I just did a walk up to Caroline Park and luckily had my camera to capture the flowering natives, birds and bunnies. Caroline Park is a native plant park set aside in Redlands CA by Olivia Phelps (of the Phelps-Dodge family) in 1929 to honor her sister Caroline. While the many flowering plants in spring to early summer make it an especially beautiful walk, there’s always something blooming [Read more...]
12 Ways to Help Birds on their Migration
May 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Here are things you can do to help birds of all kinds – songbirds, raptors and shorebirds – especially as they fly from their winter homes to their summer breeding ground. To help them avoid the many perils along the way: [Read more...]
Carpenter Bees: Reconsider Viewing Them as Pests
May 25, 2012 by · 2 Comments
We’ve got lots of carpenter bees — visiting the Cleveland Sage in our front yard, and now laying eggs above. About a year ago I saw sawdust below an old parrot perch sitting outside and over the next few months got to witness an adult carpenter bee drilling into the wood prior to laying eggs. Then I even caught a newbie below one of the holes as it adjusted to making its way into the natural world. We have other old wood posts where they appear to have nested – and I was glad to offer them nesting sites on our property. They are also very active in pollinating our flowers.
However, you hear so many negative things about them so I asked a couple bee experts [Read more...]
Ants! More Beneficial than You Think
May 21, 2012 by · 4 Comments
About a month ago, I got a letter in the mail from a termite company, Terminix, which began with the following: “Ants can be more harmful to your family than you think. That’s because these monsters (and others, like cockroaches may carry more than a dozen kinds of bacteria, like strep and staph. And where there’s one of these pests, there could be hundreds….”
I asked Anna Dornhaus, University of Arizona professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Bees: Plants to Keep Bees Happy Year-round
May 12, 2012 by · 2 Comments
I’ve been following ‘our’ bees around – and keeping track of the variety of plants they use for nectar on our half acre of property. See below for my list and photos. The biggest takeaway for homeowners (and commercial growers) is:
VARIETY IS KEY [Read more...]
Let’s Not Expand Wildlife Killing on Public Lands
May 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
The purpose of my blog is not to be a political activist; however, this notice about a federal bill (which has passed the House) to expand wildlife killing is something that people should know about. If this passes, more public lands including National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges will be open to recreational hunting, and the EPA’s role in the poisons used will be weakened. Below is an edited notice sent by Project Coyote, an organization I’ve written about (one earlier blog) that works on solutions for wildlife-human coexistence. If you can take a moment and email or call your two senators…. (it only took me 3 minutes to use the link below and call) or pass this on.
A Desert Wildflower Hike (& why to support conservation efforts)
May 3, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Wow. Yesterday I wanted to go for a hike and headed to the Whitewater Preserve close to Palm Springs. The Whitewater River flows into dammed pools of water, which became a trout fishery for many years, but no hiking into the canyon was permitted. That is, until the Wildands Conservancy was able to buy it, saving it from becoming a housing development. The Pacific Crest Trail weaves through it and I hiked a portion of it yesterday – with no expectations of the beautiful scenery and wildflowers galore. 
[Read more...]
