Rewildings

05/07/2026

While policymakers are making strides towards limiting the inclusion of PFAS in certain products, so-called "forever chemicals" remain in many items.

05/07/2026

Not all native plants carry the same weight. A small number of species support most of the caterpillar diversity in any given area — and caterpillars are the primary food source for nesting songbirds.

These are called keystone plants. Remove them and the food web they support thins dramatically. Plant even a few and the bird and butterfly activity in your yard changes noticeably.

🌿 Eight keystone plants for US gardens:

- Oaks — support more caterpillar species than any other tree genus in most of North America. Even a young oak begins contributing within its first few years

- Goldenrod — one of the highest-ranked herbaceous keystone plants. Blooms late summer through fall when other nectar sources fade. Supports dozens of caterpillar species and multiple specialist bees

- Asters — bloom September through November, bridging the fall nectar gap. Heavy caterpillar and pollinator support

- Native sunflowers — perennial species return year after year without replanting. Strong caterpillar host and specialist pollinator plant

- Willows — fast-growing, adaptable, and available from shrub-size to full tree. Among the highest caterpillar hosts on the continent

- Black cherry — often already growing at woodland edges. One of the most productive native trees for caterpillar support

- Blueberries — edible fruit and keystone ecology in one plant. Strong caterpillar host across a wide range of zones

- Milkweed — the primary host plant for monarch caterpillars. Without milkweed in the landscape, monarchs can't complete their lifecycle nearby

The garden that supports the most life isn't the one with the most species. It's the one with the right ones 🌱

05/07/2026

I am not a giant mosquito. No stinger. No bite. No interest in blood. Not even close.

The insect bouncing off your porch ceiling at night — long-legged, fragile, looking like a mosquito that got into the protein powder — is a crane fly. She belongs to a completely different family. She cannot pierce your skin. Most adult crane flies don't even have functional mouths.

Her entire adult life is about five to ten days. In that time, she mates, lays eggs in moist soil, and dies. She doesn't eat. She doesn't drink blood. She doesn't spread disease. She can barely fly in a straight line.

🐦 The nickname "mosquito hawk" is wrong in every direction. She doesn't eat mosquitoes. She isn't a hawk. She isn't even a predator. The name persists because people see a large insect that looks like a mosquito and assume it's a bigger, worse version of the same problem.

It's a completely different animal.

She's drawn to porch lights because she navigates by ambient light. Walk outside on a warm spring night with the light on, and she'll bumble past your face — not because she wants you, but because she's confused by the bulb.

Her larvae — called leatherjackets — live in soil and eat decomposing organic matter. They're food for robins, starlings, and armadillos. The adults are food for bats, swallows, and spiders.

🌿 If one gets inside:
- Cup her gently in your hands — she cannot bite or sting
- Release outside — she'll be dead in a few days regardless
- She is one of the most harmless insects you will encounter

She looks like the thing you hate. She is the opposite of that thing.

A crane fly is a mosquito the way a manatee is a shark. 🌱

05/07/2026

05/06/2026

Northeast Michigan TNR T-Shirt fundraiser flash sale!

We’ve produced a limited run of shirts to support NEMTNR. Sizes S-XL available. Each shirt is $30 with 100% of the proceeds benefitting TNR. 1 shirt sold = 1 cat fixed through their program!

05/06/2026

Michigan’s magical summer evenings are feeling a bit quieter lately as gardeners notice a decline in the classic firefly displays we used to take for granted. While our state still provides the ideal mix of moisture and warmth, these glowing icons need more than just the right weather to survive and thrive.

05/05/2026

Can anyone say overreach? Can anyone say federalism? Too bad that we have out-of-state wanna-bes in positions of power in my home state of Montana. We have no hope of proper representation against this. It’s up to the people.

The American Prairie Foundation has had its license to graze conservation herds of bison on federal pastures revoked by the Department of the Interior