Author Archives: Randy Tindall

The Unknown Turn

I looked down the at the tattered sheet of paper laying beside the path.  Despite having been shredded by shotgun pellets, it was still legible.  “Trail Begins Again Here”, it said.  A few feet farther along, Nadia and I emerged … Continue reading

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The Hoarder on the Deck: Our Trashline Orb-weaver

I don’t think we’ve reached the point where intervention is called for, but we have a hoarder in our backyard.  Not the kind that buys twenty tubes of toothpaste when it goes on sale, but more like the type that … Continue reading

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New Native Plant Pages

I have posted the first two of a collection of pages dedicated to the native plants Nadia has identified in our yard.  You can find them in the Our Native Plants pull-down menu.  I hope to add about one per … Continue reading

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Through the Keyhole

It takes patience to walk a beagle.  It is not an exercise for the terminally rushed, nor is it for those who want to cover a lot of ground and work up a sweat.  Beagles have other agendas. It doesn’t … Continue reading

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A Fair Trade

We may not have any more parsley in our yard, but we should soon have a bumper crop of Black Swallowtails.

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A Lotta Damn Gall(s)

  (NOTE: Full confession—I goofed!  The following article is partially incorrect. The apple-like galls are NOT caused by one of the generations of a cynipid wasp, but rather by Polystepha pilulae, a midge, a mere dipteran, not a noble hymenopteran.  … Continue reading

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Quiet Medicine

Being in our backyard calms—-me—-down.  It is a palpable sensation, beginning within minutes of going out there and just sitting—just watching and listening.  Even though Nadia and I live along a busy street, the traffic noise fades to insignificance in … Continue reading

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Beans and Butterflies

My Dad stopped and stared at some plants in our yard, then turned to stare at me.  “Did you just forget to pull these things?” he asked.  “Because if you did, I can do it for you now.” “No”, I … Continue reading

Posted in Edible Native Plants, Farming, Musings, Native Plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Backyard Haute (or at least, Hot) Cuisine

Aficionados of native edibles can get into ruts.  It’s easy to cook down all wild greens like they were spinach, or to make omelets and fritatas with them, or throw them in with a bunch of potatoes to roast or … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Edible Native Plants, Foraging, Native Plants, Recipes | 1 Comment

Beneath the Surface

Daydreaming in our backyard one afternoon, I heard something hit the side of our house, just a few feet away. Startled, I looked up to see a struggling sparrow, looking newly-fledged and adolescent-clumsy, fluttering off our deck and again hitting … Continue reading

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