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Builder With a Memory

Hornets Hold A Grudge. Walking my trail this afternoon, waiting for winter to come, I noticed this hornet’s nest high in a tree. It’s the home of a bald-faced hornet – one of 100,000 different species of wasps (also called yellow jackets). Easy to identify by its single large opening in the bottom, a hornet’s nest really is something to admire – from afar. Admire – because it's a stunning example of insect engineering. Worker hornets chew up wood fiber and mix it with saliva

10 hours ago1 min read

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TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Builder With a Memory

Hornets Hold A Grudge. Walking my trail this afternoon, waiting for winter to come, I noticed this hornet’s nest high in a tree. It’s the home of a bald-faced hornet – one of 100,000 different species of wasps (also called yellow jackets). Easy to identify by its single large opening in the bottom, a hornet’s nest really is something to admire – from afar. Admire – because it's a stunning example of insect engineering. Worker hornets chew up wood fiber and mix it with saliva

10 hours ago1 min read

Seasonal Home Décor

Got Room for Another Houseplant? Ivy? Yes. Boston or English? Yes. Both of these creeping climbers are competing here – not just for more territory along the side of these homes, but for the honor of the most handsome ‘wallpaper’ in town. Boston Ivy wins for the most colorful display, English Ivy comes in first for massive leaf size. There’s room for both. So they agree to collaborate. “But, like ivy, we grow where there is room for us.” Miranda July Welcoming in the new

Oct 311 min read

Prehistoric Stinker

Stinko Ginkgo. That’s what we called them when I led an educational tree program for kids at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. There’s nothing quite like a really awful-smelling tree to get a kid interested in arboriculture. Herding a group of unruly preteens along the walkway, I’d stop and point out the large ginkgo tree across from the (ironically) yummy-smelling rose garden and, if it was the right season, I’d challenge them to pick up a fruit from the ground and give it

Oct 301 min read

Testament

Dying and Still Living. Walking along the trail by the lake I came across this twisted tree bending over the footpath. Stretching its upper limbs and foliage toward the nurturing warmth of the sun, this elderly oak tree is active and alive and, at the same time, beginning to die. The central heartwood is no longer alive but, in a natural process of recycling, the minerals in it are being returned to the soil for reuse. The hollow in the center provides welcome refuge for sm

Oct 271 min read

Empty Promise

Still Waiting for Rain. The wind is impressive this afternoon. Now and then a waft catches the wide edge of a flat lily pad and tips it up causing the surface of the water to ripple and dance. Leaves in the huge cottonwood tree that reaches out to protect my little balcony rattle and jangle and tink. Fall has been so dry they hang onto the branches although they are already browning and crispy. It’s like a large, scratchy wind chime. Oh, but then, without a cloud in the sk

Oct 131 min read

Thirsty Lake

Waiting Patiently for Rain. The weather forecast called for rain, so I headed out for a walk along the lake in hopes of getting caught in a downpour. It’s been at least three weeks since the last significant rainfall and the unusually warm days have made everything thirsty. As the lake level drops, grasses that are usually up to their chins in water are now exposed to air and sunlight. Some of them are still standing tall and reveling in the last blast of summer – others ar

Oct 61 min read

Lift Off

The Season to Soar. It’s September and the lake is noisy. Wood ducks, ring necks, and mallards yakkety-yakk all day, talking about - who knows what? When shall we pull up stakes and head out? Who’s going first? The Canada geese argue incessantly, squawking and honking, discussing winter destinations and travel routes. Trumpeter swans aggressively blow their horns, chasing everyone else away from their feeding places and smacking their enormous wings on the surface of the wate

Sep 291 min read