Each Winter Solstice members are invited to feast on Yule Log stew and venture out to hunt for the Yule Log by candlelight. Join us to share the bounty of a fantastic year and celebrate winter’s return at this members-exclusive event.
10.24.23
Each Winter Solstice members are invited to feast on Yule Log stew and venture out to hunt for the Yule Log by candlelight. Join us to share the bounty of a fantastic year and celebrate winter’s return at this members-exclusive event.
10.24.23
Gather in the Riveredge yard, light your candle lanterns, and enjoy a traditional Yule Log hunt. We’ll end with warm drinks, a campfire, and a visit from Father Winter.
10.24.23
Howdy BugFans,
The BugLady hangs out on a tower by Lake Michigan from the beginning of September until the end of November, logging migrating raptors as they navigate south along the shoreline (up until this week, she was still seeing a few Monarchs and Common Green Darners, too). She already misses the comforting presence of Turkey Vultures – 99.9% of this fall’s migrating Vultures have made their way past the hawk tower – she loves looking way out over the fields and seeing them rocking back and forth over the woods, taking care of business.
10.19.23
Howdy, BugFans,
Another wasp with a dynamite name!
When the BugLady found this wasp, she was struck by its curious appearance – fly-like eyes, waspy antennae, “broad-shouldered,” but with a very short abdomen (“It’s compact,” says bugguide.net).
10.11.23
Howdy, BugFans,
Sometimes you go looking for insects, and sometimes the insects find you. The BugLady came back to her car from the Post Office one sunny afternoon in August and discovered this stunning katydid sitting above the driver’s door of her car. Keeping one eye on traffic, she managed to get a few shots of it before moving it to a nearby hydrangea.
10.04.23
Howdy, BugFans,
German Yellowjackets (GYJs), family Vespidae, are European wasps that arrived in the northeastern US in the early 1970’s and in Wisconsin a few years later. These world travelers are now found on four continents and several oceanic islands. Although the whole bee/wasp/hornet group is often labeled casually as “bees” (and GYJs have earned the nickname “garbage bee”), it’s easy to tell a honeybee from a wasp. Honeybees are hairy, black and tan insects about ½” long; the similarly-sized, GYJs are less hairy and are clearly marked by nature’s warning colors, yellow and black. Both species may nest in walls, but honeybees, which use their hives for years, do not nest underground.
09.28.23
Howdy, BugFans,
The Autumnal Equinox is fast upon us, alas, and even though it was a very hot one, the BugLady would like to push that Restart button and go back to the beginning of August. Failing that, here are some of the bugs that crossed her trail in the second half of summer.
09.20.23
Topics include: basic chainsaw maintenance; review of the cutter tooth and hands-on sharpening; introduction to wedges; planning and executing tree felling; planning and executing limbing and bucking.
09.16.23
Topics include: personal protective equipment (PPE); body mechanics; chainsaw safety features; the chain and the cutter tooth; reactive forces; planning and executing tree felling, limbing, and bucking
09.16.23