Nature’s Toilet Paper

By on Mar 13, 2020 in Nature |

A lot of people are asking why toilet paper? With the recent Covid-19 virus warnings there has been a run on toilet paper in the stores. Hoarding of toilet paper. Well it’s a good reminder that people used the woods long before toilet paper was invented. And for comfort and absorbance some of nature’s foliage works best in the woodland’s wild. It’s obvious to steer clear of tree bark, poison ivy, or anything with thorns. You would think common sense would prevail. The bottom line is in a pinch, here are the 4 best natural options when the store shelves are empty.       Giant Mullein. Cowboy toilet paper. This has to be the obvious choice with thick large fluffy leaves. Cowboys would use this biennial plant out on the range. The range which of course was home. Difficult to miss, the plant grows 4 to 6 feet tall. Like major toilet paper brands it...

Glory

By on Jan 25, 2020 in Nature |

An early morning run on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Thankful for moments like these. (Click on image to enlarge)

My Personal Musical Fountain

By on Sep 15, 2019 in Lake Michigan, Nature |

I could sit on the dune and watch this all day. It’s one of my favorite spots to sit and watch Lake Michigan. Listen to the music in my head as you watch the video. Crank it up and enjoy!

Butterfly tagging

By on Sep 12, 2019 in Nature |

On Tuesday September 10 we tagged more Monarch butterflies for fall release. A wonderful family and young lady named Neve came along as we were about to release the butterflies. With Mom’s permission, Neve was very interested in participating and did a great job! You can tell already at this young age she has a keen interest in nature, insects and flowers.       You can watch the video of Neve releasing the butterfly after tagging here:  

She lichens me she lichens me not

By on Feb 19, 2019 in General, Nature |

I am amazed at the duress lichens will cause some people. They view lichens as a sign of death or decay and strategize to bleach it from existence. True they are found on stationary imperfect objects like grave stones or the north side of slow growing trees, but what keeps us from appreciating their natural beauty? Lichens are an intimate relationship of fungal filaments and algae creating a natural mosaic of art. The fungus protects the algae from the mean world out there and helps collect minerals and water. The algae in turn can photosynthesize making food like plants do and fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. In this intimate relationship it shares some of that with the fungus. It’s like a quid pro quo you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours intimate relationship of organisms. Who would want to break that up? She lichens me, she lichens me not. In the plant world we call the...

Moon Struck

By on Dec 28, 2018 in Nature |

You may consider it “Lunacy.” I consider it an out of this world experience. I was an Apollo age boy and yes we drank Tang, lots of it. First introduced in 1957 a couple years before I was born it was popularized by an American hero John Glenn who allegedly drank it on a NASA Mercury mission. We were from the Apollo age where Tang was the choice of astronauts and if it was good enough for them it was good enough for us. If our astronaut heroes drank Tang we drank it while gazing at the moon anticipating someday we would walk on the moon. Today it’s more than a phase. People are connecting with the phases of the moon. And as a gardener I recognize that it is an age old belief that phases of the moon affect plant growth. People are designing landscapes and patios to enjoy by the moon with white bright flowers and looking for fragrance. They are also lunar gardening...