Home & Garden
Melinda’s Garden: Keep Your Houseplants Safe from Cats
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- Written by Melinda Myers Melinda Myers
Growing houseplants when curious cats are in the house can be challenging. We want our cats to be safe and happy while keeping our houseplants intact.
The Beauty in Nature: Fake Eyes Save Lives
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- Written by Clyde McMillan-Gamber Clyde McMillan-Gamber
July, August, and September are the months of insects in southeastern Pennsylvania. And many kinds of insects have unique ways to protect themselves, including exhibiting large, fake eyes that frighten away would-be predators.
The Beauty in Nature: Diverged and Converged Turtles
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- Written by Clyde McMillan-Gamber Clyde McMillan-Gamber
Eastern box turtles, Blanding’s turtles, and wood turtles are beautifully colored, camouflaged species in the northeastern United States. These species demonstrate divergence (branching out) and convergence (coming together).
The Beauty in Nature: Woodies and Hoodies
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- Written by Clyde McMillan-Gamber Clyde McMillan-Gamber
Wood ducks and hooded merganser ducks are not closely related but have characteristics in common because they share nesting habitats near creeks and ponds in woodlands in much of the eastern United States.
Melinda’s Garden: Keep Your Houseplants Safe from Cats
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- Written by Melinda Myers Melinda Myers
Growing houseplants when curious cats are in the house can be challenging. We want our cats to be safe and happy while keeping our houseplants intact.
The Beauty in Nature: Earliest Nesters
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- Written by Clyde McMillan-Gamber Clyde McMillan-Gamber
Majestic bald eagles and handsome great horned owls have much in common, though they are in different bird families.
Melinda’s Garden: Get a Jumpstart on Managing Plant Pests this Winter
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- Written by Melinda Myers Melinda Myers
Just like us, insects spend their winters in different locations. Unlike us, they spend their winters in different stages of development.
The Beauty in Nature: The Great Crane Migration
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- Written by Clyde McMillan-Gamber Clyde McMillan-Gamber
There is no greater, more thrilling, or more inspiring natural happening in the Lower 48 than 600,000 northbound sandhill cranes gathering each evening for a few weeks on the Platte River in south-central Nebraska.
The Beauty in Nature: Burrowing Rodents
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- Written by Clyde McMillan-Gamber Clyde McMillan-Gamber
Though not closely related, woodchucks and muskrats are adaptable rodents that have traits in common. Both species are native to much of North America, including southeastern Pennsylvania.