CB Photography

06/05/2026

Be gentle with the quiet lives—
the moth at your window,
the frog beside the pond,
the caterpillar on the leaf,
the tiny bird drying its wings after rain.

The earth was made for them, too.

06/05/2026

"I always use cedar mulch. It repels bugs."

No. It doesn't.

Studies have consistently shown that cedar mulch does NOT significantly repel termites, ants, beetles, or other garden insects compared to any other wood mulch.

The claim comes from the fact that cedar contains natural oils (thujone) that have insecticidal properties — in a laboratory. In concentrated form. On direct contact.

In your garden? The oil content of commercially processed cedar mulch is minimal. It's been dried, shredded, and exposed to air. Most of the volatile oils have dissipated before you even open the bag.

Insects colonize cedar mulch just like any other organic mulch. Termites will eat it. Ants will nest in it. Beetles will live under it.

You paid 40-60% more for mulch with good marketing.

All mulch provides the same benefits:
Moisture retention. W**d suppression. Soil temperature regulation. Erosion prevention. Organic matter addition.

The cheapest hardwood mulch at your local landfill — often free — does the same job as premium cedar.

What ACTUALLY keeps insects from your foundation:
Keep all mulch at least 6 inches from house siding.
Keep mulch depth at 2-3 inches max (deeper = more insect habitat).
Create a 6-inch gravel barrier between mulch and foundation.
Remove wood debris, leaf piles, and moisture sources near the house.
Fix leaks and drainage issues — moisture attracts far more insects than mulch type ever repels.

Save your money. Use whatever mulch is cheapest and locally available.

The insects don't read the bag.

06/04/2026

For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue

This time of year, we see a spike in calls from concerned people who have seen bears that they thought looked hungry or desperate. Yearling cubs who have recently left mom often go through an awkward, lean stage while they’re figuring out how to survive on their own, and this can lead people to believe that it’s a good idea to feed the bears. Please don’t! Feeding them is unnecessarily, cruel, and dangerous.

Bears that are fed by humans, even unintentionally with food sources like bird feeders, pet food, and unsecured trash, will ultimately be killed for it. It happens every single year when these hungry, confused bears do exactly as they’ve been trained to do and try to walk up to people seeking easy meals.

If you live in an area where bears are active, please remove any and all possible food sources, especially this time of year. If you see a bear that you believe is so thin, sick, weak, or small that it cannot possibly survive without assistance, please contact your local game wardens but avoid trying to help the bear yourself.

06/04/2026

Every ZAP is a pollinator dying. Mosquitoes don't even care about the light. Your bug zapper is killing the wrong team.

THE STUDY:

→ University of Delaware: 13,789 insects killed by bug zappers in one summer
→ Only 31 were mosquitoes (0.22%)
→ The rest: moths, beetles, midges, lacewings, mayflies, caddisflies
→ BENEFICIAL insects: pollinators, pest controllers, fish food

WHY IT DOESN'T WORK:

→ Mosquitoes are attracted to CO2, body heat, lactic acid
→ NOT attracted to UV light
→ They fly right past the zapper — toward YOU

WHAT YOU'RE KILLING:

→ Moths (nighttime pollinators for many plants)
→ Lacewings (eat hundreds of aphids)
→ Beetles (decomposers, pollinators)
→ Mayflies (fish food — essential for stream ecosystems)
→ The zapper may INCREASE mosquito bites (kills their predators)

WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS:

→ Fans (mosquitoes can't fly in wind over 1 mph)
→ Eliminate standing water (breeding sites)
→ CO2 traps (target what mosquitoes actually follow)
→ Bats (one bat eats 1,000+ mosquitoes per night)
→ Screen porches

The zap is satisfying. The damage is invisible.

Unplug it. Buy a fan.

06/03/2026

Some salads come with croutons.

This one came with a tiny survivor staring back from the lettuce.

The real detail is how many chances this frog had to disappear.

It survived harvesting, sorting, sealing, shipping, refrigeration, and the quiet indignity of becoming an accidental grocery bonus.

Inside that bag, there was no pond, no mud, no insects, and no dignified exit. Just cold greens, plastic walls, and one amphibian pretending the produce aisle was a wetland.

Frogs can be shockingly good at stillness. Many rely on patience, low energy, and damp hiding places to ride out danger, which makes this little stowaway less like a mistake and more like a masterclass in not panicking.

By the time it was found alive, dinner had turned into a survival story.

Sometimes nature does not roar, sprint, or fight its way through.

Sometimes it just sits quietly in the salad and refuses to be finished.

06/03/2026

You noticed holes in your lawn. Dozens of them. Small,
pencil-sized. Little bees flying in and out.

Your first thought: yellowjackets. Danger. Poison.

Stop. Look closer.

