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Other Nations: A Naturalist’s Blog about Buffalo Bayou
by Alisa Kline

Posts Tagged: Houston Parks

Jan 20

The dude

Red-bellied woodpeckers abide. They don’t depend on any particular food source, happy to tuck into a nice beetle or chow down on an orange. In fact, as far as citrus farmers are concerned, they are a bit too fond of oranges. RBWs are also happy to eat the eggs of other birds, nuts and vegetables…. Read more »

Jan 13

Shrub detailing. Free of charge.

Sometimes your shrubbery can get, let’s not mince words, a bit buggy. The leaf suckers start to pile up. The mites get a bit mitey. Beetles are out-beetling you. You need help, but who do you call? Well, you call the gnatcatcher. That’s who! If only. We cannot summon birds to do yard work, although… Read more »

Dec 17

Good-bye bee

A quick post this week. I have been trying to write about anything other than this photo, but I have failed, so meet my friend, the eastern carpenter bee who has done his job well. At the end of each summer, the solitary native bees (that’s every bee flying around that isn’t a European honeybee)… Read more »

Sep 23

Cooper’s follies

This is the season for juvenile Cooper’s hawks to entertain everyone as they struggle up the learning curve.  Cooper’s hawks are about the size of a crow. In their juvenile plumage, which is mostly what we have right now, they are a mass of brown streaks and yellow legs and look more or less like… Read more »

Aug 26

Windy

This post was supposed to be a contemplation on the nature of nature. Then nature decided to aim a hurricane towards the small private nature preserve I manage and the time I should have been writing was spent disassembling various decorative archways and moving future projectiles to safer ground. This morning, we got the good… Read more »

Aug 06

Mental health day

Galveston Island State Park was the balm my soul needed. Not nature in little pockets; not hooray, I stumbled on something; NATURE, glorious, free, exuberant nature. I needed to be surrounded by wildness, dipped into it and rolled around until the stench of indoors had completely washed away. Mission accomplished. I spent over an hour with… Read more »

Jul 29

Ouch!

A mandolin is a wonderful kitchen tool. It is a hand-operated, razor-sharp blade that can make quick work of slicing cucumbers for pickling. However, if you are too fond of cooking shows and like to emulate the techniques you learn from them, you might throw caution to the wind and slice up said cucumbers without… Read more »

Jun 17

World’s Best Dad

Cardinals have a special place in my heart. They are ubiquitous. Everywhere I have traveled in the U.S., I have been awoken by cardinal song. It is the same song I listened to in bed as a child and every time I hear it, I get a warm cozy feeling. Also, and I can’t really… Read more »

Apr 29

Exquisite timing of migration

Plants can predict the arrival of birds. Blooming and fruiting Mulberries forecast the appearance of orioles, tanagers and grosbeaks. Their disappearance presages the departure of waxwings. My enormous acacia tree that was taken by Ike could forecast the appearance of magnolia warblers. It was always magnolia warblers. Other warblers hopped through the pecan trees, probing… Read more »

Apr 11

Houston Naturama Challenge Week 2

In case you found your way here without knowing the rules, here’s a link to the Houston Naturama intro page. Find each of these plants Snap a photo Upload it to iNaturalist The easiest way is to take the photo from within the app itself. If you’re not sure if the plant you are looking… Read more »

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“[Animals] are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”

—Henry Beston, The Outermost House

 

For sightings, questions or comments email blog@alisakline.com.

Blog Categories

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