cement. As I burrowed away, the sinking temperature abruptly hit that magic point where everything changes. Suddenly it was 32...
Read MoreDaylight Savings Time: No, Thanks!
I have a cause I’m deeply committed to. I really get quite emotional about it—just ask my family. And I’m asking for your support. I’m asking for your vote. And a sizable monetary donation wouldn’t hurt, either. My cause is this: Daylight Savings Time. I’m against it. It’s a hoax. A giant prank played on us by the powers that be. We’re all fooled into thinking we get an extra hour of daylight. It’s amazing, right?—the sun slows in its descent, bounces back up into the sky, and gives us a whole extra hour of sunshine. Only, of course, we all know it doesn’t. We just fiddle with the clocks and...
Read MoreCrows: Love in the City
There are many romantic things to do in the city of Amsterdam, NY, on Valentine’s Day. You could have dinner at a nice restaurant. Enjoy a hot fudge sundae at Fariello’s. Perhaps even stroll by the river to watch the full moon rising. Or you could count crows. Watching big black birds swirling eerily over the city may seem like a pastime better suited to Halloween than Valentine’s Day, but winter is when the crows are in town. On February 14, my husband and I did the dinner and the sundae, but first we shared our Valentine celebration with the crows. We got to our observation point early, to...
Read MorePoison Ivy: A Good Thing
Poison ivy climbing up trees can be a good thing. PI rarely impacts the host tree severely. But the best thing about poison ivy is this: birds love it.
Read MoreConnect with Anita
Recent Comments