Jeff Ward
@rebbitzman.bsky.social
Love and be loved. Teach and learn. Enjoy and give joy. Notice. Be kind.
20. Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
This species is 'three thorns' and the is 'spineless.' Spineless three-thorned honey locust. Popular here, though disease prone.This is my first representative of the clade Fabales, the nitrogen fixers. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
This species is 'three thorns' and the is 'spineless.' Spineless three-thorned honey locust. Popular here, though disease prone.This is my first representative of the clade Fabales, the nitrogen fixers. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
July 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
20. Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
This species is 'three thorns' and the is 'spineless.' Spineless three-thorned honey locust. Popular here, though disease prone.This is my first representative of the clade Fabales, the nitrogen fixers. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
This species is 'three thorns' and the is 'spineless.' Spineless three-thorned honey locust. Popular here, though disease prone.This is my first representative of the clade Fabales, the nitrogen fixers. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
19. Prunus cerasus
Now serving. Although the records from the landscaper show a sweet cherry, this is a sour cherry, probably Montmorency. Highly productive. I share with the neighbors, birds, squirrels, and beetles. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
Now serving. Although the records from the landscaper show a sweet cherry, this is a sour cherry, probably Montmorency. Highly productive. I share with the neighbors, birds, squirrels, and beetles. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
July 8, 2025 at 5:40 PM
19. Prunus cerasus
Now serving. Although the records from the landscaper show a sweet cherry, this is a sour cherry, probably Montmorency. Highly productive. I share with the neighbors, birds, squirrels, and beetles. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
Now serving. Although the records from the landscaper show a sweet cherry, this is a sour cherry, probably Montmorency. Highly productive. I share with the neighbors, birds, squirrels, and beetles. #gardening #backyardwildlife #backyardbiodiversity
18. Acer tataricum
Introduced to North America in the 20th C from southeastern Europe. Neighbor's tree overhangs my yard and seems to feed the squirrels.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Introduced to North America in the 20th C from southeastern Europe. Neighbor's tree overhangs my yard and seems to feed the squirrels.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
July 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
18. Acer tataricum
Introduced to North America in the 20th C from southeastern Europe. Neighbor's tree overhangs my yard and seems to feed the squirrels.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Introduced to North America in the 20th C from southeastern Europe. Neighbor's tree overhangs my yard and seems to feed the squirrels.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
17. Euxoa auxiliaris
A migrant that comes from the plains in spring. In '23 there were hundreds in our house. Not too bad this year. Delicious to birds and bears. "Miller moth" is a very common common name and not useful except locally.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
A migrant that comes from the plains in spring. In '23 there were hundreds in our house. Not too bad this year. Delicious to birds and bears. "Miller moth" is a very common common name and not useful except locally.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
July 2, 2025 at 4:02 PM
17. Euxoa auxiliaris
A migrant that comes from the plains in spring. In '23 there were hundreds in our house. Not too bad this year. Delicious to birds and bears. "Miller moth" is a very common common name and not useful except locally.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
A migrant that comes from the plains in spring. In '23 there were hundreds in our house. Not too bad this year. Delicious to birds and bears. "Miller moth" is a very common common name and not useful except locally.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
16. Apis mellifera
There are plenty of honey bees in our neighborhood, and the helpful resource at www.pollinator.org/pollinator.o... tells me that all of them in Colorado are A. mellifera. One of these photos shows a swarm last year in the neighbor's tree.
#backyardwildlife #gardening
There are plenty of honey bees in our neighborhood, and the helpful resource at www.pollinator.org/pollinator.o... tells me that all of them in Colorado are A. mellifera. One of these photos shows a swarm last year in the neighbor's tree.
#backyardwildlife #gardening
July 1, 2025 at 8:16 PM
16. Apis mellifera
There are plenty of honey bees in our neighborhood, and the helpful resource at www.pollinator.org/pollinator.o... tells me that all of them in Colorado are A. mellifera. One of these photos shows a swarm last year in the neighbor's tree.
#backyardwildlife #gardening
There are plenty of honey bees in our neighborhood, and the helpful resource at www.pollinator.org/pollinator.o... tells me that all of them in Colorado are A. mellifera. One of these photos shows a swarm last year in the neighbor's tree.
#backyardwildlife #gardening
15. Polistes dominula
European paper wasp.
