 |
| Friendship |
P.S. a little numerology: Monday was the 100th post and 30th follower on this blog :)
"Sure, we could live without grizzlies and jaguars... for a
while... but do we want to?"
while... but do we want to?"
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Wordless Wednesday: Friendship
P.S. a little numerology: Monday was the 100th post and 30th follower on this blog :)
Wordless Wednesday: Friendship
|
| Friendship |
P.S. a little numerology: Monday was the 100th post and 30th follower on this blog :)
Monday, April 15, 2013
Be the Change for Animals -The Spine of the Continent
Save the Wolves. Help the Cougars. Protect the Prairie Dog. Preserve the Lynx. Bring Back Bison. Keep the Condor.
And so it goes. Fragmented. Black bears in one National Park, isolated from all other black bears, disappear, die out, due to inbreeding and the inherent risk of their low numbers. Wolves protected in their "island", are shot when they unknowingly leave the Park.
Protecting little "islands" of habitat was once believed to be the answer. Ecologists slowly, painstakingly, pieced together the scientific evidence that ecosystems don't work in isolation. Horrified, it dawned on them. That you can't save species from extinction, even by keeping them in little blocks of pristine space.
You end up with noted scientists weeping in front of author Mary Ellen Hannibal during book interviews.
And she ends up writing an eloquent book, The Spine of the Continent.
Because those weeping biologists are joined by dozens of environmental groups in knowing how to save many of the species we are wiping out.
The solution? Join all the islands into one huge protected area. Connect the dots. Build an enormous wildlife corridor right down the western mountains of the continent.
In one stroke, give the creatures genetic variation, room to roam, and larger populations.
Yet most ordinary Americans have never heard of this idea.
Are you intrigued? Would you like to know more about who supports this idea? Are you interested in the scientists and evidence that led the wildlife community to advocate passionately for the SOC?
I read this book. I thought I knew about ecology: I have a B.A. in Biology and taught A.P. Bio and Marine Ecology to high schoolers. I learned a tremendous amount from this book.
Even better - I felt HOPE.
Today is "Blog the Change For Animals" Day.
I encourage you to:
1. Click on the link to Mary Ellen Hannibal's website.
2. Get The Spine of the Continent from the library or Amazon and read it.
3. Google "spine of the continent initiative" and learn more.
MARGO MCKNIGHT
Be the Change for Animals -The Spine of the Continent
Save the Wolves. Help the Cougars. Protect the Prairie Dog. Preserve the Lynx. Bring Back Bison. Keep the Condor.
And so it goes. Fragmented. Black bears in one National Park, isolated from all other black bears, disappear, die out, due to inbreeding and the inherent risk of their low numbers. Wolves protected in their "island", are shot when they unknowingly leave the Park.
Protecting little "islands" of habitat was once believed to be the answer. Ecologists slowly, painstakingly, pieced together the scientific evidence that ecosystems don't work in isolation. Horrified, it dawned on them. That you can't save species from extinction, even by keeping them in little blocks of pristine space.
You end up with noted scientists weeping in front of author Mary Ellen Hannibal during book interviews.
And she ends up writing an eloquent book, The Spine of the Continent.
Because those weeping biologists are joined by dozens of environmental groups in knowing how to save many of the species we are wiping out.
The solution? Join all the islands into one huge protected area. Connect the dots. Build an enormous wildlife corridor right down the western mountains of the continent.
In one stroke, give the creatures genetic variation, room to roam, and larger populations.
Yet most ordinary Americans have never heard of this idea.
Are you intrigued? Would you like to know more about who supports this idea? Are you interested in the scientists and evidence that led the wildlife community to advocate passionately for the SOC?
I read this book. I thought I knew about ecology: I have a B.A. in Biology and taught A.P. Bio and Marine Ecology to high schoolers. I learned a tremendous amount from this book.
Even better - I felt HOPE.
Today is "Blog the Change For Animals" Day.
I encourage you to:
1. Click on the link to Mary Ellen Hannibal's website.
2. Get The Spine of the Continent from the library or Amazon and read it.
3. Google "spine of the continent initiative" and learn more.
"Sure, we could live without grizzlies and jaguars... for a
while... but do we want to?"
while... but do we want to?"
MARGO MCKNIGHT
Friday, April 12, 2013
See Beautiful: Our Blooming Yard
When we moved into our house 16 years ago it had only the most basic builder's landscaping in front, a large but plain rectangular deck in back, and a few spindly gum ball trees. Brush and poison ivy grew along the neighbor's fence at the back of our yard. As I am extremely allergic to poison ivy, I won't soon forget the hours we spent clearing it out.
Our yard is a labor of love. Many of the plants and structures trigger happy memories . I truly 'see beautiful' every time I step out of my home. I would love to share some of that beauty with you...
