There’s a couple of pictures I took last week that didn’t fit in with bloom day (but that I still like). One is a sample of the lichen growing all over our unpainted fences. It almost makes me want to not replace the fence, but then I regain my resolve when seeing bits of fencing [...]
Archive for the ‘Natural Science’ Category
10 Feb
A foot of snow and an earthquake
Not only did we pick up a foot or so of snow last night, we also had an earthquake. Unlike the last magnitude 5.2 quake, our earthquake indicator – a small action figure of Jean Alesi standing on my framed diploma – did not fall over. Like the last one, this one didn’t wake me [...]
13 Jan
Midwinter thaw
It’s been cold & snowy here, just like most of the US and Europe, thanks to the North Atlantic Oscillation. There’s not a lot of open water in our urban neighborhood even when it’s not covered in snow and ice, so the pond waterfall and deicer bring in critter visitors. The birdfeeder has also had [...]
15 Nov
Bloom Day – November 2009
The calendula don’t realize how late in the year it is. This will likely be my last Bloom Day post until March or April 2010. Winter is coming upon us, although November has been much warmer than October so far. I will definitely be reading all of the Bloom Days at May Dreams Gardens over [...]
29 Oct
Peak color
I believe we’ve just passed peak color here in NE Oak Park. It was glorious this year – check out the parkway basswood! The leaves have come off quickly this week with all the wind and rain we’ve had. What comes after peak color? Raking and vacuuming/shredding, of course. Next up, the story of the [...]
2 Sep
Last photos from late summer
The hostas are finally blooming now that summer has come to an end. It was cool, and the cloudiest one ever. Despite all the raccoon harvesting done to it, the pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata) finally bloomed. The bees have moved on from the Joe Pye weed to the zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), which is prostrate [...]
15 Aug
Bloom Day – August 2009
After a very wet and cold spring and early summer, we’ve had the driest midsummer in 75 years. I’m having to water for the first time this year, but I snapped a few pictures before turning on the sprinkler. The blooms this August look much like the ones last August, except that the big white [...]
11 Aug
What bugs like
August is the time of year where birdsong disappears and bugsong comes on strong. In honor of this insect-filled season, here are some of the bug favorites in the garden: Joe Pye weed always seems to have a lot of flying visitors when it blooms. This isn’t the big sweet Joe Pye (Eupatoriadelphus purpureus) in [...]
17 Jul
Floppy Annabelles and little visitors
When you have record rainfall, even self-staking can’t keep the Annabelle hydrangeas upright! The self-staking (cutting the outer ring of stems in half in May, per my garden guru Kim) did keep them looking good much longer, but the huge flowerheads plus the unending rain finally knocked them down. The waterlily is still getting disturbed [...]
29 Apr
Serviceberry in bloom
Last year, I didn’t get a picture of the “Autumn Brilliance” serviceberry while it was in bloom, and vowed not to let that happen again. I was all set to make a post showing just how quickly the blossoms fade, and darn it all if they haven’t lasted for the past 5 days! Unlike last [...]
