Author: admin
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A Good Word for the Moth
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident We planted milkweed to attract monarchs. Milkweed is the only thing they eat. We have had some. Last week we also had this creature. This is a milkweed tussock or tiger moth caterpillar. “Tussock” means…
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Time Enough
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident It is not difficult for me to get close to a butterfly unless I’m trying to take its picture. There is something predatory in the way I approach them with my smart phone. It looks…
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Steeplebush
Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident Constant spring rain and intense, if periodic, summer sun have encouraged the grasses and bushes on both sides of the creek to heights I had not seen. Their greens and browns are sprinkled with the bright…
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A Garden Harmonizer
Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident My first encounter with purslane was as an invasive weed in our driveway. I went to some trouble to remove it, without success. It spread to our stone walk. If I pulled the larger stems, the…
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Beech, Book and Bud
Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident The tree was dying. A landscaper helping us regrade our driveway said we were killing it. When the driveway was originally carved from the mountain, shale and other debris piled high around the trunk of the…
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Yeah, You Blend
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident Look closely at this photograph. Note the crayfish, crawfish, crawdad, freshwater lobster, mudbug or yabbie. Whatever they are called, a large number of creatures find them delicious. Last week I featured a bald eagle, an…
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A Bald Eagle is More than a Bird
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident This photograph of a bald eagle was taken by my cousin Brad Berger near the southern shore of Lake Erie, east of Toledo. I have used it with his permission because it is magnificent, and…
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You Can’t Step into the Same Forest Twice
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident When we moved to our part of the forest in 2012, we discovered that down the road was an entrance to one of the most beautiful hiking trails in the state. We often walked there,…
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The Least I Can Do
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident I found this Io moth at the foot of my front door. I gently nudged it. It responded with faint movement. I noticed a smudge of yellow, moth-colored dust on the door window, and something…
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Minor Pest or Major Threat?
A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident Wow! That’s a cool bug. I wonder what kind? I think I’ll do a web search for “black insect with white spots.” There are endless possibilities. Wait, here’s a candidate. Let me click on the…