{"id":1434,"date":"2015-10-21T00:48:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T00:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=1434"},"modified":"2015-10-21T00:48:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T00:48:09","slug":"remembering-nature-discovery-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=1434","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Nature Discovery Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Edie Parnum<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

For eight years I have been gardening for nature on my \u00be-acre suburban property. My yard with its abundance of native plants teems with birds, butterflies, bees, beetles, moths, and other creatures both big and small.\u00a0 On August 29 my property abounded with people, too.\u00a0 I had invited nature-loving friends to enjoy my native plants and discover the creatures they support.<\/p>\n

\"Edie<\/a>

Edie explaining the wonders of pollination. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Cardinal<\/a>

Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, and Grass-leaved Goldenrod. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some people came for just an hour, others stayed all day.\u00a0 Most participated in one of the three guided yard tours.\u00a0 The insect and pollinator walks were popular, too.\u00a0 Kids enjoyed their own nature and insect events.\u00a0 A sizable group drove to Barb Elliot\u2019s nearby property and saw her pond and thriving native plant habitat.\u00a0 Some truly nature-crazed individuals stayed after dark for moth night.<\/p>\n

Unquestionably, the native plants were a hit. All the species were labeled for easy identification. Many of my favorite plants (Short-toothed Mountainmint, Grass-leafed Goldenrod, Upland Ironweed, Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, Garden Phlox, Trumpet Vine, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Large-leafed Aster, and Sneezeweed) were in bloom. Berries on woody plants (Nannyberry and Blackhaw Viburnums, Flowering and Silky Dogwoods, Winterberry Holly, Black Chokeberry) and a vine (Virginia Creeper) were ripe and ready for the fall migrants. \u00a0\u00a0(Click here<\/strong><\/a> for my complete yard plant list.)<\/p>\n

Insects attracted notice and won new converts.\u00a0 Many admired the Monarch and Black Swallowtail caterpillars.\u00a0 The pollinators were active on the flowers.\u00a0 We saw native bees (European Honey bees, too), wasps, flies, beetles, day-flying moths, as well as Ruby-throated Hummingbirds spreading pollen while feeding on the nectar.\u00a0 \u00a0Our entomologist, Dan Duran, PhD, identified a large blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia)<\/em> nectaring on mountainmint.\u00a0 This wasp, a parasite on the larvae of Japanese Beetles, is now a favorite of mine.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The kids admire a slug with Debbie Beer. Photo @ Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

The sharp-eyed kids on Debbie Beer\u2019s nature walk saw a migrant American Redstart.\u00a0 By turning over rocks and logs, they discovered slugs and other creepy-crawlies. They also found spiders (the wolf spider was popular), beetles, and a cicada shell\u2014goodies the adults missed.<\/p>\n

Vince Smith gave us a geology lesson.\u00a0 My property is composed of Precambrian gneiss and schist, one of the oldest soils on the planet.\u00a0 Because it\u2019s well-drained, the Tulip Poplar, Black Gum, and various oaks I\u2019ve planted will develop deep roots.\u00a0\u00a0 They should become massive trees and provide wildlife value for decades, perhaps centuries.<\/p>\n

\"Hummiongbird<\/a>

Hummingbird Clearwing, a day-flying sphinx moth, on Garden Phlox. Photo \u00a9 Tony Nastase. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Usually I merely write about my yard\u2019s plants and animals and post photos on the Backyards for Nature <\/em>blog.\u00a0 However, neither words nor pictures are enough.\u00a0 Seeing the natural beauty of my yard and discovering the creatures living there is more powerful.<\/p>\n

Many people told me they were inspired to create their own backyard ecosystems.\u00a0 Others vowed a renewed commitment to enhance their developing habitats.<\/p>\n

They said Nature Discovery Day was fun. I could see it on their smiling faces.<\/p>\n

************************************ Special Note ********************************************** I will be selling my house in the spring of 2016.\u00a0If you or anyone you know is interested in a property that’s alive with nature, contact me at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>edie@backyardsfornature.org<\/a><\/p>\n

**************************************************************************************************<\/span><\/div>\n
See additional Nature Discovery Day photos below.<\/div>\n
\"The<\/a>

The Double-banded Scoliid Wasp, Scolia bicincta, parasitizes beetle larvae. Photo @ Link Davis. \u00a0Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

x<\/p>\n

\"Debbie<\/a>

Debbie Beer and the kids explore nature in the yard. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Dan<\/a>

Dan Duran shows a Monarch caterpillar. \u00a9 Tony Nastase. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Monarch<\/a>

Monarch caterpillar \u00a9 Tony Nastase. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Edie's<\/a>

Edie’s shade garden. \u00a9 Bonnie Witmer. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Bumble<\/a>

Bumble bee on Garden Phlox. \u00a9 Bonnie Witmer. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Barb<\/a>

Barb Elliot describes her pond to visitors. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Eastern<\/a>

Eastern Redbud seed pods. \u00a9 Bonnie Witmer. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Edie<\/a>

Edie talks to guests attending Nature Discovery Day. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Eastern<\/a>

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Photo \u00a9 Bonnie Witmer. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Vince<\/a>

Vince Smith explains the geology of the property. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ailanthus<\/a>

Ailanthus Webworm, a day-flying moth. \u00a9 Tony Nastase. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"He's<\/a>

He’s found something interesting. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Bee<\/a>

Bee carrying the white pollen of Upland Ironweed. Photo \u00a9 Edie Parnum. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Peck's<\/a>

Peck’s Skipper. Photo \u00a9 Tony Nastase. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Early<\/a>

Early instar of Black Swallowtail caterpillar. Photo \u00a9 Tony Nastase. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Watching<\/a>

Watching birds in the yard. Photo \u00a9 Mallary Johnson. Click to enlarge.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Edie Parnum For eight years I have been gardening for nature on my \u00be-acre suburban property. My yard with its abundance of native plants teems with birds, butterflies, bees, beetles, moths, and other creatures both big and small.\u00a0 On … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,1,112],"tags":[27,8,48,15,95,10,60,24,5],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1434"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1485,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1434\/revisions\/1485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}