Category: Anita’s blog
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Anita’s Blog — The Dark of Night
Everyone knows the night time is scary. Any matter of danger lurks, undetected, in the dark. A couple of years ago, a soft wheeeel gained in decibels near where I was enjoying the summer night; the screeched word slowly growing to a piercing squeal before settling into a puc, puc, p’weeEER. Frightening, it was, leaving…
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Anita’s Blog — Guilt-free Gardening
This past week saw 1,165 Texas Master Naturalists from all 48 chapters across Texas attending the annual conference — virtually. One particular technical session resonated with me because it allowed me to finally be a guilt-free gardener! Yes, I have a guilty secret. I harbor some non-native plants in my gardens. And that’s ok! Doug…
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Anita’s Blog — Foretelling the Weather
The moon belies what the rain crow says. If the moon looks like it’s tipped on its back cradling water, it won’t rain. If it’s tipped forward so water can spill out, it will rain — so I was told by a retired nurse when I first moved to the Valley. The call of a…
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Anita’s Blog — Siren Song of Summer
Last summer brought us the superb dog-day cicada, Neotibicen superbus and its nostalgic, resonating song. Another Texas songster is filling the night air this summer with decibel-alarming pitch: the giant cicada, Quesada gigas, the widest ranging cicada in the Western Hemisphere — and quite possibly, the loudest insect in Texas. The giant cicada’s northern most…
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Anita’s blog — Of Dandelions & Ditches
The Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) was the most observed species — globally — in this year’s iNaturalist/City Nature Challenge. How cool is that?! — 246 cities in 40 countries joined the annual event — 12 more countries participated than in 2019. Who doesn’t love a dandelion? Every kid’s first delight as soon as they’re let…
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Anita’s Blog — “All Night Long”
A friend called and said, “It’s spring, why don’t you write about the mockingbird? Why do they sing all night long?” So, don’t you know, Lionel Richie’s 1983 hit single, “All Night Long,” has been going through my head — especially the last couple of days while I’ve been photographing everything moving, chirping or blooming…