For many people the New Year is a time for making resolutions. For me, it’s a great time for reflecting on what I’ve accomplished in the past year and setting intentions and goals for the new year to come in terms of nature study. Below is a run down of how I did on my 2020 goals, as well as what I hope to accomplish in 2021. My goals for 2020 included: 1. Post to Seashore to Forest Floor regularly. — I…
2020 has been hard for everyone. From canceled activities to isolation from friends and family, to record setting hurricane and fire seasons across the country. Despite all of this year’s COVID-, environmental- and political-craziness, there are still many things I am thankful for. In addition to the Thanksgiving toad I came across on my rainy walk this morning (see cover photo above), below are just ten of the nature-related things I’m grateful for this year. 1. Abundant and beautiful local…
This week marked our 3rd snowfall of the season, and winter technically doesn’t even start for another week (December 21st). The cold weather, snowy trails, and depressingly early sunsets have most people going from home to work (or school) and back again with little to no time spent outside in nature. But with a little planning and a slightly different approach spending time outside, even on cold winter days, it can still be enjoyable. Below I’ve compiled a list of…
For many, New Years is a time for making resolutions. For me, it’s a great time for reflecting on what I’ve accomplished in the past year and setting intentions and goals for the new year to come in terms of nature study. Below is a run down of how I did on my 2018 goals and what I hope to accomplish in 2019. My goals for 2018 included: Post to Seashore to Forest Floor regularly. — I managed to post new…
Plants and animals that live in New England have various winter adaptations to aid in survival. Some animals stay warm in underground burrows, while others migrate south to warmer temperatures and more plentiful food. Plants, on the other hand, are rooted in place, and are not afforded the opportunity to find a warmer place to spend the winter. The frigidly cold temperatures of the last couple weeks have allowed me to observe one of the Rhododendron’s adaptations to cold. This…
For many, New Years is a time for making resolutions. For me, it’s a great time for reflecting on what I’ve accomplished in the past year and setting intentions and goals for the new year to come in terms of nature study. Below is a run down of how I did on my 2017 goals and what I hope to accomplish in 2018. My goals for 2017 included: Post to Seashore to Forest Floor regularly. — I managed to post new…
Sunday I tagged along with my boyfriend Justin as he conducted river discharge monitoring for the Cape Cod Rivers Observatory. This meant that I had about 15 minutes to spend at each of 6 different rivers while he took his measurements: Herring Brook, Coonamessett River, Quashnet River, Mashpee River, Santuit River, and Red Brook. I decided to spend that time capturing some autumn nature highlights in my nature journal. There were a few small common winterberry (Ilex verticillata) bushes along…
I spent some time on sitting along the bank of the Mashpee River today, enjoying the weather and studying some of the wildflowers growing at the river’s edge. There are multiple access points and conservation areas along the Mashpee River (click here to view the Town of Mashpee’s trails webpage). I accessed the river this morning through the Fitch Conservation Area, managed jointly by the Town of Mashpee and the Trustees of Reservations. While many non-aster wildflower species are no…
This morning I spent a couple hours observing the plants, birds and insects along the banks of Red Brook in the Lyman Reserve in Plymouth. Normally, when I see something interesting I take a picture or two and continue on my walk, but today I took the extra time to sit and journal my observations. I spent most of my time with two plants in particular: Monkey flower (Mimulus ringens) and common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis). The first, monkey flower, which…
Both Smooth Alders (Alnus serrulata) and Speckled Alders (Alnus rugosa) are commonly found near streams, rivers and wetlands. Both species are deciduous trees with alternate, simple, serrated leaves. And they have distinctive flowers, called catkins, that take on two different forms: the male catkins, which are pendulous, and the female catkins, which are smaller and develop into cone-like structures in the fall. Despite many similarities, there are noticeable differences between the two species: The cones of the Specked Alder are…