People occasionally ask me why I keep my large, sometimes unruly garden, when it is clearly a lot of work. The questions usually come when the weather is hot, sticky and generally infernal, or when I have been overdue in mowing the square of lawn in the front yard. Of course, gardening brings me joy, … Read more
My father used to call them “salad birds”. Reference guides refer to them as Spinus tristus. Most of us know the bright, acrobatic birds as goldfinches. Though they look as colorful as parakeets, guidebook authors sometimes damn these songbirds with faint praise because of their ubiquitous presence among us. All I know is that American … Read more
Goldfinches and thistles are creatures of high summer that share a life-sustaining bond. The common bull or spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) grows and thrives under a wide range of conditions, including many that other plants find inhospitable. Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) frequent the fields, roadsides and other places where thistles are common. I think of the … Read more
