My first thought was "only 10" ...? Because my yard is 2 acres of generously landscaped habitat, designed for human/wildlife use, currently imitating a jungle because the lawn mower has been in the shop for over two weeks. Off the top of my head, my yard contains or has been crossed by:

10 Birds
Great-horned owl
Barn owl
Red-tailed hawk
Cardinal
House Sparrow
Red-winged blackbird
Mourning dove
Dark-eyed junco
Goldfinch
Downy woodpecker

10 Animals
Cottontail rabbit
Grey squirrel
White-tailed deer
Opossum
Skunk
Raccoon
Deer mouse
Monarch butterfly
Garter snake
Wolf spider

10 Plants
Red clover
White clover
Crabapple
Redbud
Oak
Foxtail grass
Echinacea purpurea
Lamb's quarters
Burdock
Blackberry

There are probably dozens of grass species alone. Central Illinois used to be mixed tallgrass prairie and eastern woodlands. Just walking through the yard I can see many different shapes and colors of grass ... at eye level, sometimes. This year we've got a new one. There are a few blades of volunteer ornamental grass sprouting beside the road, very pretty cream-striped ribbon grass.

Aside from planting things for food and shelter, I also provide bird seed and suet in winter. In summer I put out water gardens, which I just filled a few days ago. Those will have plants and goldfish added shortly. I keep hoping that someday a heron will stop by for a snack. So far, it's just cats and raccoons that I know have raided the water gardens ... hence the feeder goldfish.

So, what's in your yard?

Tags: nature, personal
Current Mood: busy

According to this article, 37 wolves have already been killed since they were recently removed from the Endangered Species list.

Note to hunters: removing a species from the endangered list is not a prompt to put it back on the list by shooting every one you can find.

Note to legislators who ignored all the warnings about how delisting wolves would cause wolf deaths to skyrocket: WE TOLD YOU SO.

Tags: nature, politics
Current Mood: angry

For your weird science collection, I offer this video of a Suriname Toad giving birth. After fertilization, the eggs are stuck to the female's back; her skin swells to cover them. Eventually the baby toads hop out ... rather vigorously.

Tags: nature, science
Current Mood: busy

Apparently spruce roots live for thousands of years, sending up trees and bushes of various sizes and shapes depending on the climate at the time.

My, wouldn't that be useful on a planet with wildly erratic climate swings?

Live is stubborn and creative. Never underestimate it. It's always doing something sneaky behind your back or underfoot.

Tags: nature, news
Current Mood: busy

This article explains the reappearance of a Lynx in Italy:

A lynx has appeared in the Italian Alps for the first time in 100 years. The authorities in Italy's South Tyrol region say the lynx, which crossed the mountains from Switzerland, does not pose a threat to livestock in the area. The lynx was fitted with a signalling collar after being captured in Switzerland in February.

I'm intrigued that the alpine lynx looks so different from the American kind.

Tags: nature, news
Current Mood: busy

We've spent the last two days planting stuff and we're still not done. Ah, but it's good to get outside again and work in the live black earth! I love the smell of fresh-turned soil in spring when all is moist and growing again. This is my religion, this twist of community and nature and creativity.

Phoenix and Cheryl have been coming out to help. Yesterday we got most of the new honeysuckles planted along the south hedge, and finished that today, so there are 12 more of them out there. The oldest ones are now head-high on me and starting to do their job of visual screening. Last year's batch should reach that height this growing season; they're already leafing out. The hedge roses are just starting to bud, along with the miscellaneous other things in the hedge. We also planted 3 purple-leaf bush plums and 3 bush cherries. Also on the list of things to be done is cutting loose the suckers from the earlier plantings of hedge roses and replanting them elsewhere. Do it right and it's a cheap way of propagating bushes. And what do you know, there's lemon balm volunteering somewhere in the line, because while we were digging, there came an incredible burst of lemon scent.

Elsewhere we planted a pair of pawpaw trees. They're bare-root and don't like being transplanted that way, but I've never been able to afford potted ones. I tend to plant lots of small cheap trees and shrubs on the premise that some will live; only occasionally do I buy something large and expensive. It works pretty well; some of the earlier plantings are big enough to bloom and fruit now. The first rosehips matured last summer. We also got two of the four Russian olive trees planted along the west fence.

That leaves 2 Russian olives and 2 hazelnuts, plus the surprise rosebush that the nursery stuck in the bag. (If you order a lot of stuff, often they tuck in something from overstock.) Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, and most of the rest of the week too. We might get a clear day on Wednesday, then again, maybe not till the weekend or early next week.

