Trees and Shrubs
Red Mulberry – An Excellent Food for Wildlife
Walking out on my daughter’s balcony in her Maryland townhouse, I am careful not to step on the dozens of berries that fell onto the deck from the branches of a Mulberry tree that tower over the veranda. The tree is laden with ripe black-purple berries that dangle from the tree’s branches. Tufted Titmice, gray […]
Elderberry – A Shrub With Many Uses
WARNING – do not .eat berries from trees, bushes, or plants unless you absolutely have a positive ID on the plant. People die from eating poisonous fruits and berries! For example, to the amateur botanist, poison hemlock is plant that grows in similar habitats as elderberry and has flowers that look similar to elderberry, but […]
Leaves of Three… Leave Them Be
The sun’s rays penetrates the morning mist in the red maple- black gum wetlands along a river on Long Island one spring day. Yellowthroat warblers sing from high-bush blueberries and catbirds “meow” from the forest canopy. A white-tailed deer, its fur a rich brown, browses on plants on the forest floor. It raises its head […]
Maryland Woods New Year 2014
When you live in Florida it is easy to be complacent with the sub-tropical climate. I lived most of my life up north on Long Island where there are four entirely different seasons, each with their own beauty, each with their own challenges for organisms that survive there. On a walk through the Maryland woods, […]
Lemons Ripen in Florida!
“Add a slice of lemon to your water; it will impede the formation of kidney stones,” the doctor told me after I had a kidney stone attack. This is not difficult to do since I enjoy a slice of lemon in my water and ice tea. I also enjoy lemon squares and the occasional slice […]
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