Ambushed by Confirmation Bias
It was good to go to Floyd – I got to take a break from the intellectual journey that I’ve been on and about which I wrote the post How Far I’ve Journeyed. The break allowed what I’d read to … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Nature
How Far I’ve Journeyed
Is there such a thing as a “pre-script”? After all, there is such a thing as a post-script! I’ve not fired up MarsEdit, my blogging software, for almost a month, as you can see by the dates in the following … Continue reading →
Wisdom from Ernest Callenbach
Epistle to the Ecotopians By Ernest Callenbach [This document was found on the computer of Ecotopia author Ernest Callenbach (1929-2012) after his death.] To all brothers and sisters who hold the dream in their hearts of a future world in … Continue reading →
Fall Flowers
South Florida may be hot and prone to hurricanes, but it has flowers in the fall while the rest of the country watches the leaves fall. Yellow being my favorite color, I have taken pictures of two of my favorite … Continue reading →
The Driveway in Summer
Foolish me! When I saw the disturbed soil along the edges of the driveway in early April, I thought that I might have to have someone scatter grass seed in those raw areas to prevent erosion. Nope. Problem solved – … Continue reading →
Deer-tongue Grass
Now, there’s a name! This plant came to be called this because the leaf supposedly resembles a deer’s tongue. Not being a hunter, I have no idea what a deer tongue looks like, but perhaps a hunter will see this … Continue reading →
Wild Anise
One troublesome plant that is present on my property is multiflora rose (rosa multiflora). On my early visits to the property after I bought it, I looked around and saw quite a number of large rose bushes and also a … Continue reading →
Yellow Birch
I’m not certain about this one, but my best guess, from studying the Virginia Department of Forestry tree identification guide and doing further research on the Internet, is that it is a yellow birch (betula alleghaniensis). If I’ve learned anything … Continue reading →
Damson Plum
The Damson Plum (prunus domestica) is not, strictly speaking, a native of Virginia. The plant was introduced to the Americas by English colonists long before the American Revolution. So, while it has been in this country several centuries, it isn’t … Continue reading →
Shagbark Hickory
There are four different hickorys native to southwestern Virginia: bitternut, shagbark, mockernut, and pignut. Shagbark hickory is easy to identify because of the shaggy bark, but the others are a little bit more difficult. This photograph is very likely of … Continue reading →