Category Archives: Wildlife

A Fair Trade

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Randy Tindall

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)

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Randy Tindall

  (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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Beneath the Surface

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Randy Tindall

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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The Golden Invasion

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Randy Tindall

Koganemushi froze, senses alert for danger as it detected motion.  It raised its tiny oars in defense, then tucked and rolled, releasing its devastated leaf in a desperate bid to disappear beyond my sight.  Too late.  Before it could turn … Continue reading →

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We Hardly Knew Ye……

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Randy Tindall

The Great Southern Brood has flung its fling, sung its songs, flown its flights, sowed its seeds. A few lonely latecomers still flit around, looking a little lost, wondering where the big party is, but the waves of red-eyed revelers … Continue reading →

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Troubling a Star

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Randy Tindall

“All things by immortal power Near or far, Hiddenly To each other linked are, That thou canst not stir a flower Without troubling of a star.” — Francis Thompson Having never been a father, I have to take my Father’s … Continue reading →

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The Great Southern Brood

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Randy Tindall

The Great Southern Brood is in our backyard, playing out a small part of its epic history here during these hot, oppressive days of late May, early June—-days more reminiscent of July and August than of this supposed pre-summer interlude.  … Continue reading →

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