Nature & Environment Archives - Clarke Monthly https://clarkeva.com/category/nature-environment/ Serving Clarke County, Va., and the surrounding area Sat, 31 Aug 2024 17:48:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://clarkeva.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/cropped-Clarke-Nameplate-32x32.png Nature & Environment Archives - Clarke Monthly https://clarkeva.com/category/nature-environment/ 32 32 As the Crow Flies Cicada Killer In Action https://clarkeva.com/2024/08/31/as-the-crow-flies-cicada-killer-in-action/ Sat, 31 Aug 2024 17:48:17 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=3848 By Doug Pifer While out dog walking, I glanced at our backyard apple tree and saw a big wasp flying towards a low-growing, lichen-covered branch. Something dropped heavily to the ground, and I walked over to investigate. I wondered, had the wasp knocked a small ripening apple out of the tree? In the tall grass […]

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]]> How to Grow Your Own Native Plants from Seeds https://clarkeva.com/2023/03/30/how-to-grow-your-own-native-plants-from-seeds/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 23:51:57 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=3290 Tips from the Experts at The State Arboretum of Virginia  Virginia native wildflowers and grasses are a great option to enhance the beauty of gardens and landscapes while simultaneously creating much-needed habitat for a wide variety of insects, birds, and other animals who form the backbone of all our local ecosystems. They are also beautiful, […]

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]]> Seeds On The Wind https://clarkeva.com/2023/03/30/seeds-on-the-wind/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 23:47:09 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=3287 By Doug Pifer Looking out the kitchen window one morning last week, I thought it had started to snow. When I went out later, I saw that my “snowflakes” were really the fluffy seeds of sycamore trees. After hanging all winter packed tightly into “buttonwood balls,” they had broken free. Each individual nutlet had a […]

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]]> As The Crow Flies https://clarkeva.com/2021/03/19/as-the-crow-flies-4/ Fri, 19 Mar 2021 16:44:35 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=2816 The post As The Crow Flies appeared first on Clarke Monthly.

]]> Praising The House Centipede https://clarkeva.com/2019/07/11/praising-the-house-centipede/ Thu, 11 Jul 2019 14:16:02 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=2507 by Doug Pifer I was one of the boys in charge of stacking the books in the back closet of the school room on the last day of second grade. That’s when my first house centipede ran across the floor and under a bookcase. Girls shrieked. Boys whooped. Our teacher, a gray-haired lady wise to […]

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]]> Winter Birds Need Food But Also Good Habitat https://clarkeva.com/2018/02/19/winter-birds-need-food-but-also-good-habitat/ Mon, 19 Feb 2018 18:13:11 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=2137 As the Crow Flies Story and artwork by Doug Pifer An abundance of good bird habitat is a benefit of life in an old farmhouse. While still in bed, we sometimes look out at a couple of house finches or bluebirds drinking runoff melted from the frosted metal roof.  Or we catch the flicker of […]

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]]> Time To Set Up Homes For Cavity Nesting Birds https://clarkeva.com/2016/04/14/time-to-set-up-homes-for-cavity-nesting-birds/ Thu, 14 Apr 2016 23:23:57 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=1589 By Doug Pifer Many native birds nest in natural tree cavities or old woodpecker nest holes. But man-made nest boxes are beneficial for cavity nesting bird species whose numbers are declining.  This is a great way for a family or youth group to get involved in serious wildlife conservation! My wife and I have kept […]

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]]> The Perseids Are Coming https://clarkeva.com/2014/07/16/the-perseids-are-coming/ Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:25:51 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=914 By Don Henry Around August 10–13 the Perseid meteors will streak through the night sky. If you have never seen a meteor shower, now is your chance. But what is a meteor shower? Why is this shower called “Perseid?” First, let’s talk about meteors. Outer space is mostly empty, but whizzing around within our solar […]

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]]> Save The Earth, Eat Your Steak https://clarkeva.com/2013/04/16/save-the-earth-eat-your-steak/ Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:13:10 +0000 https://clarkeva.com/?p=220 By David Lillard Next time you go food shopping, save yourself the aggravation of hauling all those bags full of groceries home. Instead, take $40 of the hundred you plan to spend, and throw it in the trash—or nearest compost pile. If you’re like most Americans, as much as 40 percent of the food you […]

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