farm & garden
What’s In a Name?
Brace yourself. Get ready for a stiff shot of truth. I’m going to give it to you straight, no chaser: The name of a bird will not tell you what it looks like. “But wait,” you say, “Isn’t a Red-w...
May 06, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 0 0 recommendations | email to a friend
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Protect birds; Dirty your windows!
It is estimated that almost a billion birds die every year because they collide with windows. That is a lot of dead birds. And that puts windows right up there with outdoor cats and habitat de...
Apr 08, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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Time Is the Thief You Cannot Banish
I remember running home after school down the trail through the woods behind East Main Street School; past the Rickman house; across the Battles’ backyard; through the marshy field we called “The ...
Mar 11, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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So You Want Bluebirds?
If you want bluebirds, offer them a place to live and a place to eat. It is hard for a bluebird to pass up free room and board. So start off with a birdhouse or two and an open space full of bug...
Feb 25, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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Ask a Master Gardener: How to propagate camellias
Q.: A friend of mine has a beautiful camellia with variegated blooms. I’d love to have one of the same, but she doesn’t know its name, and we can’t find it in garden catalogs or in retail garden ...
Feb 11, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
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Old Wives’ Tales Are Just That
Have you ever wondered if Ostriches really stick their heads in the sand to hide? Two of my friends are so sure that they do that I am writing this column to try to convince them otherwise. Ostr...
Jan 28, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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Let’s Go Native with Trout Lilies
Yes, it has been rainy and cold, and we’ve seen our first snow. But it’s not too early to begin planning hikes through the woods to spot the first of the native wildflowers that begin blooming i...
Jan 21, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend
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What Is That Crow Doing?
My grandfather hated crows. They pecked his watermelons and tomatoes and ate his corn. He would never understand my tolerance of the crow family, which spends much of each day in our yard, eating...
Jan 14, 2013 | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend
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Where Do Babies Come From?
Writing a column about birds is like working in a welcome center on an interstate highway. People ask you questions. Only instead of asking where to buy cheap gas they ask me questions about bird...
Dec 31, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend
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Bird feeders and guard dogs should be ugly
Are you having trouble filling your Christmas list? I am, and Christmas is only a week away. It was easier and more fun when I could just write a letter to Santa. Santa never made mistakes. We...
Dec 17, 2012 | 0 0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
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