While taking a break from transplanting peppers the other day, the madman noticed a new bird at the suet feeder. Actually, Northern Flickers aren’t new to us. We often see these woodpeckers during the warmer months busily foraging for insects in the lawn. We just don’t recall seeing one on the suet feeder before –…
Sure, we’re out of the Persephone Period, but we still don’t see the sun until around 7 (if we see it at all!). And the madman is still in his mid-winter funk, so I dragged him out to the back looking for a green pick-me-up. And there it was – moss. Moss, more correctly called…
Looking out the back window the other day, the madman saw a Red-winged Blackbird at the feeder. Whoa, January 15 is a bit earlier than usual. According to some ornithologists (SAT word for bird expert), Red-winged Blackbirds are year-round residents of Connecticut. Others say our Blackbirds migrate south for the winter. Blackbirds are Early In…
Here we are in 2024 and the madman is troubled. For the past month or so his thoughts keep returning to our new USDA Hardiness Zone. We have moved up a half a zone. We Are Getting Warmer It may not sound like a big deal – after all, it’s only a 5° temperature shift….
Here it is December 26, and the tree is holding up. The madman and I can’t imagine not having a live Christmas tree. But it seems we are in the minority. Nearly 8 out of 10 households decorated an artificial tree this year. An Unusual Christmas Tree Talk of shortages and high costs may have…
We are in a new zone – a new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone, that is. Our zone here in Farmington has gone from 6a to 6b. Actually, about half of the United States has shifted to a warmer plant zone. This is great news, right? Well, before we start trading our potato crops for watermelon,…
The madman says, “You can never start too early.” And this time he’s not talking about seeds. He’s actually talking about future generations. You know, the ones who will inherit the earth from us. Maybe this year you can give the kids in your life something more lasting than the game they’ll never play with….
If you can only plant one tree in your backyard, make it an oak tree. If you have room for a second one, make that one an oak, too. That’s what the madman says. And he’s not alone. In his new book, The Nature of Oaks, Professor Doug Tallamy writes, “if you are at all…
If you thought you knew about American History, take a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. Along the way stop at a couple of Civil War Sites. You might find that you don’t know as much as you thought: like the madman did. Thanks to advances in technology and research, our understanding of history has broadened. The…