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What a Mushroom Eating Squirrel Teaches Us About Nature
After a rainy spell a couple weeks ago, mushrooms appeared in a section of my rewilded yard. About a week later I started noticing...

ljmarkson
Dec 21, 20213 min read


The Future is Dependent on Connecting Children to Nature Every Day
"Today’s children, growing up on lawns and pavements, will not even have nostalgia to guide them, and soon the animals will be not only...

ljmarkson
Dec 17, 20214 min read


Holiday Light Pollution Shines Brightly at Botanical Gardens
Sometimes I wish I could take off my awareness glasses and go back to ignorantly enjoying things that harm our ecosystem. For example,...

ljmarkson
Dec 8, 20216 min read


The Squirrel and Acorn Connection
I wish I spoke Eastern grey squirrel on a warm day a couple weeks ago when I saw an industrious young squirrel think he was cleverly...

ljmarkson
Nov 29, 20215 min read


Connecting the Rodenticide and Backyard Ecosystem Dots
My biophobic, eco-clueless neighbor found dead snakes in her driveway and posted in our neighborhood group because she wanted to know if...

ljmarkson
Nov 23, 20215 min read


Reclaiming My Leaves and Restoring Nature
My advocacy for nature puts me outside my conflict comfort zone. I find myself consistently protecting my rewilded yard from neighboring...

ljmarkson
Nov 3, 20213 min read


A Handful of Late Blooming Fall Native Plants
I love profiling native plants but have a growing list of other topics I also want to write about and feel like I’m always running...

ljmarkson
Oct 31, 20214 min read


Reclaiming Nature and Letting Go of Stress
Nature is such a powerful cure-all that ecotherapy uses it as a tool to professionally boost growth, healing and reduce stress. It is...

ljmarkson
Oct 22, 20215 min read


Rehoming Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars
Last year I posted about not being the only nature lover I know who moves gulf fritillary caterpillars from native passionflower vines...

ljmarkson
Oct 13, 20213 min read


Don't Overlook Bidens Alba as an Essential Georgia Native Pollinator Plant
The idea to profile 30 native plants growing in my yard in September may have been a bit too ambitious. The more realistic number is 10...

ljmarkson
Sep 30, 20213 min read


White Snakeroot - a Dangerously Pretty Native Plant!
Native plant pick #6 for September is white snakeroot (ageratina altissima - previously eupatorium rugosum). The name comes from Native...

ljmarkson
Sep 19, 20212 min read


Native Aquatic Milkweed Is a Pretty and Petite Monarch Host Plant for Damp Areas
My September native plant pick #5 is white swamp milkweed or aquatic milkweed (asclepias perennis), one of many native milkweeds in...

ljmarkson
Sep 17, 20212 min read


Boneset is a Thoroughly Valuable Native Plant
My September native plant pick #4 is common boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum), also called thoroughwort because of the way the stems go...

ljmarkson
Sep 13, 20212 min read


Native Climbing Boneset is Loved By Pollinators!
My #3 September native plant pick is a rambling perennial vine I've only noticed growing at a nearby nature park in my intown Atlanta...

ljmarkson
Sep 8, 20212 min read


Frog Fruit Is a Valuable Native Groundcover!
My September native plant pick #2 is a fantastic low-growing, semi-evergreen groundcover called frog fruit (phyla nodiflora, formerly...

ljmarkson
Sep 4, 20212 min read


Flowering Spurge is an Overlooked Native Plant
I just realized the summer is disappearing and I haven’t shared much about the native plants growing in my little wildlife sanctuary...

ljmarkson
Sep 3, 20212 min read


A Successful Pollinator Garden is Messy
OR Did You Really Plant That Pollinator Garden for Pollinators? Starting in early spring a 5 year old pollinator garden at the entrance...

ljmarkson
Aug 25, 20214 min read


Hummingbirds and Windows
Drama unfolded in my small semi-urban rewilded yard recently when two ruby-throated hummingbirds, probably engrossed in a territorial...

ljmarkson
Aug 16, 20212 min read


Robber Flies are Ferocious Insect Hunters!
Yesterday, when a robber fly landed on my backdoor window I felt like it wanted to say hi and have its picture taken because it...

ljmarkson
Jul 31, 20212 min read


My Moth Week Miracle
There seems to be a special place in all secular and religious belief systems for the idea that things happen for a reason. A few days...

ljmarkson
Jul 26, 20213 min read
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