Masons, a Cob, an Anole, Tadpoles, and a Red Bat

Top Photo: Mason bee hangs at entrance to its nest in mud wall. There are simply too many things happening outdoors to sit idle. Everything and everybody is waking up, becoming more active, stirring, building nests, blooming, fruiting, whatever it is they do in spring, and I don’t want to miss any of it. If you’ve ever been to the museum and visited Into the Mist in Catch the Wind you’ve probably noticed a little hut in the back ofRead more

Summertime

It’s June, and meteorologically speaking, it’s summer. Here’re some photos taken during May as a way of saying goodbye to spring and hello to summer. Since we started off with a green tree frog perched upon Equisetum, or horsetail, in the top photo, we’ll continue with amphibians. Hairstreak butterflies are named for the long, hair-like scales that extend from the hind wings. They are pseudo antennae intended to fool would be predators into thinking the hind wing area is the headRead more

What Happened Here?

Near the Wetlands, and next to an American holly loaded with berries, stands a sapling elm tree. There are many such trees here at the Museum. But, as I walked past this particular pair of arboreal specimens I noticed several clusters of passerine contour feathers stuck to the thin branches of the small, bare elm. Most of the feathers were white, some had rufus colored centers. What happened here? When I see a group of feathers clumped together as on theRead more