Based out of Chester County, PA, United States

mjacobs@theartofecology.com 570.497.9141

The Art of Ecology

Building visual connections between people and nature.

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Recent Posts

• Viva Magenta – Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year in Nature
• 2022 Year in review
• Reflecting on the 1st Semester of my Masters in Environmental Education

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Someone is safe and cozy inside this old goldenrod stem! The Goldenrod Gall Wasp lays its egg in the stem, which causes the plant's hormones to go a little wonky. The plant stem swells, creating a perfect bedroom for the little critter. Eventually, it'll hatch and chew a hole to emerge through. No hole on this gall, so it's still growing and staying warm!

Hydrangeas often have fertile and infertile flowers. The large petal-looking structures are actually sepals (what protects a bud or small flower), which attract pollinators. These pollinators come to check them out, then crawl over the tiny, fertile flowers, rubbing pollen all over them. The fertile flowers are small, and usually inconspicuous compared to the showy sepals!

During the winter months, dried flower seed heads are incredibly important food resources for winter wildlife, especially birds. By keeping these old, dried stalks around until spring, you can help wildlife populations find food! Once spring comes, and new growth emerges, you can cut the stalks back and use them as compost to revitalize your garden.

When conditions are just right, you can see these cool ice feathers! This is caused by cold conditions to allow water to freeze, and lots of wind, which blows water and moisture in a single direction. These little icy feathers were all pointing in the exact same direction and covered only one side of the grasses, stones, and trees in the area.

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