In Shakespeare’s classic play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet resists pressure to drop her lover from the hated Montegue family by arguing that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Her suggestion that names don’t matter would fall flat when we look at many edible marine species, including sea vegetables, since it… Read more
Curt Chipman photo This winter has been fairly mild, and that may mean you’ll see some of your favorite birds a bit earlier this spring. One of my favorites is the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), a member of the thrush family, known for their soft plumaged, plump figures and melodic calls. If you are lucky… Read more
“Ed, what are those? There are little black and white birds going crazy out there.” My daughter’s fiancée, Pete, binoculars in hand, was looking out the window at a becalmed Reed Cove, when he noticed some petite ducks repeatedly bobbing up and down in the water. “Ah,” said I, “You’ve spotted the Clown Prince of… Read more
Surely you remember that old Dean Martin song, “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime” (what, you’re too young to remember Dean Martin? Check him out on YouTube). This story is about a creature that is pretty hard to love unless you are into seriously ugly reptiles. Compared to this fellow, an iguana is the belle of… Read more
You can see common winterberry along the Giant’s Stairs Trail (Priscilla Seimer photo) Autumn will soon leave our forests bare. With winter on the way, we need some color to brighten our days. Fortunately we can enjoy a lovely native plant, the common winterberry. Even better, the bright red or orange berries will be on… Read more
I just can’t help it, I’m not a hot weather kind of guy. Oh, I know, this year’s summer weather has been nothing short of amazing, unless you happen to be a farmer. Weeks on end of sunshine, few of those steamy days that remind you of Florida, no cloud bursts to ruin your picnics… Read more
John Berry photo I have often wondered what it’s like to be the second most beautiful creature at a party (admittedly, I am well down the list looking up!). So imagine what a tree swallow feels like with all the fuss about Eastern bluebirds. Yes, bluebirds are just wonderful to look at, with a sunny… Read more
We all love to see colorful flowers and shrubs in our gardens at this time of year. Mary and I always look forward to our crab apple tree blossoming bright pink, followed by the lilacs with their heavenly scent and tiny drops of sweet nectar. The planting of such species, and many other flowering plants… Read more
Early in the lobster season last year, my wife joined me in checking my pots. As we pulled up to the first buoy, Mary looked overboard and was surprised by a mass of jellyfish in the water. There were great numbers of them all around us. We observed them for a minute, then Mary said… Read more
Craig Snapp photo I decided to write this article when super photographer Craig Snapp shared this beautiful photo. As is my practice, I went to my computer and began searching for information to expand upon my own knowledge of toads. The first thing that popped up on Google was a great computer software product called… Read more