In Praise of the Hedgerow

...uld function as hedgerows? What if we took out all those lawns and planted native and/or flowering climate-appropriate plants instead? In a somewhat rambling lecture I just gave to a group of Master Gardeners, I sang the praises of that UC study and also linked it to another nice resource, the UC Davis Arboretum Allstar list of plants that look good, provide habitat and don’t need a lot of maintenance. Combine these two resources with a third, Pie...

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Saturday Linkages: And So On . . .

...e woods mushroom–more on this in a future post. Florence Caulfield and ‘The Illustrated Needlework Book’ This might be the most 2019 thing I’ve seen Sasquatch or Wendigo? Mysterious howls in Canadian wilderness spark confusion (Mini editorial: I think the native spirits are angry with us) Slavoj Žižek on recycling ecology and consumerism Bikelash’s Latest Tactics: Pedophile Smears and Conspiracy Theories Credit Card Skimmers Evolved: Shimming Faki...

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What Tree Should I Plant? Cal Poly’s SelecTree Has the Answer

...se called SelecTree that will help you find the right tree for your yard. Or, let’s say, you’re bored with hours spent adding movies to your Netlix queue that you never plan to watch (one of my vices). How about searching for oddball trees instead? What about a California native tree with favorable fire resistance, low root damage potential that produces edible fruit? The database came up with two options, the hollyleaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia)...

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What is and is not a “Swarm” of Bees

...mellifera). There are also wasps, hornets, bumblebees and 4,000 species of native bees in the United States alone. These are often mistaken for honeybees, but their habits are very different. Collectively the evolutionary family tree that includes these insects are known as Hymenoptera. The 150,000 known Hymenoptera have a beneficial roll to play in the web of life. In addition to gathering pollen and nectar many Hymenoptera species, such as wasps...

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Saturday Tweets: Passover/Holy Saturday Edition

...3EUON8Sk via @eff — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 The Best Alternative For Every Facebook Feature https://t.co/4MRpqnZ1cn via @WIRED — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 How to delete Facebook https://t.co/mKzU0RdoJj via @Verge — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 Africa is littered with abandoned poorly-planned aid projects https://t.co/3S3MK8Ucam — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 I ditched Facebook in 2013, and it...

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