This spring a swarm of honeybees showed up and took over this aging hive in the edge of the woods at my neighbor’s farm.   It’s been several years since the previous inhabitants abandoned it.  They left for no clear reason that could be seen.  Bees do that sometimes, when the queen dies or is weak, or some [...]

Now blooming out here in the boonies . . .

Jackamanii clematis (above)  in the perennial garden, transplanted in 2005 from its spot by the front porch at our last house.

Bearded Iris in the front yard, transplanted from a large, beautiful cluster the front pasture.  That spot once was part of the front yard of an [...]

I’ve know of two Bald Eagle nesting spots in our area, and I had a few private landowners tell me of other locations along local rivers where eagles are frequently spotted.  This is, however, the first time I’ve spotted one loitering in a plowed field.

There I was, driving along the blacktop road, smack dab in [...]

The Missouri Evening Primrose (Oenthera macrocarpa) is my current favorite wildflower, partly because the blossoms are large, showy, and just plain beautiful.  The other reason is I’m just excited about finding a nice sized plot of these primroses and having the opportunity to snap a few photos there.  Plus I was able to purchase [...]

This isn’t my wisteria, although I wish it did belong to me.  Lovely and fragrant, this dramatic display of blossoms disguises a signpost and some less than attractive cable supports for a telephone pole.  The vine clearly is well-tended and someone prunes it regularly.

I hope to someday meet the gardener who tends this wisteria so [...]

The wild strawberries are in full bloom in the pastures and forest fringes.  I’m finding them in places I haven’t noticed them before.  The patches I watch each year seem larger, and I’m hopeful that this year I’ll be able to gather enough wild strawberries for a batch of jam.  Of course, I hope that [...]

A few weeks ago, the box turtles emerged from their long winter’s nap underground.  I found this ornate box turtle not long after it had dragged itself out into the bright spring sunlight.  The mud hadn’t yet dried on part of its shell.

It didn’t seem happy about being there.   The bright light probably hurt its [...]

We’re weeks past the Vernal Equinox, but it’s only in the last few days that I’ve been convinced that spring truly has arrived.  I’ve learned not to trust calendar dates or average frost dates.  Instead, I wait for certain signs from nature and not just one bloom or one particular plant.  Mother Nature tricks plants [...]

There I was, driving down a blacktop road on the way home to the farm — and driving too fast, too.  The sun had sunk low in the sky, and in the glare I nearly missed seeing them.  My brain first registered ‘Canada Geese’, which is a reasonable quick assumption because that’s the type of big wild [...]

Gulls aren’t what usually comes to mind when I think of Missouri birds.  We have lots this time of year though.  I took a half hour off for birdwatching earlier this week on a return trip from a family visit near Truman Lake, and I found a flock of gulls just waiting to entertain me.  [...]