The miner bees are back

Every April and May my side yard is invaded by bees. Small bees resembling honey bees circle endlessly, low to the ground, on sunny days. Their range seems to be linked to the range of the spring beauties, although I have rarely observed them actually visiting the flowers. When I first saw them I went online...

In praise of scruffy lawns

A number of years ago I came home to find a notice on my door from a lawn care company. A checklist detailed the ways they could make my lawn lovely by eliminating noxious intruders such as violets. I was offended. I carefully avoid mowing the yard as long as possible each spring, so that I can enjoy the...

Waiting for the snowdrops.

My favorite news story this week was a quiet story, easy to miss in the middle of stories of economic turmoil. A small resort in New York called Mohonk House has been home to 112 years of daily observation and recording of weather patterns as well as careful notations of the effects of these weather patterns...

Changing light bulbs on the Titanic won’t make the iceberg go away.

I’ve just seen a video on YouTube that is an absolute must-see. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down to watch all 8 segments of “the Most Important Video You’ll Ever See”, otherwise known as “Arithmetic, Population and Energy”. In this incredibly compelling lecture, Dr. Albert Bartlett, Professor...