One more today, because I enjoyed the picture. A pair of these wasps is guarding a nest on my gate. When I approach, they raise the fronts of their bodies in defensive posture. I retreat.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
European paper wasp.
One more today, because I enjoyed the picture. A pair of these wasps is guarding a nest on my gate. When I approach, they raise the fronts of their bodies in defensive posture. I retreat.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 26, 2025 at 5:50 PM
15. Polistes dominula
European paper wasp.
One more today, because I enjoyed the picture. A pair of these wasps is guarding a nest on my gate. When I approach, they raise the fronts of their bodies in defensive posture. I retreat.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
European paper wasp.
One more today, because I enjoyed the picture. A pair of these wasps is guarding a nest on my gate. When I approach, they raise the fronts of their bodies in defensive posture. I retreat.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
14. Bruneria brunnea
Brunner's slantfaced grasshopper. It seems a good season for seeing grasshoppers then spending time trying to classify them. This one is certainly not the same as the two-striped, but whether my ID is correct, I can't quite say.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Brunner's slantfaced grasshopper. It seems a good season for seeing grasshoppers then spending time trying to classify them. This one is certainly not the same as the two-striped, but whether my ID is correct, I can't quite say.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 26, 2025 at 5:16 PM
14. Bruneria brunnea
Brunner's slantfaced grasshopper. It seems a good season for seeing grasshoppers then spending time trying to classify them. This one is certainly not the same as the two-striped, but whether my ID is correct, I can't quite say.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Brunner's slantfaced grasshopper. It seems a good season for seeing grasshoppers then spending time trying to classify them. This one is certainly not the same as the two-striped, but whether my ID is correct, I can't quite say.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
13. Melanoplus bivittatus
It seems that classifying grasshoppers (and insects in general) will be a detailed task. This is the two-striped grasshopper, though I would have said it has one dark stripe.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
It seems that classifying grasshoppers (and insects in general) will be a detailed task. This is the two-striped grasshopper, though I would have said it has one dark stripe.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 26, 2025 at 4:50 PM
13. Melanoplus bivittatus
It seems that classifying grasshoppers (and insects in general) will be a detailed task. This is the two-striped grasshopper, though I would have said it has one dark stripe.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
It seems that classifying grasshoppers (and insects in general) will be a detailed task. This is the two-striped grasshopper, though I would have said it has one dark stripe.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
12. Papilio multicaudata
I believe the black and yellow swallowtail butterfly that drifts through my yard a few times each day is the two-tailed swallowtail.
I had to be fast to snap this photo with my phone.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
I believe the black and yellow swallowtail butterfly that drifts through my yard a few times each day is the two-tailed swallowtail.
I had to be fast to snap this photo with my phone.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 25, 2025 at 3:28 PM
12. Papilio multicaudata
I believe the black and yellow swallowtail butterfly that drifts through my yard a few times each day is the two-tailed swallowtail.
I had to be fast to snap this photo with my phone.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
I believe the black and yellow swallowtail butterfly that drifts through my yard a few times each day is the two-tailed swallowtail.
I had to be fast to snap this photo with my phone.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
11. Pisaurina mira
Seems like spiders will be hard to identify, but from the way this one carries itself, and from body shape, I think it is a nursery web spider. Perhaps a young one. It was almost translucent.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Seems like spiders will be hard to identify, but from the way this one carries itself, and from body shape, I think it is a nursery web spider. Perhaps a young one. It was almost translucent.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 13, 2025 at 2:55 PM
11. Pisaurina mira
Seems like spiders will be hard to identify, but from the way this one carries itself, and from body shape, I think it is a nursery web spider. Perhaps a young one. It was almost translucent.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Seems like spiders will be hard to identify, but from the way this one carries itself, and from body shape, I think it is a nursery web spider. Perhaps a young one. It was almost translucent.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
10. Aceria malherbae
I ordered bindweed gall mites last year, and they were delivered this week--a tangle of sickly bindweed in a Styrofoam container with some ice packs. I don't have high hopes that they will eliminate my bindweed problem, but at least they can try.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
I ordered bindweed gall mites last year, and they were delivered this week--a tangle of sickly bindweed in a Styrofoam container with some ice packs. I don't have high hopes that they will eliminate my bindweed problem, but at least they can try.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 12, 2025 at 3:07 PM
10. Aceria malherbae
I ordered bindweed gall mites last year, and they were delivered this week--a tangle of sickly bindweed in a Styrofoam container with some ice packs. I don't have high hopes that they will eliminate my bindweed problem, but at least they can try.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
I ordered bindweed gall mites last year, and they were delivered this week--a tangle of sickly bindweed in a Styrofoam container with some ice packs. I don't have high hopes that they will eliminate my bindweed problem, but at least they can try.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
9. Syringa reticulata
The Japanese tree lilac didn't bloom for a few years after it was planted, but now it is a late-spring regular, a bit ghostly against the green.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
The Japanese tree lilac didn't bloom for a few years after it was planted, but now it is a late-spring regular, a bit ghostly against the green.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM
9. Syringa reticulata
The Japanese tree lilac didn't bloom for a few years after it was planted, but now it is a late-spring regular, a bit ghostly against the green.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
The Japanese tree lilac didn't bloom for a few years after it was planted, but now it is a late-spring regular, a bit ghostly against the green.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
8. Lactuca serriola
The mother of all lettuce. Ceremonial emetic. Maror for Pesach. Sedative. Analgesic. Euphoric. Associated with the Egyptian god Min. My new policy is "identify and learn before destruction."