Step out the back door:
 |
| This is the first flower bed we created after Ted fenced the back yard. The cherry tree replaced a huge tulip poplar that we had removed due to the risk of it falling in a hurricane. (Yes, that is one of Toby's bones at the bottom of the photo!) |
 |
| Cherry blossoms |
 |
| Ted added a pergola to one end of the deck and a huge gazebo to the other side in time for daughter Lauren's wedding. He trained the Carolina jasmine over the top over the next several years. |
 |
| Carolina Jasmine |
 |
| The bushes in front of the pergola survived being crushed by a neighbor's tree during Hurricane Isabel. |
 |
| These wax myrtles are native plants that give food and shelter to songbirds. |
 |
| We don't use herbicides or fertilizers on our yard and are rewarded each spring with a purple carpet of violets. |
 |
| The cherry tree steals the show, but I smile when I see the forsythia in its shadow. Ted dug it up from out front, where it was a sickly twig. He was about to throw it away, but I insisted we give it one more chance. Evidently it likes its new location! |
 |
| Forsythia |
 |
| This is where those skinny gumball trees originally lived. Now it features clover, gardenia, St. John's Wort, Easter lilies, day lilies, irises, daffodils, and azaleas. The bird house is used every year by a pair of chickadees. |
 |
| Clover blooms |
 |
| Can you believe the size of this rosemary bush? It's been here for years now and it's still going strong! |
 |
| Rosemary flowers |
 |
| I love the contrast of the dark purple plum leaves with all of the bright green. |
 |
| Plum blossom |
 |
| Ted spent years growing and pruning these bushes to make an archway. |
 |
| Not sure, but I think they are viburnums. |
into the front yard...
 |
| This is the Monticello bush. Well, that's what we call it. We bought it soon after we moved here on a visit to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. The gift shop had 10" tall twigs for sale. We had no idea what a "silver bell" bush was, but planted it anyway. |
 |
| Silverbell flowers |
 |
| This tree used to be a dogwood. Then it was split in a storm and we had to cut it down. The next year it threw up a shoot and spontaneously grew tall and straight with no help from us. But mysteriously, it's not a dogwood! |
 |
| The Mystery Tree (Bradford Pear?) |
 |
| The azaleas at the foot of the Mystery Tree are about to bloom. |
 |
| The "Anniversary Garden". For our 25th anniversary, we built the garden as our gift to each other. |
 |
| Tulip Magnolia |
 |
| Quince blossoms |
 |
| This incredible double plum was one of the few trees here originally. It has doubled in size, and now blooms and shelters a nest right outside our bedroom window! |
 |
| Ovulate cone - carrying last year's seeds. |
 |
| Staminate (male) cone - source of all that pollen. |
Happy See Beautiful Friday!
Have a beautiful weekend of seeing beauty!
See Beautiful: Our Blooming Yard
When we moved into our house 16 years ago it had only the most basic builder's landscaping in front, a large but plain rectangular deck in back, and a few spindly gum ball trees. Brush and poison ivy grew along the neighbor's fence at the back of our yard. As I am extremely allergic to poison ivy, I won't soon forget the hours we spent clearing it out.
Our yard is a labor of love. Many of the plants and structures trigger happy memories . I truly 'see beautiful' every time I step out of my home. I would love to share some of that beauty with you...
Step out the back door:
|
| This is the first flower bed we created after Ted fenced the back yard. The cherry tree replaced a huge tulip poplar that we had removed due to the risk of it falling in a hurricane. (Yes, that is one of Toby's bones at the bottom of the photo!) |
|
| Cherry blossoms |
|
| Ted added a pergola to one end of the deck and a huge gazebo to the other side in time for daughter Lauren's wedding. He trained the Carolina jasmine over the top over the next several years. |
|
| Carolina Jasmine |
|
| The bushes in front of the pergola survived being crushed by a neighbor's tree during Hurricane Isabel. |
|
| These wax myrtles are native plants that give food and shelter to songbirds. |
|
| We don't use herbicides or fertilizers on our yard and are rewarded each spring with a purple carpet of violets. |
|
| The cherry tree steals the show, but I smile when I see the forsythia in its shadow. Ted dug it up from out front, where it was a sickly twig. He was about to throw it away, but I insisted we give it one more chance. Evidently it likes its new location! |
|
| Forsythia |
|
| This is where those skinny gumball trees originally lived. Now it features clover, gardenia, St. John's Wort, Easter lilies, day lilies, irises, daffodils, and azaleas. The bird house is used every year by a pair of chickadees. |
|
| Clover blooms |
|
| Can you believe the size of this rosemary bush? It's been here for years now and it's still going strong! |
|
| Rosemary flowers |
|
| I love the contrast of the dark purple plum leaves with all of the bright green. |
|
| Plum blossom |
|
| Ted spent years growing and pruning these bushes to make an archway. |
|
| Not sure, but I think they are viburnums. |
into the front yard...
|
| This is the Monticello bush. Well, that's what we call it. We bought it soon after we moved here on a visit to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. The gift shop had 10" tall twigs for sale. We had no idea what a "silver bell" bush was, but planted it anyway. |
|
| Silverbell flowers |
|
| This tree used to be a dogwood. Then it was split in a storm and we had to cut it down. The next year it threw up a shoot and spontaneously grew tall and straight with no help from us. But mysteriously, it's not a dogwood! |
|
| The Mystery Tree (Bradford Pear?) |
|
| The azaleas at the foot of the Mystery Tree are about to bloom. |
|
| The "Anniversary Garden". For our 25th anniversary, we built the garden as our gift to each other. |
|
| Tulip Magnolia |
|
| Quince blossoms |
|
| This incredible double plum was one of the few trees here originally. It has doubled in size, and now blooms and shelters a nest right outside our bedroom window! |
|
| Ovulate cone - carrying last year's seeds. |
|
| Staminate (male) cone - source of all that pollen. |
Happy See Beautiful Friday!
Have a beautiful weekend of seeing beauty!
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