Month: September 2018

Heritage Day 2018 Exhibition Prepapation

Bonsaiwithromano

It feels like I have been away for years but it’s been just 24 days to me that feels like a life time. It’s the longest that I have been away from my blog. I have been busy with a roadshow the past few weeks and have been working 16 – 18 hour shifts. So you can image that the few hours left in the day was spend sleeping. I lived on coffee and energy drinks during this period. I feel so bad. I have been eating clean and living healthy for almost a year now and then I need to eat and drink what ever I can get my hands on as you do not have a choice. I’m glad that’s over, now I can focus on what I love most, my trees.

Today I spent a few hours working on trees that I will be displaying as part…

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10 Forest Hotspots for Bird-watching

10 Forest Hotspots for Bird-watching

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August 28th, 2017|Tags: recreation, wildlife|0 Comments

By Melanie Friedel,American Forests

Bird-watching can be an exciting way to explore the outdoors, or simply a relaxing activity while escaping into nature. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find exciting birds in your backyard, but fear not — this list of the top forest spots to go birding will help you score some amazing finds!

Chiricahua Mountains, Coronado National Forest, Arizona

Credit: Alan Shmierer

Don’t be deceived by the miles of seemingly barren lands. These mountains rise up from the Arizona desert, providing a cool and wet climate perfect for a rare tropical bird: the elegant trogon. This metallic green and bright-red bird is the only trogon found regularly in North American forests. Thankfully, Coronado National Forest offers 13 trails, so pick one, grab your binoculars and get searching!

Sequoia &…

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Raptors in Autumn

Jet Eliot

Barred Owl, Texas

Every fall thousands and thousands of raptors in North America migrate south for the winter as their food supplies begin to wane. Here are some basic facts about raptors and where to find them as we enter into the northern hemisphere’s autumn.

Also known as birds of prey, raptors include many different species. Some more commonly known raptors are: eagles, ospreys, kites, hawks, vultures, falcons, and owls.

Osprey in Mangroves

Not all raptors migrate. It depends on how cold the winters get, if there is enough available prey. We are fortunate in Northern California to see many raptor species in all seasons.

Other parts of the country, however, have consistently cold winter weather and, consequently, raptor migration every autumn.

Snail Kite

Although raptor migration lasts roughly between August and November, late September is the prime time for watching these grand birds.

Bald Eagle, California. This raptor almost…

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I’m Back Baby!

The Ficus Guy

After a short, several month break, I’m diving headfirst back into the hobby. There are two trees that I kept, but sold every other one. Those two trees are a Ficus I grew from seed, and a Ficus obliqua that I received from Jerry Meislik.

Both trees were placed next to the dining room window. The obliqua dropped all of its leaves and went dormant, and the seed grown Ficus began to sulk and drop in quality. The leaves began to weep, which I learned is a sign that the tree got too hot, too cold, or the roots are rotting:

See the sad looking, drooping leaves? I took this picture today, and the tree was repotted a couple of days ago. It used to be in a poor, packed soil that was staying far too wet. It’s now in a mixture of pumice, lava rock, and pine bark.

Now…

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