Lorrie Otto is the Godmother of the Natural Landscaping Movement. She was an environmentalist, speaker, and author. She would have celebrated her 104th birthday on September 9th this year. Although she is gone, I think of her almost daily as I wander through or look over my yard. If she hadn't been … [Read more...]
2022-2023 Migration Number Less 0.63 Than 2021-2022
The presence of monarch butterflies in Mexico’s oyamel fir forests this past winter was 22 percent less than the previous year, according to the most recent survey led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico. Monarch butterflies occupied 2.21 hectares, 0.63 less than the 2.84 hectares in the … [Read more...]
Red Saddlebags (Tramea onusta)
Last week I noticed a dragonfly resting on my tomatoes. It was the type of dragonfly I had never seen before. I looked on the Internet and discovered it was a red saddlebags skimmer (Tranea onusta). The Skimmer family (Libellulidae) includes our most common and conspicuous dragonflies … [Read more...]
Thimble or Berry?
Thimble or Berry? By Anita Carpenter Summer is a berry-lover's delight. It's the season when black raspberries, red raspberries, and blackberries are ripe for picking throughout Wisconsin's landscape. Just thinking about fresh fruit salads, berry pies, and jams makes me excited about the … [Read more...]
Eradicating Wild Grapevine
Reference my earlier posts on Wild Grapevine & Pollinators and Grapevines as a Source of Water. One of the readers wrote, "I have never, ever done yard work before, so I’m an absolute novice. I’m not even sure if there’s a proper way to 'paint' the stumps. I appreciate any 'getting rid of … [Read more...]
4th of July With Rain Barrels
The e-mail cover letter: I saw the first monarch butterfly on milkweed yesterday. Happy 4th of July! Yes, it is supposed to rain during the evening of the 4th of July and into Wednesday. As the farmers know, and I know with my gardens, it is a fine thing to have rain. I have used rain barrels … [Read more...]