When I first heard Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Executive Director John Jablonski say that “mud is pollution,” I was completely confused. The word pollution brings to mind Love Canal, acid mine runoff, Erin Brockovich and the Cuyahoga River burning in the 1960s. But not mud. ...
Most, if not all of us, have experienced some sort of internal hardship at some point in our lives. It could be depression, anxiety, nervousness, grief, or overworking. The list is endless. These feelings are not easy to talk about and many issues get put on the back burner. Having such an ...
November. Each day the sun rises a few minutes later and sets a few minutes earlier. Days grow chilly. Nightly frosts become the rule. It’s just a matter of time until the first snow falls. Yes, it’s November. By month’s end, the whole world seems on the brink of death. The few brown leaves that cling tenaciously to their branches eventually will fall, leaving behind naked, seemingly lifeless trees. They will have become mere skeletons of their summer selves. Hayfields and thickets fade to brown. The sky turns monotonously gray. November’s lifelessness, however, is an ...
Algae are not plants but, rather, simple photosynthetic protists which are typically aquatic. “Blue-green algae” are not true algae at all but photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria. They form a large diverse group that ranges from seaweeds like kelp to pond scum to freshwater lake ...
I admit it. I don’t really enjoy this time of year. In a walk outside, it is a challenge to find joy, beauty, and warmth in late fall, especially compared other seasons. The blooms and songs of summer are over. The bright pinks, yellows, reds have fallen away. The last hurrah of fall ...
Back in 1976 a Canadian ornithologist named Erica Dunn established the Ontario Bird Feeder Survey through Canada’s Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO). After a successful 10-year run with more than 500 participants, it became apparent that only a continental survey could accurately monitor large-scale abundance, distribution, and movements of birds. At that point the LPBO partnered with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, resulting in what became Project FeederWatch. In the winter of 1987-88, more than 4,000 people enrolled. FeederWatchers represented all 49 continental states and most ...
