Naturally
The common yellowthroat sang, “Which is it? Which is it?” as I filled feeders it won’t patronize.
I fill the feeders because birds are into outdoor dining. I’m into outdoor shaving and brushing my teeth. I like to do those things while walking. Thanks to battery-powered devices, I’m able to.
The Dog Days are when the Good Humor man, despite impressive sales, isn’t in one. Sirius, also called Alpha Canis Majoris or the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the night sky. When Sirius appeared in the sky just before the sun near the end of July and marked the beginning of the hottest days of the year, the Romans referred to it as the days of the Dog Star. Ancient Egyptians, because Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile River’s flooding, used the star as a watchdog for that event. Since its rising coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time.
An acorn woodpecker was discovered in Carlton County. In North America, the breeding range of acorn woodpeckers is southwestern Washington, Oregon, California, southwestern U.S. and western Mexico. Acorn woodpeckers are typically year-round residents, however, those in and around the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona may migrate to Mexico during winter, depending on the mast crop.
Q&A
“How can I identify wild parsnip?” A native of Europe and Asia, no one is sure when wild parsnip arrived here or how. It’s been here a long time. There are records of this plant being in Wisconsin in 1894. It’s a biennial that grows to 5 feet tall with leaves consisting of two to five pairs of toothed leaflets that are often shaped like mittens. It has yellowish-green flowers that form umbrella-shaped clusters 4 to 8 inches across and bloom in June and July. The stem is green, 1 to 2 inches thick and smooth with few hairs. Wild parsnip tolerates a range of soils and moisture levels, but requires sun and is found in open areas, pastures, fields, roadsides and disturbed areas. Wild parsnip is persistent even after being sprayed. Contact with the sap of wild parsnip combined with the presence of sunlight causes phytophotodermatitis, unpleasant rashes or blisters on skin. The prairie plant golden alexander, a native perennial, can be mistaken for wild parsnip. The primary difference between the plants is a matter of scale. Wild parsnip is much more robust. Both are lacy-looking plants with thick green stems topped with disk-like clusters of yellow flowers, but golden alexander is significantly smaller when mature. Wild parsnip has appreciably broader leaves, and bigger, flatter flower clusters. Wild parsnip has deeply forked leaves and those of golden alexander are smooth with fine serrations. The flowers of wild parsnip form flat clusters, while golden alexander flowers are more loosely and unevenly clustered. Queen Anne’s lace has white flowers that bloom in an umbrella shape pattern called an umbel. The flowers of Queen Anne’s lace usually have a single purplish flower in the center of the umbel. Legend says Queen Anne pricked her finger while sewing the lace and a droplet of her blood fell to the center of the flowers.
Deb Weitzel-Vitha of Albert Lea wondered, “How much does a pelican weigh?” The last two injured American white pelicans I took to a rehabilitation center weighed 10 and 16 pounds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says 8-20 pounds.
“There are webs on my lawn on a dewy morning. What spider makes those?” If the sheetlike webs aren’t sticky and have a funnel or tunnel on one side, they are the work of the funnel or grass spider. These webs become noticeable on the heavy dew of a cool, humid morning. A web could be a dollar spot fungus. The branching mycelia of this fungus resemble spider webs on the grass, but dollar spot disappears when the dew dries. Excess moisture and lack of nutrients are causes of dollar spot fungus.
“Will feeding safflower seeds instead of sunflower seeds discourage squirrels?” Safflower seeds aren’t a squirrel’s favorite food, but it will eat them because there is no bird food that a squirrel won’t eat. House sparrows, European starlings and common grackles sample safflower when other foods are lacking. Not all the regular feeder birds enjoy eating safflower. Goldfinches don’t flock to it. Chipmunks relish safflower, as do mourning doves and house finches. Chickadees, nuthatches and rose-breasted grosbeaks eat it. I’ve heard from many readers that cardinals enjoy it, but the ones in my yard aren’t crazy about safflower.
Thanks for stopping by
“The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't attempted to contact us.”—Bill Watterson.
“All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals.”—Peter Singer.
Do good.
©Al Batt 2022
Each year, fireflies (lightning bugs) provide silent fireworks that evoke wonder in me. Photo by Al Batt.
Something smelled like a wet robin.
The male Indigo Bunting (blue canary) is dressed for prom.
A mobile garden.
Minnesotans will stand in long lines under the hot sun for certain kinds of peaches.
The huge smile of a small sunflower.