Redefining the Beauty of Nature and Wildlife in Our Gardens
I met a new species this week. Well, actually we first met back in November, but I never got around to identification. My new friend is a Little Grass Frog (Pseudacris ocularis). Living up to its name, I saw some movement in the native grasses, a collection of sedges and bluestem and even some wildflowers… [Continue Reading]
Now that we are deep in January’s cold grip I wonder how my critters are doing…in particular the toads. This has not been a normal January with frigid temps and lots of snow and ice. We have had very little snow with variable temps reminiscent of early March days. The American Toad (Bufo americanus) is… [Continue Reading]
As usual, I put the trash out on Monday between the culvert and the roadway. As I turned to walk back in through the gate, my eye caught movement down in the culvert, which has dried up since we haven’t had any measurable rain lately. I grew closer and stared down to see a struggling… [Continue Reading]
Dear Readers, if I have not contributed much to Beautiful Wildlife Garden over the past few weeks, here is just one of the reasons why: The freak Halloween nor’easter that hit New England on October 29th dumped 18″ of wet snow on our farm, wiped out our power for nearly a week, and caused… [Continue Reading]
[Guest post by Anita Jackson] One wouldn’t expect to discover such vibrant color walking through the sodden trails of dense trees with such little sunlight shining through. One afternoon, while rushing through the forest path to get to the river in the mountain regions of West Virginia, I ran across this little blazing beauty. The… [Continue Reading]
Photo by Minette Layne We have a lot of Pacific Chorus Frogs (or “tree frogs”) around here and when we first spotted them in the garden, we were thrilled. We rarely saw frogs where we lived just four short months ago, so this was just another confirmation of the smart move we’d made. The Chorus… [Continue Reading]
After a recent rain, I was walking in the garden when I thought I saw something under the Hostas. A closer inspection revealed this critter. While toads are permanent residents of Squirrelhaven, frogs are rare visitors. I had never seen such a large one in the garden. The frog sat there under the shelter of… [Continue Reading]
They’re back, those itty-bitty amphibians. There are baby toads all over my garden now, and they are just cutest things. Every year in mid-summer I await their appearance eagerly. The toadlets are hard to see when they’re so little, but it’s important to look out for them if you have them in your garden. I… [Continue Reading]
Two weeks ago I was getting depressed that the pond was in such a low state that the bottom of the lowest level was beginning to show. My pond is approximately 90 x 30 with a depth of 15-foot in one section and 4 foot in another area. Rainy season was severely delayed this year…. [Continue Reading]
I am telling you, a pond in the backyard is the most fun you can have with biology with your clothes on. I originally dug the pond in order to provide frog breeding habitat. I think I can say with some certainty that I have succeeded. We had tadpoles within a week of filling the… [Continue Reading]
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