Wherever you live, if you want to attract bees to pollinate your garden or you want to add more butterfly plants to your yard, you can’t find a better plant than buckwheat — or the many varieties available today. I just returned from a favorite walk, which winds through a neighborhood of large lots, most edged with large stands of native plants. The bees were busy [Read more...]
Alaska’s Nature Speaks Loudly
August 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Nature was very talkative on our Alaska trip. We spent 8 days on the Kenai peninsula visiting friends who live in Seward and then exploring on our own during a trip to Homer on the other side of the peninsula. We were reminded how Alaska is a perfect trip for nature lovers or others wanting a quick and bountiful immersion course.
Some photos:
Favorite California Natives: Nevin’s Barberry for Summer Color
August 11, 2012 by · 2 Comments
My husband and I have landscaped two homes now with California natives and other drought-tolerant plants. We even won a local award in a Western waterwise landscape contest sponsored by our area’s water district. So while we’re not experts I thought I would share our favorite California native plants – especially ones that have done well in inland Southern California. [Read more...]
If Nature Could Really Speak: Challenges to Sky Island
August 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
This is from a friend of mine, Denise Morse, a fellow defender of the environment. We served together on a land trust board in Alpine CA. She writes about Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountain Sky Island – a wildlife haven outside Tucson that is facing a new copper mine
by Denise Morse
I parked facing west looking at a heavily vegetated tall mountain region that was crowned by ominous storm clouds. I pushed back my seat and rolled down the windows and began to listen for nature. It wasn’t long before I heard a woodpecker tapping diligently on what looked like an Arizona White Oak. [Read more...]
High Water Bills? Maybe it’s Lawn Removal Time
August 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
It’s the time of year of high water bills – and perhaps time to think about replacing plants that need too much water, or maybe even taking out some of your thirsty grass.
I recently came back from the Midwest where drought conditions have prompted many folks to let their lawns go dormant. When I came back I was struck by the irony of how we here in SoCA keep watering our grass during the many months of no rain while our friends in other places let theirs go dormant.
We’ve removed nearly all of our lawn [Read more...]
Rattlesnakes! Relocating Them Works Just Fine….
August 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
We were up at a Big Bear concert a couple weekends ago, which was sponsored by the San Bernardino National Forest Association (great time – one more concert Sep 1st), and director Sarah Miggins told us they removed a rattlesnake during the concert that was coiled up under the sound stage. Oblivious to the hundreds of attendees, a U.S. Forest Service biologist successfully captured the snake, placed in a garbage can, and released it some distance away.
It was likely glad to get away from all the noise. And thank goodness, as one security person was about to use a fire extinguisher on the snake. [Read more...]
