The · Affected · Provincial’s · Almanack

~W

Well, our little fledermaus was still loitering around the house yesterday morning, so we took him down to Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge, where he will be stabilized (he was exhausted and weak) and sent off to another facility that specializes in rehabilitating bats. The facility was very busy: all sorts of ducks, raccoons, and rabbits were showing up at their door.

After saying our fond farewells, we milled around to see the other tenants. Plenty of hawks, falcons, bald eagles, but I've always been taken by the Great Horned Owls--of which they have three fine, fat fellows at the refuge. They never look quite real.

Was moving around my flower pots to sweep out the dogwood blossoms from this week's storm, and found this Big Brown Bat hiding behind them. He seems to have an injured wing, but I've left him alone for the time being, as he's holed up in an elevated crevice between the house and a fence post. I'll keep an eye on him to see if he requires an intervention. He started to make his way towards the front of the house where the neighbor's cat would surely see him, so I tried to shoo him back the way he came with my gloved hand. He did not take kindly to my advice, and opened his little red maw and let out a piercing screech, which actually startled me (I'd forgotten how vocal they can be). I was reminded of this later in the evening when my friend Bill took me out to an old Quaker meeting hall to identify a plant, and discovered a large pile of bat guano under two noisy bat houses above me in the eaves.

Hope the little fellow can pull through. Bat populations have taken an awful hit recently, you know.

~W

I've been preoccupied with planting and getting out assignments this month, so I am late in thanking The Idle Tigers for the playful, delicate, theatrical album they sent me a while ago. I cannot listen to the album without a puppet show forming in my mind, so the notes are clearly being laid in the right sequences.

Our man Ross gives good glamor, as seen above. Those of you who wish to read Ross' journal or view videos of his performances may do so here.

~W

On my way back from another plant shopping trip to Redbud Nursery out around Media, PA, I decided to stop by the Tyler Arboretum. That's where I found this lovely little 19C coldframe. ( Read more... )

Picked up the following at Redbud:

Toad Trillium
Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Green Dragon (another native Jack-in-the-Pulpit)
Wild Ginger
Bottle Gentian
Crested Iris

~W

3 Cecropia, 3 Polyphemus, and 3 Luna.

The Pink Lady's Slipper Orchids are blooming in the woods!

~W

Let's say that the Mormon fundamentalist fellow in question leads an exemplary life as it is defined by his beliefs; he amasses wives and offspring like so many box top coupons, then shuffles off his mortal coil. Will he then find that, after cashing in his chattel, the massive planet he is heir to has such a strong gravitational pull that all he can do in the afterlife is lie on his back, do his best to breathe and dream of one day managing to lift a toothpick?

And what exactly is the correlation between number of wives and size of planet? Is there a table somewhere, a point system? How many wives would one need to hit that 'sweet spot' needed for an Earth-like Class M planet? One too many, and you could find yourself eternally buffeted about like a feather by the 300 mph winds of a gas giant's ammonia-rich atmosphere (Perhaps those wind-catching dresses their ladyfolk wear are a contingency?) One wife too few, and you could wind up on a cold, tiny lump of frozen methane, evermore wishing you had been more of a cuddler.

And is there a correlation between number of children and the amount of moons you get? And where do comets figure in all this? Are they visiting relatives? And what do you have to do to get a ring around your planet? Is that a bonus of some sort, like for perfect church attendance or generous tithing?

~W

Yesterday we visited Bartram's Garden to mill through their annual spring native plant sale, and to attend a lecture on the flower Oenothera Grandiflora, a nocturnally flowering plant discovered by William Bartram during his travels outside of present-day Mobile.

Upon arriving, we were delighted to be presented with a rather handsome young specimen of Franklinia, as well as a potted specimen of Oenothera. The staff were also kind enough to dig up for us a foam flower from the bed just outside the Bartram House's door, which was a special thrill.

Next week: we're embarking on a tour of the Pine Barrens!

Spring Pine Barrens Trip

Saturday, May 10, 9am to 4pm
Limited Space, Pre-registration Required by Apr. 25
Members $30, Non-Members $40, Meet in NJ, Own Transportation, Bring Lunch Explore John Bartram’s 1740s plant collecting routes through the northern Pine Barrens and discover Whitesbog, Webbs Mill bog, and the Plains with expert guides Joel Fry, Bill Cahill, and Lord Whimsy.

~W

Ace photographer and all-around cutie pie Rose Callahan came down from Brooklyn recently with her dapper, strapping beau Kelly to take a few pictures. That's right: I got The Rose Callahan treatment. And you know what? I loved it.

Rose was sweet and generous enough to allow me to share these photos with you, so please won't you give her some fame and fortune, already.

(Note: All images © Rose Callahan. All Rights reserved, so please don't take any undue liberties. She's good people. You'd like her.)

( The colors just keep on coming! )

Hats off to Rose for making such marvelous images in the face of impossible odds!

~W

Well, this year my friend Jancee Dunn has written an article in the NY Times about Mr. Benner, who, according to Jancee (who emailed me this morning) was as cranky as you'd hope a dedicated naturalist would be.

Pity that we won't be able to reserve a slot on his tours (I'm sure they're booked solid now), but that's all right, since we're making our own moss garden.

~W

Epicurus called his school The Garden. Voltaire advised us to tend our own garden. John and William Bartram left us with their garden. I wear my garden on my back (I go through loofahs like you wouldn't believe).
( Read more... )
Behind the cut are pictures from last week's UPenn class at Bartram's Garden, where I prattled on about the notion of "aesthetic ecologies". I brought along my terrarium of tipitiwitchets (a plant that figures large in the Bartram songbook) for the amusement of the class, and to illustrate the principles behind the hobby horse in question.

Just wanted to thank Joel, John, Emily and their class. It was a voluptuous afternoon.

For Philly people: this Saturday is the much-awaited annual Spring Plant sale! The following Saturday May 10th is the annual guided tour of the Pine Barrens. I will be serving as a guide along with the eminent Joel Fry, curator of Bartram's Garden, and Bill Cahill, an amazing gentleman whose Pine Barrens kung fu is the stuff of legend. We will be pointing at things for your edification and pleasure. See you there!

~W

Around here, Beltane is known as Moth Day, the day when we take our saturniid cocoons out of cold storage and into the cage so they may eclose over the next month. Let the eclosion parties of May begin!

~W