Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

This was one of the best weekends I've had all year. Not only did I get to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, Alison, I also saw five life birds and went on a whale watch for the first time in nearly a decade. Despite the fact that I carried what I can only estimate as being a 20+ lb. backpack all day and was exhausted by the end of the day, it was still an amazing experience! We did the whale watch with the same company Alison had done so with her work colleagues the previous week. The company, called Dolphin Fleet, offered 3-4 hour cruises to the waters off of Race Point in Provincetown and to the southwestern section of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary outside of Cape Cod Bay. We boarded at 10:00am and after a fifteen minute wait, we were backing out of the docks and into the harbor and beyond. As we past the breakwater, our naturalist pointed out the large flock of resting Double-crested Cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus ). She explained how their heavier b...

So after getting up this morning, I went to the basement to check on the sumac-ade. The water that the berries were seeping in had turned a light grapefruit juice pink and tasted vaguely acidic. I took the mixture upstairs and strained it. Some of the small red berries had escaped the clusters and floated to the top. The red hairs that covered the berries also floated throughout the mixture and remained in the liquid long after straining. After straining out the liquid, I taste-tested the concoction. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't amazing either. It was tart, but waxy in texture. I took a smaller amount in a different glass and added some sugar. It tasted a little better after that. After that I cleaned out the pitcher, refilled with the sumac-ade, and added three spoonfuls of sugar. That made the difference! Below, I've photographed the steps to making the sumac-ade. If you want more concise instructions for doing so, consult Samuel Thayer's book, The Forager...

As per my new year's resolution, I have chosen to go foraging more often this year and I haven't let myself down yet. While I've stuck to fairly easy uses such as leafy greens like dandelion ( Taraxacum spp. ) and lamb's quarters ( Chenopodium album ), berries like black raspberry ( Rubus occidentalis ), and my failed attempts to go after roots from the likes of evening primrose ( Oenothera spp. ) and burdock ( Arctium spp. ). Well today I decided to make a drink that I'v read about in many foraging guides, but hadn't tried until now. Like many wild foods, it goes by several colloquialisms including sumac lemonade, sumac-ade, "Indian" lemonade,  and sumac berry tea. It is in fact an infusion of freshly picked staghorn sumac berries and cold water (made bold to emphasize importance) that is left to sit so that the berries can release their sweet and slightly sour taste. The comparison to lemonade is based largely on flavor, but the first time one gaz...

As the summer begins to wind down, the trees buzz and trill with the songs of night-singing insects. As I walked around the backyard recording their sounds with my camera, I thought back to seeing some of the small red-headed tree crickets on the deck earlier in the week. It's too far north for Handsome Trigs ( Phyllopalpus puchellus ) surely, but they did look very similar to them indeed. The rather obvious "ch-ch-ch" or "katy-did" sounds are made by a large leaf-mimicking grasshopper called the Common True Katydid ( Pterophylla camellifolia ). I only started hearing them last week, but already I find it wonderful to fall asleep at night to the sounds of their stuttering courtship song. It's certainly cool enough to leave the windows open now and doing so certainly cools the body, soul, and mood. So here's to a winding down of summer with cooler days, warmer colors, and the ever present smell of cinnamon to come. Until then, lets enjoy the trills a...

Apologies for not having posted for the past few weeks, but camp takes up a lot of time and energy during the week. So instead of a long winded explanation of my exploits over the past few weeks, I thought I'd treat you all to my photos of the flowers, shrubs, and trees I've seen over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy them. A bumblebee ( Bombus spp. ) feeds on an Echinacea purpurea in my girlfriend's parent's garden. A presumed Dun Skipper ( Euphyes bimacula ) feeds on nectar from one of the many E. purpurea in the garden. Another close up of the skipper as it feeds on nectar using its proboscis. A Great Spangled Fritillary ( Speyeria cybele ) feeds on nectar as a bumblebee ( Bombus spp. ) intrudes. An impressive mode of feeding indeed. A presumed American Lady ( Vanessa virginiensis ) rests on a small E. purpurea . A damaged skipper rests on the petals of E. purprurea . A Day-Lily ( Hemerocallis spp. ) grows in the rough sec...