John Fodi
@j-fodi
Ecologist (professionally retired), active forest restorationist and steward, friend of toads, oak guy. I try to promote a healthy planet for all life. I also like literature, music, film. I am based in north-central United States (southern Michigan).
Wildfires are also tearing across Canada and generating smoke that drifts several hundred miles into the northern US, resulting in hazardous air quality advisories. I have been living under one since Tuesday afternoon. The longer we wait to address climate change, the worse it will become.
J's Painting of the Day Here is another one evocative of summer by another one of the French Impressionists. Femme cueillant des Fleurs (1872) by Pierre Auguste Renoir #Renoir #Impressionism #Frenchimpressionists #Painting
J's Painting of the Day Femme à l'ombrelle, Madame Monet et son fils (1875) by Claude Monet Perhaps my favorite graphic image of summer and one of my all-time favorite paintings. The French Impressionists rule. #Monet #Impressionist
Happy Bloomsday! "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned: —Introibo ad altare Dei."
The clouds that preceed a storm are sometimes the best part of a storm. #clouds #cloudscape #cloudphotography #cloudappreciation
Are you fed up with municipalities that try to enforce a "flawless" carpet, Chemlawn aesthetic through lawn ordinances that limit vegetation height? If so, welcome low, insect-pollinated forbs such as wild strawberry or creeping Charlie into your yard. #sustainability (Continued in comments)
Magyarország (aka Hungary) is back. (image borrowed from www.publicdomainpictures.net)
The View from East Point #landscape 🌿 Ice covers about half of the lake. The trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) and sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) have fled for warmer climes. But I did see a bald eagle (Haliaetus leucocephalus) cruise by on that day.
Aussie Wildlife Show returned from a two-year hiatus in May and is again issuing fun and informative podcasts. In this episode, the AWS crew chats with Karen Coombes about tree kangaroos (my favorite macropodids). 🌍🌿 aussiewildlifeshow.podbean.com/e/dr-karen-c...
This last flowers of 2025 in this part of the world are those of witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), which come into flower in the autumn when most other flowers are in decline. These look surprisingly good after enduring recent temperatures in the low 20s (F). 🌿
Looking SW towards Little North Point. The tallest tree is a northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) and is displaying a form of marcescence, in this case the retention of leaves after senescence. Marcescence keeps our oak woods leafy long after most other tree leaves have fallen. #Landscape 🌿
A dramatic sky which accompanied the arrival of a cold front and made for a chilly night of camping. #Landscape
You may not be aware, but we are in the midst of Gar Week. In honor of this joyous celebration and appreciation, I bring you images of a mummified longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) that I found on the shore of Saginaw Bay. Check out those teeth! 🌿
A golden, glowing day in Hummelwald Forest. Enjoy it while you can, for winter is forecast to arrive in southern Michigan next week with temperatures in the low 20s (F). This has been a splendid autumn and I am loath to see it pass. #Landscape
The View from East Point The yellowish trees along the margin of the distant shore are tamarack (Larix laricina), a deciduous member of the family Pinaceae. They refuse to let broad-leafed trees monopolize fall coloration. 🌿 #Landscape
The sky was clear and the sun was shining in the west, while a dark bank of clouds approached from the north. #Landscape
I cannot resist a few nice cirrus and cirrostratus clouds. The sky was mostly clear for the entirety of this day, save for this passing flotilla. #clouds #cloudscape #cloudphotography #cloudappreciation
Recent beaver (Castor canadensis) activity at East Point. I do not mind if they chew on the birch (Betula papyrifera) and alder (Alnus incana), but I hope that they spare the oaks (Quercus spp.). The latter are very slow-growing and the deer (Odocoileus virginianus) show them no mercy. 🌿
This one is titled "Ecologist Contemplating the Bark of a Black Oak*". This is a very good example of black oak bark; students of dendrology should take note. 🌿 * Quercus velutina
A nice cloudscape above a forest clearing. I am not sure if this qualifies for the #Landscape feed, but I am sending it just in case. The moderator can chide me if I have done wrong.