Hello, Fellow Readers, These are nutty times. Far nuttier than usual in my neck of the woods. The Shagbark Hickory nuts are overabundant and golf ball and size, so much so that walking amongst them is risky for ankle stability. It’s called masting when there’s an excess of

Hello, fellow readers, It never occurred to me that there is an inconsistency of what defines a pond versus a lake; if I may share a walk in the woods, that leads to the curious question. After our weekly volunteer sing at the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice on Friday, I enjoyed a

Hello, fellow readers, Saving snapping turtles lifts spirits. While walking Jolee, I saw a baby snapping turtle on the side of the road and a momma snapper a week later. I hope you enjoy the story. I walked a quarter of a mile with the quarter-sized baby snapper to a feeder stream, mu

Hello, fellow readers; I was honored to participate in the Women and Their Woods retreat hosted by the Ridge and Valley Conservancy in Newton, NJ, to help landowners care for their woods –filled with tips on native plants to help heal our land. Before my talk about Landscaping with Na

Hello, fellow readers, What a joy to visit Liberty Farm’s Sussex County Sunflower Maze in Sandyston, NJ, who invited us for a special day bringing happiness. It’s their 14th year of growing the maze. Raj Sinha started growing sunflowers when the New Jersey Audubon Society

Hello, fellow readers. A while back, Kay wrote in response to a column titled Antics of Meadow Wildlife featuring my birder buddy Dennis Briede’s meadow just up the road a piece. Dennis shared there has been a notable decline in butterflies in recent years due to habitat reducti

Hello fellow readers, I have a newfound admiration for ants and how they benefit our gardens and work as a team which may contradict treatments to solve ant dilemmas shared over the years (links below). But there are safe remedies and ways to invite them to live away from your home an

Hello Fellow Readers, Green beans aren’t only green anymore. And tomatoes come in all sorts of shades and mottled blends of colors. There are even tomatoes that stay green when they’re ripe. Charlotte of Stone Church, PA, asked if the funky vegetables are genetically modif

Hello Fellow Readers, Thanks to those that reached back about last week’s chat – Let Fawns & Wildlife Be. It’s a delight to hear how many of us relish the beauty of young life unfolding. Interactions with wildlife can undoubtedly bring tears to our eyes at the wo

Hello fellow readers,  What a treat to visit Elisabeth, a delightful client who moved back from Chicago to be near her family. She painted her renovated and restored farmhouse built in the 1800s in a dramatic yet soothing shade of dark gray with black trim. And implemented the landsca