Chi-i-i-i-rp! About a month ago, I was walking through Dunwoody at the perimeter of Atlanta, and over the din of cars and the MARTA train I heard a lone cricket. Chi-i-i-i-rp! In the middle of an April day, I really didn’t expect to hear a cricket within view of the gigantic King and Queen office buildings. I was passing a field, … read more The urban naturalist
Month: May 2016
How do they find the trellis?
Yesterday, I noticed that I had eight passionflower sprouts up in the yard. This is cause for great celebration, as passionflower not only has a splendid flower, but is the most reliable herbal remedy for insomnia. Passionflower loves to climb, and gets thick and fruitful if it has something to climb on. So I have three round … read more How do they find the trellis?
The stealthy view
My neighbors were getting the coolest nighttime photos – bobcats, bears, foxes, and even a mountain lion! OK, the alleged mountain lion was ultimately determined to be a house cat, but still. It was pretty exciting for awhile there. So I bought a Stealth Cam, and set it up on the front porch with great anticipation. … read more The stealthy view
Blue to you
Do these flowers look blue to you? Well, I don’t think so. It’s purple to me. My guidebook calls it “blue.” But then, my guidebook also calls violets “blue.” Um, hello? “Violet” is a color as well as a plant name, and it’s not a synonym for any other color except purple. Here they are in the … read more Blue to you
I’m not who I thought I was
For many years, I’ve been proud to claim my German ancestry. The good qualities that Germans are known for – hard work, frugality, efficiency and organization – are ones that I like to see in myself. I’ve always bragged that I was German, on both sides, all the way back – unusual for an American whose ancestors immigrated in the 1830s … read more I’m not who I thought I was
Sex in the forest
The forest fairly screams with sex these days. Flowers are sticking their parts out, begging to be fertilized. Hey there, bee, you wanna give it a go? And yes it is sex – it’s a reproductive act and there are male and female parts involved. Today it was the skullcap, seducing with its purple hood: Whorled milkweed, … read more Sex in the forest
Restoration work
My mother bought this bracelet 40 or 50 years ago, at a flea market or something. It’s sterling silver, from Mexico, and the stone is an amethyst. I always loved it. The stone had a fissure in it, which I thought was intriguing. Then Dad took some jewelry-making classes and replaced the amethyst with turquoise. It was … read more Restoration work
Massage ex Machina
Brandon was like a massage Ninja. Smooth moves, silent, but he left an indelible impression. I hadn’t had a massage in a long time. I only had this one because I wanted Tom to get one. I’m too cheap with myself. Oooooh it was great. Oil with lavender. No pounding, but my muscles melted. Limp rag … read more Massage ex Machina
Poison and prettiness
As I left on my neighborhood walk the other day, I was jazzed about looking for the newest flowers of spring. The first thing I saw was a dead squirrel. This time of year there are many of them. The young’uns don’t know about cars yet, and they dash out into the road, directly under the wheels. … read more Poison and prettiness
Chickens on a truck
There was a hard rain falling, and I was driving to Atlanta. Got behind a truck. A big semi. In the rain, it wasn’t clear at first what the cargo was. Then I saw it was chickens. Live chickens. They were stuck in there every which way. Didn’t look like they had room to stand up … read more Chickens on a truck