Elizabeth Hilborn
@elizabee
Bee veterinarian, orchardist, environmental health scientist, writer, and award-winning author of "Restoring Eden" (CRP 2023). One health, agriculture with a future, pollinators and plants. Photos are my own unless otherwise credited. elizabethhilborn.com
A recent morning harvest of our early crop of figs. Top to bottom, varieties are: Brown turkey, Italian honey fig, and Celeste. #summerfruits #backyardfruit
Early paw paws are ripening. These fruits are from seedling trees of unknown genetics--they were not selected for fruit quality. But they are the earliest ripening pawpaw trees at the farm. This trait may be valuable in a breeding program with early ripening as a goal. #summerfruits #nativefruit 🌱
How can we better support Monarch butterflies? We can offer fresh, blooming milkweeds to late season travelers by mowing/cutting a portion of land once midseason (June to July in upper south/mid-Atlantic US). Example reports in comments. #pollinators #manageforwildlife 🧪🌍🌱🦋
Unidentified Bombus on sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) flowers. Haywood County, NC. People truck honey bee colonies up to the NC mountains each July to produce specialty sourwood honey. #nativebees #Blueridge
Summer king apples galore this year! 🌱 🐝 #heirloomapples #summerfruit
The persistent drought is affecting wildlife, too. If you have deer neighbors--consider setting out water for the does to drink. They need extra water to make sufficient milk at this critical time with new fawns to feed. Here in central NC, I'm refilling wildlife water buckets daily. #wildlife
Dreaming of cherries fresh from your backyard? In the mid-Atlantic area of the US, low care 'pie' cherries are commonly grown. We have two varieties: North Star, a small tree, and Juliet, a bush cherry . Juliet fruit (center in pic) flanked by two North Star fruits. 🌱 #backyardfruit #cherries
For those in Eastern US receiving some much-needed rain, watch for turtles on the roads. Due to drought, the soil had been too dry to dig nests. Now, turtles will be active over the next days to weeks. If safe to do so, remove them from the travel lanes, car strikes are reducing populations. 🌍
A clearwing moth on honey-scented Aronia melanocarpa blooms! Many moths are pollinators as are flies (see smaller insect to the left). Among insects as among other life forms, one cannot cleanly categorize into 'friend' or 'foe'. Assume 'friend' in the absence of other information. 🐝💚 #pollinators
Hickories decked out in their best spring attire: left, shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) and right, shellbark hickory (C. laciniosa). IME these species produce the best-flavored and easily accessible hickory nuts in central NC. 🌍 🌱 #foraging #foodforest #nuttree
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) is blooming now in my North Carolina orchard. An ancient super-food from Eurasia, it is an easy-care edible addition to the sunny or partially-shaded landscape.
Welcome to the new year of the horse. Wishing you good health, happiness, peace, and prosperity! #lunarnewyear
Unmown pasture with common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) 🌍 🌱 🦋 #nativeplants #pollinators
New York Times bestseller "The Light Eaters" — Virtual book talk with Zoë Schlanger, Atlantic journalist covering science, health, and the environment. Tues., Dec. 16, 7-8:30pm EST. go.unc.edu/lighteaters Schlanger invites us into the world of plant behavior and intelligence research.🧪🌍🌱
Normal bee fluff/floof. (Potayto/potahto) 😄. That's one of the reasons why bees are such efficient pollinators. The floof passively collects pollen and they carry it among flowers.
I'm pleased to present "Restoring Eden" for the Durham Garden Forum on Tuesday evening September 16. I'll be discussing how to support pollinators at home. 🐝🦋 Link to the event in first comment.
It's a race every year to secure some beech nuts before the squirrels strip them from the trees. I'm watching closely. The husks will open any day now. Foodforest#
Chytrid fungal infections among frogs thrived in shady areas, but not among frogs living near boulders. "The researchers hypothesized that the boulders acted as natural refuges that absorbed heat during the day and slowly released it at night." 1/N
A pickerel frog decided to use one of our livestock water buckets today. I added supports for them to climb out and removed livestock near the bucket. Pickerel frogs (Rana palustris) can secrete toxins when they feel threatened. #farmlife
Sweet (and hot) summer. I give my Anaheim peppers time to color up for a sweeter flavor with a bit more heat. 🌱
Cranefly orchid flowers (Tipularia discolor) emerging after heavy rains these few past weeks. They rely upon moths for pollination. Ephemeral mid-summer treat! 🌍🦋🌱
Chamber entrance aligned to winter solstice in central Vermont, US
Unusually early ripening of North Carolina antique variety Summer King this year in central NC. Summer King has been a heavy annual bearer for me and is the earliest apple variety to ripen in my orchards. 🌱 🍎