Have a Drink
It is getting tough to find a drink out there in the frozen tundra. If you have any heated bird baths or ponds near your home you may end up with far more than songbirds stopping by! Consider setting something up in your yard to see what wildlife you may assist during these difficult months.
Read MoreRoot for Rain!
I post this U.S. Drought Monitor map periodically, and most of the time the focus is on a specific region. However, this December looks to be continuing both short and long-term droughts across wide swaths of the country. California’s disaster will need years or longer to heal, but the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains are also seeing some dry areas. The Southeast has turned very dry while our Northeast continues a severe to even extreme drought as well. The Great Lakes are helping our region stay near precipitation averages, but much of the rest of the country seems to be on a tough...
Read MoreBird Baths
Here is a great example of how you do not need to break your budget while attracting birds to your yard. Putting out bird seed, suet and so forth and making a home feeding station brings in all sorts of feather friends, as can erecting nest boxes for specific species, creating a brush pile, allowing grass and flowers to grow for natural seeds and nectar, or giving them nest building materials like fur. However, even some just regularly provided clean water can do the trick, especially in times of extreme heat, drought, or frigid cold (if heated!). Here is little more than a plastic tray with...
Read MoreLighthouse Lightning
We really are saying goodbye to the summertime now and hello again to some more dry conditions (unfortunately) in the Northeast. Stratford Point had a good run of thunderstorms for a week or so in mid-August, but even these photos show a storm that is over Long Island Sound and ended up providing a very light shower for literally a minute or two. Nevertheless, the pink explosions against the blue clouds all lit by the setting sun provided a pretty scene. I was also able to capture one of the few cloud to ground lightning strikes on the Sound to the east of the Stratford Point Light. Parts of...
Read MorePervious Pavement Installation
Pervious Pavement Installation; August 29th – September 8th Billions of gallons of contaminated storm water runoff of impervious surfaces, cause erosion problems and enter our waterways every year. RTPI is installing a test plot of an innovative 3-part system of pervious pavement, storage aggregate, and bio-remediation agents that contain, treat, and reduce storm water runoff. Our main facility will be closed during this time as we install a new art exhibition, but we are excited to reveal both beginning in the following weeks!
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