The hedge in general looks much better, though. Most of the plants are leafing out already. We pulled loose all the tall dead spears of fieldweeds, heaped them into the firepit -- twice -- and burned them. Our fire elemental, Drake, is a long sinuous dragon. He was happy to wake up and devour the brush. When there's a huge heap of burning ashes, you can see him moving around in it as the glow ripples and shifts, like a cat under a blanket.

Overhead, the first crescent of the moon hung high and white in the twilight sky. The breeze was sharp and cool, smelling of mud and feathers and crushed greenery. Breath of spring, light of new life.

Yeah ... some days, life is good.

Tags: gardening, nature, paganism
Current Mood: busy

... and the National Zoo has a camera observing the kiwi chick that hatched in early March. At night he's quite active, and fun to watch!

Tags: nature
Current Mood: amused

This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles:






I stand outside,
staring at the winter sky,
the desultory wind
less cold than it could be.

The moon is a silver coin
tucked in the cloud’s pocket,
half covered by thin gray wool.

The wind picks up.
A bit of white floats by me.
My breath catches – is this it? –
but no, no.
It’s only a puff of thistledown,
blown free from a dead, dry stalk.

Hope withers in my heart.
I am left standing alone
like a suitor whose date is late,
flowers wilting in one hand.

Tags: nature, poem, poetry
Current Mood: pleased

This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles.





This is what science has to say:

The Bermuda Fireworm (Odontosyllis enopla) exhibits bioluminescence during its mating display. Such displays take place monthly during the three days following the full moon. Males and females exude a bright green, fluorescent substance to attract mates.

This is what poetry has to say:

Once a month, the sea catches fire.
As the moon wanes, the warm tropical water
seethes with a clear green flame.
Burning with passion,
the worms turn in tiny circles,
tracing rings of light along the waves.
Specks of life emerge and merge.
In love,
even worms can become beautiful.

These two views are equally true.

Tags: nature, poem, poetry
Current Mood: pleased

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.


Cyberfunded Creativity

I'm venturing into cyberfunded creativity. If you enjoy what I'm doing and want to see more of it, please feed the Bard. The following options are currently available:

1) Sponsor the Fishbowl -- Here is a PayPal button for donations. There is no specific requirement, but $1 is the minimum recommended size for PayPal transactions since they take a cut from every one. If you make a donation and tell me about it, I promise to use one of your prompts. Anonymous donations are perfectly welcome, just won't get that perk.

2) Buy It Now! -- Gakked from various e-auction sites, this feature allows you to sponsor a specific poem. If you don't want to wait for some editor to buy and publish my poem so you can read it, well, now you don't have to. Sponsoring a poem means that I will immediately post it here, with the name of the sponsor (or another dedicate) if you wish; plus you get a nonexclusive publication right, so you can post it on your own blog or elsewhere as long as you keep the credits intact. You'll need to tell me the title of the poem you want to sponsor. I'm basing the prices on length, and they're comparable to what I typically make selling poetry to magazines (semi-pro rates according to Duotrope's Digest).

0-10 lines: $5
11-25 lines: $10
26-40 lines: $15
41-60 lines: $20
Poems over 60 lines, or with very intricate structure, fall into custom pricing.

3) Commission a scrapbook page. I can render a chosen poem in hardcopy format, on colorful paper, using archival materials for background and any embellishments. This will be suitable for framing or for adding to a scrapbook. Details are here.


Additional Notes

1) I customarily post replies to prompt posts telling people which of their prompts I'm using, with a brief description of the resulting poem(s). If you want to know what's available, watch for those.

2) You don't have to pay me to see a poem based on a prompt that you gave me. I try to send copies of poems to people whose eddresses I already have. If you want to see the poem inspired by your prompt, give me your eddress; I recommend using {at} and {dot} to discourage spammers. These are for-your-eyes-only, though, not for sharing.

3) Sponsors of the Poetry Fishbowl in general, or of specific poems, will gain access to an extra post in appreciation of their generosity.


Feed the Fish!
Now's your chance to participate in the creative process by posting ideas for me to write about. Today's theme is nature. I am especially looking for:

• settings



• plants and animals



• seasonal references



• events



• poetic forms

But anything is welcome, really. If you manage to recommend a form that I don't recognize, I will probably pounce on it and ask you for its rules. I do have the first edition of Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms which covers most common and many obscure forms.

I'll post at least one of the fishbowl poems here so you-all can enjoy it. The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, nature, poetry, writing
Current Mood: busy

Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.

I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Wednesday, March 26. This time the theme will be nature. I'll be soliciting ideas for settings, plants and animals, seasonal references, events, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair. I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy. The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.

If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote nature poetry -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!

Tags: fishbowl, nature, networking, poetry, writing
Current Mood: busy

It's a moat ... no, it's a wetland ... no, it's a park!

It's all three. And a creative, nonviolent approach to border control. I am intrigued.

Tags: nature, politics
Current Mood: busy