The grandkids an I have been braiding homegrown sweetgrass—sweetgrass started from seed. Starting Hierochloe odorata from seed requires patience and determination. It prefers to reproduce vegetatively, but now I’ve got a patch in several places around the yard, and this fall was able to harvest quite a sheaf.
Cranes On The Move
First week of March. South winds, warmer temperatures, melting snow, thawing ponds and lakes. I first heard the cranes’ haunting cry (here in southern Wisconsin) on March 5 when the land was still locked in winter. But by March 8, hundreds were streaming overhead, all morning long. Some will settle here, more will continue north across Wisconsin and into Minnesota and Canada.
How many cranes can you count in this photo?
Winter Mystery?
What is this? Who was here? What happened? (Possible answers on Ecological Empathy page.
Tig Is Here!
Tig is the second book in the Science Story Book series, in which young naturalist Jace gets to really know young sandhill crane, Antigone Canadensis.