This & That: The Birds, The Bees and The Bunnies

Flora & Fauna

 

“Earth Day is a day to celebrate the strides in conservation we have made, as well as an opportunity to educate the public about conservation and methods to be more mindful of the finite resources we have on this planet. ” — Jory Teltser, a 17-year old on Aspetuck Land Trust’s Land Management Committee. 

 

this & that

My This & That series continues to highlight random happenings and things that catch my eye: places to go, books to read, or something to ponder. In honor of Earth Day, think of this installment as the Spring edition of this & that: birds, bees, and bunnies.

The Birds: Watching young people take on leadership roles has been so inspiring. Below I feature a local 17-year old high school student who is leading our Earth Day Hike.

The Bees: Honey bees are easily amongst the most important insects to humans on Earth. Don’t forget to also check out New Moon Honey.

The Bunnies: There are no bunnies, but I like alliteration and what brings in a New York City spring more than the hat pageantry of the Easter walking parade on Fifth Avenue? Scroll down to witness some real creativity on display.

the birds

Meet this young man, Jory Teltser, a 17-year old junior in Westport, Connecticut. I met him recently at an Aspetuck Land Trust land management meeting, I’m on the board and he is a volunteer committee member. Jory has been an avid birder since the age of 9 and is excited to lead the well-known Earth Day Hike on April 21. We are in such good hands with him.

For those that are local to Connecticut, you can join the hike by going to the website and registering. The hike is at Newman Poses Preserve (named after Connecticut residents Paul Newman and his family).

What are you and your family doing this Earth Day? Here’s a list to find a land trust near you.

Aspetuck Land Trust in Connecticut

 

Image of Jory by Martel Rynderman

 

Earth Day “Save Me!” How clever!

 

 the bees

I’m learning everything I can about raising honeybees. I have taken classes, worked with mentors (Gabriele Kallenborn) and read numerous books on the subject. I know about parasites and keeping a holistic hive. I have so much more to learn and thankfully I’ll have a great community in Connecticut to help me out. I’ll be keeping my bees on a small farm in town. Thank goodness for long time beekeeper Jennifer Boyd — her farm and goats and chickens and other bees will keep my bees company.

Around the United States check out beekeeping classes at HoneyTraveler. For classes in Brooklyn and New Paltz see HoneyBeeLives. In Connecticut check out Connecticut Backyard Beekeepers.

It’s funny, five years later, my very first blog post was about environmentalist Bill McKibben and his visit to our land trust and his book on bees.

That’s me in the green jacket, with Gabriele’s bees. Photo credit: Tate Mullineaux.

 

Gabriele and her bees the other day. She was lucky enough to get her bees already. I took this photo with a longer lens, I wasn’t suited up.

 

I visited a local bee store, a farmer was purchasing his Queen Bees.

the bunnies

Feast your eyes on the Easter Parade eye candy below. Nothing says the beginning of Spring more than this iconic activity in New York City.

 

 

 

 

All of these photographs are taken by me (except the one of Jory and the one of me with the bees). I used my Leica Q and my Canon 5D.

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