Nature

Crossing Paths: Amphibians and Springtime Roads

[The content of this blog is almost identical to a posting on the Farmscape Ecology Program Facebook page by Conrad earlier today, which we hereby make available to readers who don’t use Facebook].

Encouraging Fall Flowers and their Insect Visitors on Farms in the Hudson Valley

Flowers are beautiful. Flowers are also necessary to produce many fruits and vegetables we like to eat. For example, there are no tomatoes without tomato flowers and no cherries without cherry blossoms. Additionally, flowers are a crucial resource for many insects, some of which, in turn, are beneficial for agricultural production.

In the Asparagus Patch.

Highlights from an Ecology Walk through the Oak-Heath Barrens of Taconic SP in Copake, NY

The Oak-Heath Barrens around Sunset Rock in Taconic State Park in Copake, NY were the destination of an Ecology Walk guided by the Farmscape Ecology Program on June 7, 2015. Here, we share some of the highlights from that walk and provide information that will help others explore this unique and beautiful habitat on their own.

The Peak of Native Spring Wildflowers

Spring came late this year, but during the last two weeks we have seen an explosion of spring wildflowers in Columbia County, NY. This posting will highlight some of the common and not-so-common finds from our public spring flower walks, with particular attention to Violets and Trilliums.

First Signs of Spring

Spring is here at last! Even though there are no leaves on the trees yet, and the peak of flowering is yet to come, there are subtle signs of Spring stirring all around us.

Winter Memories

This posting features some of the images Conrad has shared in small installments on facebook during the last month. So, if you periodically look at the Farmscape Ecology Program Facebook Page, most of this will be familiar… If you haven’t yet seen these images, we hope you enjoy them!

Winter Exploration along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Hillsdale, NY

On Sunday, Feb. 9th, a group of 20 people spent a couple of hours with us exploring the winter botany and animal tracks along the recently opened section of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Hillsdale. In this post, we will share some of our finds during this public “Winter Exploration”. We hope this serves as a nice review for the participants in the exploration, but also as a means for others to familiarize themselves with this public trail, aspects of its history, and some of the wild plants and animals now living there.

Winter “Flowers”

Before the snow covers the ground and changes the landscape to true winter, covering up many of the remains of our wildflowers, we would like to highlight the amazing beauty found in winter “flowers”. Although one can still find an occasional intrepid flower head of Dandelion, Aster, or Goldenrod full of colorful blossoms, most actual flowers have long wilted by Thanksgiving.

A Trio of (Somewhat) Obscure 19th Century Naturalists from the Region: Relevant Bygones.