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common_nature2022-03-26 06:09 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote in common_nature2022-03-26 06:09 pm
Entry tags:
Intro Post
Name: ysabetwordsmith
Location: Central Illinois. It used to be Zone 5b and is now Zone 6a. Some of the changes are dramatic.
Lot size: About 2 acres of rural territory. The yard by the house and south lot are mostly lawn. The streetside yard is forest. There's a savanna on the far side of the driveway, and then the prairiegarden. The ritual meadow and the orchard are toward the back. Nearby we have Fox Ridge State Park, which is lovely to drive through or stop for a hike or picnic. Grand Prairie Friends protects hundreds of acres of wildlife refuge ranging from restored prairie to upland forest and riverbottom land; members can visit whenever we like, and there's a river route that makes a very nice hike. Last summer our air conditioning broke, so we drove around a lot; I was surprised by how many farmers have put in prairie plots. Most were just 1-2 acres but the biggest were probably 10+ acres full of coneflowers, Queen Anne's lace, bluestem grass, meadowlarks, and goldfinches. Just today we went for a drive through some forested areas that my partner stumbled across the other night after missing a turn.
What I grow: All kinds of things. The yard in general is loose permaculture and gardening for wildlife with some beds and stuff scattered around. I have a couple of herb gardens, a small forest garden, a container garden, the septic garden, several flower gardens including a wildflower garden, and the big prairie garden. There are edible and ornamental things throughout. I'm increasingly inclined toward native species, but that's not all I grow. I haven't had much luck with vegetables but I'm quite good at growing herbs, some fruits, and a few other edibles. A very partial list: black walnuts, acorns, mulberries, cooking pears, pie cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, wild strawberries, asparagus, sunchokes, clove currants, serviceberries, Cornelian cherry, lots of ornamental flowers and herbs. I have a persimmon tree that has flowered for a year or two but not set fruit yet. Despite the common belief that "permaculture is all about fruit," I also use mine for firewood, craft materials, spiritual purposes, and wildlife support. My mini-ecosystem is not fancy but it is sufficiently functional that Gaia sometimes plants things for me, like the elderberries, wild grape vines, and cup plant; and my detritus food chain is 3 days to apex.
Who I see: We have a lot of wildlife here. Rabbits and deer mice are ubiquitous; we have a lot of fox squirrels and new this year one gray squirrel. I've seen as many as 4 fox squirrels as once. Occasional mammals include weasels, possums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, and white-tailed deer. Often in summer I see and hear bats overhead. Ubiquitous birds include various sparrows, mourning doves, cardinals, wrens, brown thrashers, and a great-horned owl. Starting last year we got crows, who spent the whole summer screaming at the poor owl, and just started up again. Summer visitors include robins and blackbirds. Some years we have house finches, downy woodpeckers, goldfinches, indigo buntings, or other visitors. Rufous-sided towhees, Baltimore orioles, and blue jays tend to pass through. Snow tracks have revealed that pheasants come into the yard, though I've only seen them a few times. Twice we've had a bald eagle use our yard as a rest stop -- they like the big tall trees some of which have dead branches for perches, and somewhat more often we see red-tailed hawks dropping by. Currently the snake population seems to be corn snakes. Last year was the Summer of the Tree Frogs; I saw more that season than everything else put together. We have green ones (more common) and gray ones (less common). We're on the main migration route for monarch butterflies, and various other butterflies fill the prairie garden and wildflower garden. We have a bee tree! The honeybees are presently occupying a hollow maple between the savanna and prairie garden. I've got a bag of pollinator garden wildflower seed waiting to be planted nearby.
What I post about: I'm a professional writer, so I write all kinds of stuff including nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. I do a Poetry Fishbowl on the first Tuesday of each month, and thecrowdfunding Creative Jam mid-month, with different themes; nature prompts are welcome. Nature, Wildlife, Birdfeeding, Gardening, and Environment are common topics on my blog. Almost every day I make a Birdfeeding (mostly cold season) or Gardening (mostly warm season) post about my outdoor activities, the weather, wildlife sightings, and when relevant what is budding, blooming, or fruiting. I also do Follow Friday posts if you're looking for more communities. Sometimes I post photos from my yard. It looks a lot like a jungle, because it has as many layers as one, complete with an emergent layer (the sycamore). Feel free to drop by my blog and see if you like it; mine is highly active with public posts.
What I'm looking for: I enjoy chatting with other nature lovers and outdoorsy folks. I like both comparing with yards or parks near mine, and contrasting with those far away. I lean toward permaculture, organic, gardening for wildlife, open-pollinated or landrace, with a very laid-back approach; but it's fun to see different examples that other people are doing. I love seeing photos, art, crafts, etc. of other people's yard or nearby wilderness. I'm a fan of "slow TV" nature videos of rivers, parks, wildlife feeding stations, etc.
ysabetwordsmith Location: Central Illinois. It used to be Zone 5b and is now Zone 6a. Some of the changes are dramatic.
Lot size: About 2 acres of rural territory. The yard by the house and south lot are mostly lawn. The streetside yard is forest. There's a savanna on the far side of the driveway, and then the prairiegarden. The ritual meadow and the orchard are toward the back. Nearby we have Fox Ridge State Park, which is lovely to drive through or stop for a hike or picnic. Grand Prairie Friends protects hundreds of acres of wildlife refuge ranging from restored prairie to upland forest and riverbottom land; members can visit whenever we like, and there's a river route that makes a very nice hike. Last summer our air conditioning broke, so we drove around a lot; I was surprised by how many farmers have put in prairie plots. Most were just 1-2 acres but the biggest were probably 10+ acres full of coneflowers, Queen Anne's lace, bluestem grass, meadowlarks, and goldfinches. Just today we went for a drive through some forested areas that my partner stumbled across the other night after missing a turn.
