There’s a fresh blanket of snow outside, and I couldn’t be more thrilled because it is great for us to start the 2023 growing season! Coming soon on the calendar, folks, is a football-influenced, American non-holiday that gardeners and growers in U.S. zones 6 and lower (and by “lower” I mean geographically “norther”) are preparing… Continue reading Get Going on Growing
Category: Create Ecology Stories
August FUFpdate
Hello! This Gray Tree Frog surprised me when I lifted a pot of flowers from the patio table. I’m sure it was also quite surprised to be suddenly exposed! I carefully moved her/him to a spot under the lilac. Good luck, friend! I hope life is easy for you… being green and all. I am… Continue reading August FUFpdate
Plastic-Free July
“But isn’t July almost a memory?” Well, yes. It’s almost the end of the month, and I’m sure your July has not been plastic-free. And actually, even if I had posted about this initiative three weeks ago, your month would not have been without plastic. Because plastic is everywhere. Actually everywhere. It has no final… Continue reading Plastic-Free July
CE News!
Hello, Readers, Supporters, Friends ~ I’ve been intending to write this post for a while, with a smidge of hesitation to get started. This is the ‘scary exciting’ news I hinted at early in the season. Scary because the risk of failure is so real. Exciting because it involves learning, creating, and sharing, and… Continue reading CE News!
A Special Day
Hope you’ll celebrate these three events today, in whatever big or small ways you have capacity to do. Pollinator Week As I began Create Ecology and this blog, I emphasized that there is value in doing even one basic thing that will support the ecosystem where you live. Several years ago, I was visiting a… Continue reading A Special Day
Celebrating the Longest Night
Seems it will not be a white Christmas where I live. As someone who loves snow, I am a bit bummed. But there’s no reason to begrudge brown-green Christmas. I think it reminds us about the active ecologies that we do not typically give attention to at this time of year. As we celebrate big… Continue reading Celebrating the Longest Night
How to Raise a Tiger
(Fans of Tiger King, this is not going to be what you think it is. You’re welcome to stay and learn about swallowtails.) The second week of August, there was a little ‘poop’ on a leaf of chokecherry in my yard. I brought it inside to a butterfly pupation tent. As it was the only… Continue reading How to Raise a Tiger
August Fliers
Every year, I gush about the rose-gold light that precedes August sunsets. A few years ago, I learned that is the time of day when I might catch glimpse of a sphinx moth in the garden. It’s usually only once per season that my path crosses with a flight, and it’s pretty darn magical. In… Continue reading August Fliers
Oh, No! Ohhhh…Cool!
It’s been raining lately. People often say when the sun is shining, “Isn’t it a beautiful day?!” It probably is. And it’s also often a beautiful day when it’s raining. Because rain isn’t a “problem.” Rain tonight means I am typing this instead of picking tomatoes. Both are great and give me a happy. The… Continue reading Oh, No! Ohhhh…Cool!
Plant Jail :)
aka What to actually do with “rabbit cages” Take a look at the photo above. Notice anything? Besides the blurry resolution. And not the almost-hidden utility pole. Not the charlie creeping into the edge of the bed, either. I mean the ‘rabbit cages’. There are three of them in this photo. Really! And today I… Continue reading Plant Jail 🙂
Colorful Month Ahead
It’s the Friday before a long weekend, the beginning of a new month bursting with color! Last week, we learned about pollinators, including some that don’t ‘get a lot of press’ in the mainstream. Here are a couple photos of small carpenter bees. It’s hard to capture a clear picture of these constantly moving, busy… Continue reading Colorful Month Ahead
Bee Aware
Stand for It About a year ago, the doorbell rang. The bell ringer was a college student working his summer job: door-to-door representative and salesman for a pest control company. I entertained his pitch about ant, wasp, and other insect mitigation. “Eco-friendly,” he said, “all natural.” He obviously had been coached and knew the official… Continue reading Bee Aware
Pollinators Week: Word Association
I say, “Pollinators.” Chances are, you respond, “Bees!” Maybe you also thought of hummingbirds, a charismatic megafauna of pollinator species, frequently depicted on logos and awareness signage. Bees and birds are but a few of a multitude of animals doing the work of pollination that results in food on our plates, flowers in our vases,… Continue reading Pollinators Week: Word Association