Monthly Archives: March 2014

New butterfly

Here are some photos of an unknown butterfly species I saw today. Any lepidopterists out there?

butterfly-2 butterfly-1

Edit: That didn’t take long! John Oliver identified this guy as a Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa). It was not the first butterfly we saw but the first one I managed to photograph. Thanks, John!

Why are invasive species so successful and so bad?

In my first post on non-native and invasive species, I explained the definition of these terms, gave several common examples, and explained why these terms are not synonyms. Let’s leave the general topic of non-native behind for a bit and concentrate on invasive species only. What makes them “bad” and why are they so successful?

Continue reading Why are invasive species so successful and so bad?

Firewood for the ice storm that never happened

A load of seasoned firewood
A load of seasoned firewood

So, I’m a bit late posting this since we appear to be out of the woods, so to speak. Yesterday, we went through some preparation for the ice storm forecast. That included saving back some water and storing the pictured wood in the garage for easy access.

Last year, we converted our gas fireplace back to burn wood again in anticipation of another ice storm that didn’t really materialize. The thought behind this was that we could live through a day or two without power if we could keep a fire burning.

Continue reading Firewood for the ice storm that never happened