by northoftheridge | Jan 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
April is usually a little early for dragonflies. I pick up a few Green Darners (Anax junius) throughout the month, but that is a pretty unmistakable dragonfly. In fact, I have seen Green Darners as early as 17 March. I also pick up one or two Common Whitetails...
by northoftheridge | Dec 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
Ever wonder about scientific names? Me too, especially ones that seem easy to translate, but hard to understand. I offer for your consideration, Oxyura jamaicensis, the Ruddy Duck. When Superstorm Sandy1 blew up the coast at the end of October, it dropped three Ruddy...
by northoftheridge | Oct 28, 2012 | Uncategorized
As October fades and November approaches, there is always a sense of loss. Certainly there is still much to see in the late autumn hills, but much of what we see is fleeting in nature; death or death-like sleep is imminent for so many, and it will be months before the...
by northoftheridge | Sep 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
Like most critters, butterflies are not indifferent to the promptings of l’amour. It is not uncommon to see a pair flopping through the air, hooked together in passion’s embrace. In fact, any naturalist who has ever led small children on a nature walk during the warm...
by northoftheridge | Sep 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
orner, literally turned a corner, into a sunny field and, at the nadir of my poor, battered self-esteem, I came across an affirming moment—oh, returned is the warm light of certitude, salved is my poor bruised ego. Confidence flows through my soul as a river of fire....
by northoftheridge | Aug 31, 2012 | Uncategorized
I think it says something good about my strength character that I have not given up on trying to identify Skippers. For those of you who are not cognoscenti of insignificant, mostly drab, and very hard-to-differentiate-one-from-another butterflies, Skippers are those...
