Showy goldenrod To try to cheer myself up in mid November, I’m thinking about the beautiful yellow flames of showy goldenrod flowers scattered in the sunlit areas of a small…

”Today, for some, a universe will vanish…the silence of after.” Jane Hirshfield, Today, Another Universe The large white oak adjacent to Toby’s prairie has been in decline for many years…

Creeping Bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) flowers ”In the weeds I find a palimpsest of capitalism and colonialism, a living history of globalization.” New York Times, Jennifer Kabat Creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides)…

Killdeer mom giving instructions to her mentees along Pleasant Valley Road (photo by Rona Neri) Killdeer pairs scrape a shallow nest together, as a kind of wedding ceremony. They are…

Giant oak in unit 21 (S. Slapnick) Many trees at Pleasant Valley sustained damage during the evening storm of May 21. Amanda said 40-50 trees lost branches, and several cracked…

Bluebird about to enter an old, now replaced, box (photo by Rona Neri) Male bluebird proposing (photo by Rona Neri) I want here to introduce a photographer who has been…

”Life is sweet, tender and complete when you find the bluebird of happiness…and you must sing his song, as you go along, when you find the bluebird of happiness.” Song:…

“It’s a dance, choreographed by the wind, conducted by Amanda … Fire artisans wield drip torches, and dry grasses bow to the flames. Lyrics are the radio chatter: ‘copy that’…

This year, Brad Thome completed the update of our Pleasant Valley Conservancy website. Perhaps the fourth iteration, the site is packed full of useful information on oak savanna restoration in…

In June, 2023, I created a bird checklist for Pleasant Valley Conservancy. Amy Staffen had just completed our annual breeding bird survey, and I was motivated in addition after looking at…