Kill with kindness

Since I am on an entomology kick, here's a fun find. I found this VERY interesting (smiling!) spider on the temple property and had to take its picture. I haven't the slightest idea what it is called, but talk about CREATIVITY! The wonders of nature never cease to amaze me; I love the excitement of discovery. Any ideas on this friendly creature's name?

Every little bit counts

Pollinator week (see next post) became more personal to me when I made this small discovery. Outside my office door at work is a little garden plot with a random assortment of interesting things to try and keep records on. This year I included a curly parsley plant that I allowed to go to flower knowing that it is the primary host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes. Swallowtails are some of the largest and most attractive butterflies, which are usually yellow or black, and have distinctive two-pronged wing protusions, like the swallow (bird). I hadn't thought much about the parsley or the promise of its symbiotic relationship with catepillars for several weeks, but just recently examined the plant and found six larvae carefully camouflaged amongst the flowers. Hooray for encouraging pollination and species survival!

So what can you do for pollinators?

• design your garden so their is a continuous succession of plants flowering from spring to fall.
• use plants native to your region that provide nectar for adults plus food for insect larvae.
• avoid pesticides
• supply water for all wildlife
• share fun facts, such as this one to add to your "gee-whiz" collection: Did you know that one out of every three mouthfuls of food we eat and beverages we drink is delivered to us by pollinators?
  
  

In honor of the birds and the bees

This week (June 22-28) is the third annual Pollinator's week, sponsored by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign and the Pollinator Partnership. These non-profit organizations assist with the research, awareness, conservation, and public education efforts for this vital life sustaining function. The research efforts are especially important in understanding the dramatic honey bee decline across the globe. Just for fun, I created a little quiz about the week (as part of a short training session for my employees). Here is a truncated version:

1. Who or what is pollination?

a. A peaceful omnivorous communtiy of people called the Polli-ites whose central New Zealand homeland was called the Polli-nation.

b. Bee and wasp anger dance in flowers to ward off predators

c. How pollen grains are moved between two flowers of the same species by animals within a single flower, by wind or animals

d. How pollen grains are moved between flowers of the same species by animals only.

e. None of the above.

2. Worldwide, of the estimated 1,330 crop plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, condiments, spices, and medicines, approximately 1,000 (75%) are pollinated by animals. True or False?

3. A tiny fly no bigger than a pinhead is responsible for the world's supply of chocolate. Midges, tiny flies that live in damp, shady rainforests, are the only animals that can work their way through the complex cacao flower and pollinate it. True or False?

How did you do?

Answers: 1. (d) 2. true 3. true

Five sisters in far-land-away wilderness...

...with the outdoor bug! (So one of the games we played during this most recent trip was Clue and I have the who-done-it verbiage on the brain.) Anyway, the WHOLE family (and not just the sisters) was in Flaming Gorge for a long weekend in early June and it was a lovely break from Georgia humidity. There was a ton of fascinating geological history from Vernal to the gorge as we passed through about a billion years of the earth's upheavals in about 30 minutes of driving. I am not so much a rock guru, but the changing rock strata was manifest through a constantly evolving plant palette. The changing ecosystems demonstrate the changing elevation and underlying rock and supporting soil that exist in a given place. For example, in quick succession we moved from an alpine community (short shrubs, flowering plants, grasses, mosses) to a subalpine community (Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir), to a Douglas-fir community, and so on. FABULOUS scenery! But, as it turns out, that was only the beginning...the Red Canyon Overlook was even more amazing, with its red rock cliff face and clear blue-green water--a very striking contrast. The weekend was filled with great vistas and fun hikes and wide open spaces, and more great scenery, especially along our rafting course down the Green River.

Whisk

Whisk--another favorite word--this one distinctly less glamorous than some of my other favorites, but still worthy of mentioning. Say it aloud, doesn't it have a fabulous sound--whisk, whisk, whisk. I love it! But there is more to this than just letters and sound, it is the whole idea of what whisking implies. Think of the tool: an artistic interweaving of fine gauge wire that is elegant and so effective. Say the word whisk and efficiency and simplicity come to mind. This is a tool that is no-nonsense and makes quick work of a given task. Need dinner is a jiffy? Crack open some eggs then whisk, whisk, whisk and you have the beginnings of an omlet or french toast batter. Sounds like my kind of tool.