What I grow: All kinds of things. The yard in general is loose permaculture and gardening for wildlife with some beds and stuff scattered around. I have a couple of herb gardens, a small forest garden, a container garden, the septic garden, several flower gardens including a wildflower garden, and the big prairie garden. There are edible and ornamental things throughout. I'm increasingly inclined toward native species, but that's not all I grow. I haven't had much luck with vegetables but I'm quite good at growing herbs, some fruits, and a few other edibles. A very partial list: black walnuts, acorns, mulberries, cooking pears, pie cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, wild strawberries, asparagus, sunchokes, clove currants, serviceberries, Cornelian cherry, lots of ornamental flowers and herbs. I have a persimmon tree that has flowered for a year or two but not set fruit yet. Despite the common belief that "permaculture is all about fruit," I also use mine for firewood, craft materials, spiritual purposes, and wildlife support. My mini-ecosystem is not fancy but it is sufficiently functional that Gaia sometimes plants things for me, like the elderberries, wild grape vines, and cup plant; and my detritus food chain is 3 days to apex.
Who I see: We have a lot of wildlife here. Rabbits and deer mice are ubiquitous; we have a lot of fox squirrels and new this year one gray squirrel. I've seen as many as 4 fox squirrels as once. Occasional mammals include weasels, possums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, and white-tailed deer. Often in summer I see and hear bats overhead. Ubiquitous birds include various sparrows, mourning doves, cardinals, wrens, brown thrashers, and a great-horned owl. Starting last year we got crows, who spent the whole summer screaming at the poor owl, and just started up again. Summer visitors include robins and blackbirds. Some years we have house finches, downy woodpeckers, goldfinches, indigo buntings, or other visitors. Rufous-sided towhees, Baltimore orioles, and blue jays tend to pass through. Snow tracks have revealed that pheasants come into the yard, though I've only seen them a few times. Twice we've had a bald eagle use our yard as a rest stop -- they like the big tall trees some of which have dead branches for perches, and somewhat more often we see red-tailed hawks dropping by. Currently the snake population seems to be corn snakes. Last year was the Summer of the Tree Frogs; I saw more that season than everything else put together. We have green ones (more common) and gray ones (less common). We're on the main migration route for monarch butterflies, and various other butterflies fill the prairie garden and wildflower garden. We have a bee tree! The honeybees are presently occupying a hollow maple between the savanna and prairie garden. I've got a bag of pollinator garden wildflower seed waiting to be planted nearby.
What I post about: I'm a professional writer, so I write all kinds of stuff including nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. I do a Poetry Fishbowl on the first Tuesday of each month, and the
crowdfunding Creative Jam mid-month, with different themes; nature prompts are welcome. Nature, Wildlife, Birdfeeding, Gardening, and Environment are common topics on my blog. Almost every day I make a Birdfeeding (mostly cold season) or Gardening (mostly warm season) post about my outdoor activities, the weather, wildlife sightings, and when relevant what is budding, blooming, or fruiting. I also do Follow Friday posts if you're looking for more communities. Sometimes I post photos from my yard. It looks a lot like a jungle, because it has as many layers as one, complete with an emergent layer (the sycamore). Feel free to drop by my blog and see if you like it; mine is highly active with public posts.What I'm looking for: I enjoy chatting with other nature lovers and outdoorsy folks. I like both comparing with yards or parks near mine, and contrasting with those far away. I lean toward permaculture, organic, gardening for wildlife, open-pollinated or landrace, with a very laid-back approach; but it's fun to see different examples that other people are doing. I love seeing photos, art, crafts, etc. of other people's yard or nearby wilderness. I'm a fan of "slow TV" nature videos of rivers, parks, wildlife feeding stations, etc.
no subject
Nice to have you in Common_Nature. I look forward to you sharing glimpses into your corner of our world.
After reading a couple of the posts in your journal I was struck by the extreme difference in your world and mine this year. Our spring flowers are in full bloom right now, about 3 weeks or a month early; after a warm dry winter that started with more than average rain and is now in extreme drought.
Me? I'm a crone who has dedicated decades to preserving and managing a largish California ranch. I'm currently enjoying reviving my mother's vegetable/fruit garden and establishing a supporting group of plants for pollinators and beneficial insect populations.
On occasion I write about my life and have sold How To and poetry articles.
Thank you!
I'm posting yard pictures today. I will try posting some and links on here later.
>> After reading a couple of the posts in your journal I was struck by the extreme difference in your world and mine this year. Our spring flowers are in full bloom right now, about 3 weeks or a month early; after a warm dry winter that started with more than average rain and is now in extreme drought.<<
Flowers here bloom much earlier now than they did when I was little. Used to be the spring bulbs didn't even sprout until March. Then April. Then February. Then January. When they started peeking up in December and just holding for months, I kind of gave up watching for the sprouts because it wasn't much fun anymore.
It's really interesting to see pictures from friends who live in far places. :D Someone was just saying how much more green my yard was than theirs, where it's still snowing!
>> Me? I'm a crone who has dedicated decades to preserving and managing a largish California ranch.<<
Oh, cool. I have some other friends out that way.
>> I'm currently enjoying reviving my mother's vegetable/fruit garden and establishing a supporting group of plants for pollinators and beneficial insect populations.<<
Yeah, California is like Illinois in that so much has been turned into farmland, there's not much space left for wildlife. So it's great to see people helping restore plants for pollinators.
>> On occasion I write about my life and have sold How To and poetry articles.<<
I have a big How To section in Memories, and Poem and Poetry tags. I've sold some poetry to magazines, and have a couple of collections, but most of it nowadays I sell directly to my fans via crowdfunding. It's fun to find someone else who likes poetry.
no subject
Thank you!