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Food
- ChewsWise by Samuel Fromartz
- Civil Eats
- Eat Local Challenge
- Eat Well Guide
- Eating Alabama
- Ecocentric: A Blog About Food, Water, and Energy
- Fairhope Local Food Production Initiative
- Food Politics by Marion Nestle
- FoodRoutes
- Grist on Food
- Local Harvest
- Michael Pollan
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
- Organic Consumer Association
- Pick Your Own (Mobile Area)
- Politics of the Plate by Barry Estabrook
- Slow Food Blog
- Slow Food USA
- Sustainable Table
- The Ethicurean
- U.S. Food Policy Blog
For Gardeners & Growers
The Environment
- 350.org
- Alabama Coastal Foundation
- Alabama Sierra Club
- Bill McKibben
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- Dot Earth
- Grist: Environmental News & Commentary
- Mobile Bay Audubon Society
- Mobile Baykeeper
- Mobilians on Bikes
- Orion Magazine
- Repower America
- Smart Coast
- The Nature Conservancy of Alabama
- The Trust for Public Land
- Union of Concerned Scientists
- Weeks Bay Foundation
- WorldChanging
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Tag Archives: wildlife
Fall Butterflies
Despite my neglect, my Zinnias, Tithonia, and Salvia are still flowering, luring in butterflies, bees, and the occasional hummingbird. This Monarch stayed in the garden for quite some time, visiting the Tithonia repeatedly. I saw three kinds of butterflies while I was outside briefly, including a tattered Gulf Fritillary (below).
A Good Year for Anoles?
I have seen a lot of baby anoles lately, just within the past week or two. And actually, this is the first time in four years I have seen ones this young. I wonder if the conditions were particularly favorable this year. Anyone else seeing a boom in the anole population? I’m really happy about [...]
Escapee from a Crab Boil?
This lively crab turned up in our yard this afternoon. Since we don’t live near the water I can only assume he was an escapee from a crab boil in the neighborhood (perhaps assisted by a sympathetic child?). When I tried to catch him he reared into a defensive posture and I could hear his [...]
Great Nature Experiences
Some of you may know that we live at one of the birding hotspots of the Gulf Coast. Migratory birds from all over eastern North America stop here before crossing the Gulf in the fall, and make their first landfall here when returning in the spring. There are lots of opportunities to see these birds [...]
Nature: Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air
Most gardeners I know, and most children, love hummingbirds. If you fall into one of those categories – or even if you don’t, check out the newest episode of PBS’ Nature, Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air. It is filled with stunning cinematography, including plenty of high speed and slow motion footage, fascinating scientific work, and [...]
Backyard Wildlife: Great Purple Hairstreak
My daughter and I found a butterfly in our yard today that I had never seen before. It was pristine, as if freshly emerged, and dramatically beautiful. It sat quietly on a blade of grass with its wings closed, showing rich black wings marked with bits of bright blue, and a bright orange, fuzzy abdomen. [...]
Owls, Snakes, and Others
When the last cold front came through with those nights below freezing, our Great Horned Owl, who’d been absent or at least silent for a couple of weeks, showed up again and started hooting. We also used the last of our winter’s firewood, and when my husband picked up the remaining logs he uncovered the [...]
Oranges and Owls
I didn’t anticipate this lengthy absence, primarily due to our family being sick most of the month of November. Thankfully, at least for the moment, we’re all back to about 80%. The month of November saw the close of the Mobile farmers market, and sadly I missed the last day because I was out of [...]
Wildlife Gardening Pays Off
Today is my daughter’s first day of preschool. I took the opportunity (in between rain showers) to spend 45 minutes weeding my long-neglected garden. I was thrilled to find four swallowtail butterfly caterpillars on the remnants of my bronze fennel, which I planted specifically as a host plant (I am not a fennel eater). I [...]
Small Creatures in the Garden