When I was a kid, my grandma Nordvick would take us to pick wild cranberries in a woods a short distance from our house in northern Minnesota. The berries grew on small tree or shrub like trees. I’d eat some, pick some and mostly play. The berries are extremely tart and filled up almost entirely …
Some say spotted-belly buprestid and others say ventrally-spotted buprestid. Either way it’s a jewel beetle or a metallic wood boring beetle.
Coming home from watching fireworks on the Fourth of July (we were able to watch from the safety of our car), I spotted a colorful moth on the sidewalk outside our home. It was alive but barely moving, which means I had all the time I wanted to photograph it. I used a game box …
I’ve always been repulsed by leeches. I remember, as a kid, swimming with my family in a northern Minnesota river and my dad had a leech on him when he got out. It was black, round and left a bloody spot on his leg when he pulled it off. Yuck! Turns out, there are many …
A few days ago my daughter and I were exploring a small grassy area near our new apartment. We found greenish brown beetles crawling all over wild rose plants. There were probably at least eight or nine on one rose plant. I noticed many of them were coupling up, presumably mating. It was an insect …
Several weeks ago I posted a blog about writing a list of the things that bring me joy. Spiders and other creepy crawlies were at the top of the list. So was spending time outdoors, identifying plants and animals and learning with my daughter. Now, I’ve decided to turn those loves into the main theme …
My 6 year old is obsessed with poop jokes. It’s been a funny for a long time now, of course, but recently it really stepped up. Everything is poopy this, poopy that. Daddy is a stinkybutt, of course. It doesn’t bother me, go ahead and get it out of your system, girl, but it can …
I honestly have no idea why it is I love bugs. When I was a child, bugs were things to smash or spray. Nuisances at best, dangers, at worst. Growing up in the country in Northern Minnesota we were forever battling mosquitoes and ticks. Flies and horseflies joined the list of pests bothering us and …
After I wrote my list of things that brings me joy it occurred to me to ask my 6 year old the same question. It took her a little bit of time to warm up to the idea but eventually she was happily talking so fast I had to paraphrase some of her list. She …
I was talking to my friend Robin and she said something that really inspired me. She was working through what brings her joy and, among other things, can she leverage that knowledge to find a career that she is passionate and joyful about? I decided to make my own list. The list is organized into …