They’re back! The latest invasion of leaf-devouring Japanese beetles has begun. These half-inch-long eating machines have been found helping themselves to roses in the Springfield area, but you can expect them to turn to other favorites such as linden, grapes, birch, apples, peaches, and raspberries. In fact, this glutton’s grocery list comprises the leaves, flowers, […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Earth Talk
Dear Earth Talk: Are raw foods healthier to eat than cooked foods? — Kris Amitzboll, Coledale, Australia Proponents of raw foods, which are sometimes called “living foods,” believe that raw foods are much healthier for the body than cooked or processed foods. Followers of diets based wholly or largely on raw foods claim numerous health […]
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Botany according to the Bard
William Shakespeare, the greatest writer in the English language, lived during the Elizabethan period (1533-1603), a relatively peaceful political time that gave birth to enormous developments in landscape design and an avid search for new and exotic plants, seeds, and bulbs. Although much about his life is unknown, Shakespeare certainly had a love and knowledge […]
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Prairie Notes 6-24-04
“You can’t do just one thing.” So goes the old ecology adage, meaning, of course, that each change that occurs in the natural world precipitates a series of other — often unknown and unexpected — changes. You may know it as the ripple effect. Much of the concern about genetically modified (GM) crops has to […]
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Garden talk 6-24-04
I can’t think of a more beautiful, colorful, sweet fruit than blueberries. The highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, is a woody perennial plant that is native to North America. The fruit was a staple for early settlers who used the berries in various food dishes and medicines. Because of the star-shaped calyx on top of the […]
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When they were kings
It is, at first, a vexing and somewhat daunting undertaking to write about a nearly 100-year-old high-school athletic-team yearbook picture, especially when it requires more than a little sleuthing to merely put names to the faces. It is, for the writer, a revelatory experience, for the resultant effect of a little curious investigation is that […]
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Earth Talk 6-24-04
Dear Earth Talk: How can I reduce the number and amount of toxins my new baby is exposed to? — Beth Stevenson, Leesburg, Va. Because babies are so much smaller and their metabolisms so much faster than those of adults, proportionally they are exposed to higher doses of toxins from everyday foods and consumer products. […]
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The bagworm invasion underway
Summertime brings joy to most gardeners Ñ blooming flowers, fresh vegetables, green grass. However, summer-feeding insects can wreak havoc on some of our favorite plants. Bagworms (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) are actively feeding on evergreens in our area at this time. Bagworm larvae hatched at the end of May, a little earlier than in most years. Bagworms […]
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What could be finer than pigskin and suds?
You may never have heard of the Capital City Outlaws, Springfield’s very own semipro football team, but they’re making lots of noise in the Original Midwest Football League. They placed second last year in their division. This season, they’ll be busy “kicking butts and taking names,” promises Jay Gooding, the team’s general manager. “We’re sitting […]
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Earth Talk
Dear Earth Talk: So many juices are labeled Ònatural.Ó Which ones are most healthful? Ñ Zenas Lu, Boston, Mass. The most healthful juice you can drink is one thatÕs made fresh, right before you drink it, preferably from organic fruits or vegetables with nothing added. The beneficial enzymes, vitamins, and minerals are at their peaks, […]
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The not-so-secret gardens
When we aren’t in our own gardens, we gardeners love to share ideas and frustrations and get new ideas for our own back yards. University of Illinois Extension master gardeners and other groups have created unique experiences across central Illinois by hosting tours of area gardens. Macon County Master Gardeners will host “An Array of […]
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Robert Lanphier lights up Springfield
In 1915, the city of San Francisco, which had been nearly destroyed nine years earlier by a calamitous earthquake and resultant fire, threw a comeback party for itself called the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Officially it was a World’s Fair marking the opening of the Panama Canal and commemorating the “discovery” of the Pacific Ocean […]
