Starflowerstudiony

08/31/2026

While Autumn is fast approaching there is still at least another full month of pollinator activity or longer depending upon when frost arrives.
Species such as Sunflower (Helianthus), Goldenrod (Solidago) and Asters (Symphyotrichum, Eurybia and Doellingeria) are critical late season food for native pollinators. Annual flowers like Salvia, Marigold, Dahlias, etc also provide supplemental food.

08/29/2026

A red oak acorn (Quercus rubra) rests on Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) along a trail at the Graphite Range earlier in the week.

Meteorological autumn starts on Tuesday.

08/25/2026

Common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is indigenous to the Americas but cultivated worldwide.

08/22/2026

A shot from Auger Falls, Hamilton County earlier this week.

08/21/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DesCqvgtG/

🎨 Art Speaks opens this Saturday!

Join North Country Arts this Saturday at 5 PM for the opening reception of Art Speaks, our newest exhibition celebrating the unique voices, perspectives, and creative expressions of artists from across the region.

From painting and photography to pottery, fiber art, and more, Art Speaks invites you to experience the conversations happening through art—stories of nature’s beauty, waves of emotion, the inner workings of the mind, human connection, and everything in between.

Come meet the artists, enjoy light refreshments, and be among the first to experience this incredible collection.

📅 Saturday, August 22
⏰ 5 PM
📍 North Country Arts, Suite 120 at The Shirt Factory

Help us celebrate another summer of creativity, community, and the stories that art has to tell. We can’t wait to see you there! 🎨

08/20/2026

Sometimes the photo comes to you, as this Great Black Digger Wasp-Sphex pensylvanicus did when landing on the roof of my car, just a few inches from my face, while I was getting my camera gear out for a hike.

08/18/2026

The term "golden hour" in photography refers to just after sunrise or before dusk when the angle of backlighting creates a magical glow around your subjects.

This photo captured that glow but it was taken at 11:30 in the morning near Speculator, NY.

08/15/2026

In a talk I gave recently for Warrensburgh Beautification, I spoke of my memory of the landscape as it was 50 years ago and how the Overton window had shifted: more recent generations don't know what has been lost in the landscape, so they don't miss it.. This article captures that concept well.

Warrensburgh Beautification

Environmental amnesia: How we can't even remember the lost biodiversity of yore

https://archive.ph/gU1bM

08/14/2026

A bicolored sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens), feeds on Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) along Halfway Brook in Cole's Woods.

These bees feed on the nectar of composite flowers like Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) Asters (Symphyotrichum and Eurybia), and Sunflowers (Helianthus spp.)

Males are sting less with a black and yellow abdomen and females with a black and white abdomen, will only sting if harassed or trapped.

08/11/2026

A shot of Cohoes Falls yesterday.