Library Blog
Posted on Sat, October 28, 2023 - 11:16am
It contains the same content as the blog but with a more attractive layout and less searching.
Subscribe here for an easy way to find our photo essays. Follow the link, checkmark the correct box, and click “submit.” To ensure your privacy, you may be asked to update your preferences. Please…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Wed, October 04, 2023 - 07:00pm
Guess what! More rain is forecast for this weekend.
If you are tempted to stay indoors on gray, gloomy days, I urge you to reconsider. I often feel this way until I actually get outside. On one recent Sunday, I donned my rain gear in low spirits, anticipating a dull outing. Then, as usual, I…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, September 29, 2023 - 07:00pm
The Ames Free Library’s top nocturnal visitors – deer, rabbit, and fox – are common suburban animals, which might lead one to assume that this particular combination of mammals prevails throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. Not necessarily. Let’s look at my backyard for comparison.
Like most…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Wed, September 20, 2023 - 07:00pm
Besides deer, who else visits the library after dark? Of course, people and pet dogs use the grounds, but our focus is on wildlife. Unfortunately, my trail cam has detected only a few wild species in this area. Based on image captures, the second most common nocturnal mammal is the cottontail…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, September 15, 2023 - 07:00pm
On June 29 I installed the trail cam behind Queset Garden and hoped for the best. My first set of photos included this image which encouraged me to continue. Can you identify this animal? Send your ideas to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org. Next time, we’ll see a video clip of this creature and “…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, September 08, 2023 - 07:00pm
No doubt about it! White-tailed deer dominate the library’s nightlife. They are the largest mammalian visitors to the library campus and, based on my trail cam’s videos, the most frequent. Indeed, deer appeared in 92% of all nighttime animal videos captured by my camera.
It’s hardly a…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, September 01, 2023 - 07:00pm
Who visits the library campus after dark? Submit your thoughts on the most frequent mammalian visitors to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org. Then, check back next Friday to see what my new trail cam recorded!
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, August 25, 2023 - 07:00pm
Last week, several readers correctly pinpointed California as the home of my giant pinecone. “Terrific!,” I thought, “These folks traveled to the northern Sierras where they saw the same wonderful trees I did: sugar pines.” But, no. At least two readers who visited southern California…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, August 18, 2023 - 07:00pm
Where do pine cones grow this large? Identify the species and its location by sending an email to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org. Hint: It’s not Easton!
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, August 11, 2023 - 07:00pm
The library welcomes everyone; well, almost everyone. Last week, I escorted a young visitor to the door . . . and a little beyond. This individual was certainly charming and, for all I know, well-mannered, but the relationship just wasn’t “a good fit.” I hope it will settle down in the nearby…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Sat, August 05, 2023 - 07:00pm
Congratulations to Joyce F. for correctly identifying last week’s “What Is It!” on the Ames Free Library’s Facebook page. This surrealistic creature is, indeed, a spicebush swallowtail caterpillar.
From this angle, the caterpillar has a giant head with intimidating eyes. We are looking at…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, July 28, 2023 - 07:00pm
This week’s mystery creature seems to ask, “Who are you looking at?” If you think you know, email your identification to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org. Next Friday, we’ll reveal its name and behavior.
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Wed, July 19, 2023 - 07:00pm
So, who saw a monocot this week? I guarantee you all did, whether or not you were paying attention or taking my assignment seriously. I chose the orange daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, to introduce the subject because it has large flowers, is familiar to most readers, and is conspicuous at the Ames…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, July 14, 2023 - 07:00pm
The Missouri Botanical Garden describes the daylily as “A tough plant that is tolerant of poor soil, summer heat and humidity.” Our recent high temperatures and frequent showers may be challenging to humans, but the daylilies at the Ames Free Library have bloomed with exuberance. Each July, they…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Sat, July 01, 2023 - 07:00pm
Last week’s “What Is It!” apparently stumped A Glimpse of Nature’s readers. Such peculiar objects – bright-orange, gelatinous balls hanging from a conifer! Those in the photo were about 2 inches in diameter.
Pembroke, May 21, 2023 Even…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, June 23, 2023 - 07:00pm
Halloween decorations? Wrong season. Sea anemones? Wrong habitat. What are these orange blobs? Email your identification to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org and check in next week for their story. Your nature photos are always welcome.
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, June 16, 2023 - 07:00pm
Attention readers: Bonnie Tate created this week’s post. Our guest author describes herself as a scientist, birder, and nature photographer. You may recall her amazing image of an Eastern Screech Owl which won the grand prize of our “Picturing Winter” contest.
Massachusetts boasts seven…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, June 09, 2023 - 07:00pm
When my coworker, Christie, stepped outside her front door on May 8, she saw a nest. “When did that happen?”
May 8, 2023
Fortunately, for us, she documented the birds’ development from eggs to fledglings. Let’s examine…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, June 02, 2023 - 07:00pm
June is “Turtles-Crossing-the-Road” month. Let’s celebrate by driving cautiously on roads near wetlands while being alert to female turtles heading to their upland nesting sites. Notice which roads seem suitable before you encounter an “object” on the road. Slow down. If you see a turtle in the…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, May 26, 2023 - 07:00pm
Sunday’s walk was splendid, a fresh green feast of loveliness savored in perfect weather. My eyes hopped from wild geraniums to jack-in-the-pulpits, from tender ferns to mature skunk cabbages, landing eventually on show-stopping lady’s slippers.
Yet my chief delight was the soundscape. …
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, May 19, 2023 - 07:00pm
There is so much activity in spring! Here are two sounds you may hear if you venture beyond your neighborhood. You know the ropes: email lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary.org with your answers and check back next week.
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, May 12, 2023 - 07:00pm
Congratulations to Tom Cee who correctly identified last week’s “What Is It!” on Facebook. This delicate spring flower is the lovely wood anemone, Anemone quinquefolia. Hanover, MA, April 29, 2023 Just three inches tall, this plant has a…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, May 05, 2023 - 07:00pm
Now blooming in selected woodlands near you!
Submit your identification to lrubinacci@amesfreelibrary and check back next week for info on this topic.
Your photos of spring wildflowers are welcome, too.
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Fri, April 28, 2023 - 07:00pm
Remember the swimming garter snake that headlined our March 30th post? Since that time, readers have shared sightings of two more snake species.
April 5, Hanson
Courtesy: Louis Vanrenen
First, we have an image of a young snake basking on a beam above a pond. According to the observer…
Category: Staff Picks
Posted on Wed, April 12, 2023 - 07:00pm
Did you guess correctly? Frogs were the focus of last week’s “What Is It!” game.
These gelatinous eggs contain wood frog embryos. While wood frogs may not be as well known as bullfrogs or green frogs, they are a delight to observe in the late-winter/early-spring woods. Listen for their duck-…
Category: Staff Picks