Posts by mbenage
Beyond your backyard: Getting back to your roots
This is the first June I can remember living in Minnesota that my grass is already brown and dead in the boulevard (yes, I am one of those people who refuses to water unless you’re a newly planted native plant—then you get VIP treatment). I’m not one bit mad about it because mowing is high on…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Brood X
If you’ve been watching the news lately there’s a new celebrity everyone’s talking about. Big bulging eyes, long body in a variety of colors, sturdy wings, and a distinctive call that heralds warmer weather just as surely as its evening costar, the firefly does. This daytime celebrity is none other than the cicada. They’ve been…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: I’m Ready for Green Things
Photos above by Megan Benage, from left: Virginia bluebells growing in a woodland shade garden. Pasqueflower is one of the first prairie wildflowers to bloom, blooming around Easter; this Queen bumble bee ended up covered in pollen and ready to provision her nest. American plum is important for earth emerging pollinators like queen bumble bees.…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Now that’s fen-tastic
Nothing makes my heart fill with awe in winter more than a calcareous fen (ok maybe a snow-covered prairie gets me too). These rare, peat accumulating wetlands are fed by a constant supply of upwelling groundwater and formed after the last glaciers receded. You can find them in western Minnesota with the remains of glacial…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard – What will you do for her: ??
When I first was thinking about what I wanted to write to kick off the new year, I was going to write a piece about snow—how important it is to recharge our aquifers, insulate the soil, and provide protection for plants and wildlife to name a few benefits. But given the current times, I think…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: The lucky one
Oh what a year we’ve had together. It’s easy with all the stress swirling around us to forget what we have right in front of us. Through all the ups and downs, twists and turns, and unexpected events, we are part of a carefully woven fabric. More intricate and complex than any man-made fiber. Woven…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Winter Wellness Walks on the Prairie
Think back to when you were a kid. You’re running. You can feel the wind on your cheeks. You’re running so fast, the world is a blur. You’re not worried if you’ll make it or if you can do it. Down the hill, past the trees, towards the endless waves of grass. You’re just running…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: For the prairie, woods, wetlands, and sloughs
A work friend reminded me it’s national gratitude month. And while it goes without saying that this year has changed so many things, it has not changed the fact that I have much to be thankful for. Last night in the second snow of the year, I seeded native wildflowers and sedges into my tiny…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: The Marvelous Moth
I attended a talk at the Pollinator Summit last year where one of the speakers said something that really stuck in my head as a high drama moment: “It makes no sense. We rake up all of our leaves, bag them up, put them on the sidewalk, or throw them away, and then spend hundreds…
Read MoreBeyond Your Backyard: Mussel Mania
As the weather gets crisp, I find myself thinking of Halloween and what great costumes I could make with a bucket of papier-mâché and a will to create. Even though Halloween will likely be different this year as everything has been, that’s no reason not to come up with a stellar costume. And what better…
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