Those are ground-nesting native bees. Mining bees.
Sweat bees. Cellophane bees. Over 70% of native bee
species nest in the ground.

They're solitary. Each hole is ONE bee's nest. There's
no colony. No hive. No queen. No coordinated defense.
Each bee minds its own business.

They almost NEVER sting. Most ground-nesting bees
physically can't sting through human skin. The ones
that can will only sting if you physically grab them.

They're not yellowjackets. Yellowjacket nests have
ONE entrance with heavy traffic. Ground bee "villages"
have many individual holes with one bee each.

These bees are critical pollinators for your garden,
your fruit trees, your flowers, and every native
plant within a quarter mile.

And you're about to pour insecticide down their nests.

They'll be active for 4-6 weeks in spring and early
summer. Then they're done. The holes remain but the
bees are gone until next year. Your lawn fills back
in naturally.

What to do:
Nothing. That's the whole answer. Do nothing.
Mow around them if possible.
Don't water that patch heavily — they chose dry,
sparse soil for a reason.
If you must use that exact area — wait 6 weeks.
They'll be finished.
Enjoy watching them — they're fascinating. Each bee
is provisioning her nest with pollen balls for her
larvae.

You have a free pollination service living in your
lawn. It costs you nothing. It asks for nothing. It
lasts 6 weeks.

Put the spray can down.

06/03/2026

Your dog is on the deck.

The air temperature is 90°F. Comfortable enough.

The deck surface? 150°F. Dark wood absorbs and
radiates heat. Composite decking can reach 160°F.

Your dog's paw pads will sustain burns at 130°F.
In 60 seconds.

At 150°F, damage begins in seconds.

Your dog won't yelp. It won't limp immediately.
Dogs have a high pain tolerance in their paws.
They'll stand on a burning surface until the damage
is done. You'll see the limping and blistering hours
later.

Burned paw pads peel off in sheets. They take weeks
to heal. The dog can barely walk. Every step is
agony.

It's not just decks:

Asphalt: 140-160°F on a 90°F day.
Concrete sidewalks: 130-150°F.
Metal manhole covers: 170°F+.
Sand at the beach: 130°F+.
Artificial turf: 150-180°F. (Yes, hotter than real
grass by 40-70 degrees.)

The 7-second test:
Place the back of YOUR hand flat on the surface.
Hold it for 7 seconds. If YOU can't handle it —
your dog can't either. Their pads aren't shoes.
They're skin.

What to do:
Walk dogs early morning or after sunset in summer.
Stick to grass — natural grass stays 30-40°F cooler
than pavement.
Dog booties exist. They work. Your dog will look
silly and be alive.
Wet the deck with a hose before letting the dog
out — drops temperature 30°F instantly.
Provide shade and a cool resting area on the deck.
If your dog is limping after time on hot surfaces —
cool pads with room temperature water (not ice) and
see a vet.

The ground isn't the same temperature as the air.

Test with your hand. Every time.

06/03/2026

You went to the garden center. You bought flowers to
help the bees. The tag said "Pollinator Friendly!"

You planted them. A bee visited.

The bee died.

Most plants sold at big-box garden centers and
nurseries are pre-treated with neonicotinoid
insecticides. These are systemic — they're absorbed
into every cell of the plant. The roots. The stems.
The leaves. The pollen. The nectar.

When a bee feeds on the nectar of a neonicotinoid-
treated flower, it ingests the insecticide. The effect
isn't always instant death. It's worse.

Neonicotinoids disrupt bee navigation. The bee can't
find its way back to the hive. It flies in circles
until it's exhausted. It dies alone, lost, in your
neighbor's yard.

A sub-lethal dose causes the colony to slowly
collapse. Workers forage less efficiently. The queen
lays fewer eggs. Larvae develop poorly. Over weeks,
the hive dies.

Your "pollinator-friendly" plant was pre-loaded with
the #1 chemical linked to pollinator collapse.

How to buy truly bee-safe plants:
Ask the garden center directly: "Were these treated
with neonicotinoids or systemic insecticides?"
Buy from local native plant nurseries — they rarely
use systemics.
Look for "neonicotinoid-free" labels — some nurseries
are now advertising this.
Grow from seed — guaranteed untreated.
After purchasing treated plants: wait 1 full growing
season before allowing pollinators to visit — the
chemicals can persist in the plant for 1-3 years.

The bee on the label was a marketing graphic.

The chemical inside the pot was the real product.

Ask before you buy. Or grow from seed.

05/30/2026

05/28/2026

Those 6-pack rings and similar circular trash, such as shower curtain rings, can pose serious hazards to wildlife, since they can get stuck! Please cut these up before disposing of them!
Please share with your family and friends and encourage them to donate to Urban Wildlife Rehabilitation’s mission and share our cause!