This is a picture of three ticks in a paper cup sealed in a plastic bag from 2018 when I found them on our black lab. They were all three camped out in a row on his back. They hadn’t embedded in his skin, they were just lined up ready for a feast. Surprisingly, I […]
“Those first-born affinities That fit our new existence to existing things.” Charlotte Mason quotes this more than once, it’s a verse from William Wordsworth’s poem Prelude describing something I’m not so sure any of us really know how to quantify. What does she mean by it? She begins her entire section devoted to the task
Those first-born affinities Read More »
A quick post on my observations this week. I have no idea what this plant is… But look at the beautiful way it seeds – suspended between two wings while the holding frames move further and further apart. I’ve never seen a plant that seeds this way; such a beautifully imagined process and the orderliness
Nature Observations June 6, 2013 Read More »
We recently headed back to a local creek for nature study. There’s so much here that we’ve discovered over the years. Giant water bugs are smaller this time of year. Early last year we wondered what they ate in this creek since there didn’t seem to be anything else of significant size. Then we found
Nature Knowledge Gained Without Lessons Read More »
My, this blog is sorely neglected lately! I have a million thoughts in a day to share and always good intentions to do so, and then of course real life ends up taking precedence. Let’s see, I thought I’d post about grammar a while back to tell you how I was caught completely off guard
After all, what is the chief sign of growing old? Is it not the feeling that we know all there is to be known? It is not years which make people old; it is ruts, and limitation of interests. When we no longer care about anything except our own interests, we are then old, it
Nature Study, The Elixir Of Youth Read More »
If you’ve ever been to Laguna Beach, you’ve most likely driven by Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. It sits on the only main road in to Laguna Beach from the freeway that curves its way through sandstone canyons. It was the spot of our nature excursion this week. We headed from the Nix Nature Center under
Laguna Coast Wilderness Park Read More »
We saw this very unusual looking wasp today at the Niguel Botanical Preserve. The picture is not mine, unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera with me. © Copyright John Ascher, 2006-2010 It was one of those “What on earth is that!?!” sightings. Its thread-like waist was just so unusual, I stopped to get a closer
Isodontia Philadelphica – Grass Carrying Wasp Read More »
Do you get that thrill when you identify something new to you? Or something you have seen countless times but never had a name or an idea about it? I do. Our neighbor found this little bug on her back. My five year old helped me figure out what it was with our Kaufman Field
Insect Field Observations Read More »