words and photos by Melissa McMasters Pollen: it makes us sneeze, it makes our eyes water, it coats our clothes and hair and cars. We’ve probably all cursed this dusty substance at some point or another, particularly in the springtime. But pollen is also a
words and photos by Melissa McMasters Within the next week or two, those of you who are on our snail-mail list will receive our summer 2022 newsletter. (You’ll find a PDF here.) Our lead story is a deep dive into every layer of the Old
Words and photos by Melissa McMasters One of the great joys of spending years getting to know the same patch of land is developing a familiarity with the way it changes with the seasons. I know that I’ll usually hear the first “fizz” calls in
Words and photos by Melissa McMasters In medieval times, the word “gorget” (from gorge, the French word for “throat”), referred to a cloth wrapped around a woman’s neck and head. Over the years, it evolved to describe the metallic collars worn by knights and soldiers to
Words and photos by Melissa McMasters At the end of a string of chaotic days recently, an Instagram scroll brought me to a gentle reminder. In the Northern hemisphere, we’re heading into the shortest days of the year, and therefore the most darkness. As animals, our
words and photos by Melissa McMasters Every year after the calendar tells us that fall has officially arrived, we experience a few days of glorious crisp temperatures followed by the cruel return of heat and humidity. The meme about Memphis’s twelve seasons begins to recirculate
words and photos by Melissa McMasters As part of last year’s NatureZen holiday card rollout, we introduced you to the calligrapher flies, tiny flower-loving creatures whose markings look like intricate doodles. This time we’ll go on a short survey, starting with the punctuation mark butterflies.
words and photos by Melissa McMasters One of the things that fascinates me most as a naturalist is the ways animals have evolved their appearances over time to suit some specific purpose. Last summer, we explored how moths camouflage themselves to blend perfectly into their
words and photos by Melissa McMasters It’s August, and the days of balmy three-hour birding walks in the Old Forest are a few months away. Instead, it’s the season of packing multiple water bottles, coating ourselves in bug spray to keep the chiggers and mosquitoes
words and photos by Melissa McMasters A few weeks ago, I participated in a global community-science project called the Odolympics, named for Odonata, the taxonomic order containing dragonflies and damselflies. Like the Great Backyard Bird Count or a BioBlitz, the Odolympics harnesses the time and energy of