#gardening #backyardwildlife
The mother of all lettuce. Ceremonial emetic. Maror for Pesach. Sedative. Analgesic. Euphoric. Associated with the Egyptian god Min. My new policy is "identify and learn before destruction."
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 8, 2025 at 11:43 PM
8. Lactuca serriola
The mother of all lettuce. Ceremonial emetic. Maror for Pesach. Sedative. Analgesic. Euphoric. Associated with the Egyptian god Min. My new policy is "identify and learn before destruction."
#gardening #backyardwildlife
The mother of all lettuce. Ceremonial emetic. Maror for Pesach. Sedative. Analgesic. Euphoric. Associated with the Egyptian god Min. My new policy is "identify and learn before destruction."
#gardening #backyardwildlife
7. Cirsium arvense
Creeping thistle. Canadian thistle. Lettuce from hell thistle. Call it what you will, it is my spiky adversary in the west-facing thyme lawn. As Euell Gibbons would say, "many parts are edible." But the internet warns they cause flatulence.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Creeping thistle. Canadian thistle. Lettuce from hell thistle. Call it what you will, it is my spiky adversary in the west-facing thyme lawn. As Euell Gibbons would say, "many parts are edible." But the internet warns they cause flatulence.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
June 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
7. Cirsium arvense
Creeping thistle. Canadian thistle. Lettuce from hell thistle. Call it what you will, it is my spiky adversary in the west-facing thyme lawn. As Euell Gibbons would say, "many parts are edible." But the internet warns they cause flatulence.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Creeping thistle. Canadian thistle. Lettuce from hell thistle. Call it what you will, it is my spiky adversary in the west-facing thyme lawn. As Euell Gibbons would say, "many parts are edible." But the internet warns they cause flatulence.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
Not everything is broken. In the park, above the dog walkers, roost a great horned owl and two owlets. Impatient for dusk, they call gently to one another, inviting me to notice, to seek, to find, to gaze into wild eyes and smile. Beneath the tree is a feather. Not everything is broken. #poetry
June 8, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Not everything is broken. In the park, above the dog walkers, roost a great horned owl and two owlets. Impatient for dusk, they call gently to one another, inviting me to notice, to seek, to find, to gaze into wild eyes and smile. Beneath the tree is a feather. Not everything is broken. #poetry
Having a monsoon season feels exotic, especially in the morning when all the shrubs are bowing down with the load of rain. I haven't even turned on the irrigation system yet this year. #gardening #denver
June 6, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Having a monsoon season feels exotic, especially in the morning when all the shrubs are bowing down with the load of rain. I haven't even turned on the irrigation system yet this year. #gardening #denver
6. Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'
We put in several serviceberry trees when we re-landscaped, and they are all doing well. That said, I have never eaten a single berry. Perhaps this is the year.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
We put in several serviceberry trees when we re-landscaped, and they are all doing well. That said, I have never eaten a single berry. Perhaps this is the year.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
May 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
6. Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance'
We put in several serviceberry trees when we re-landscaped, and they are all doing well. That said, I have never eaten a single berry. Perhaps this is the year.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
We put in several serviceberry trees when we re-landscaped, and they are all doing well. That said, I have never eaten a single berry. Perhaps this is the year.
#gardening #backyardwildlife
This morning, I read a @mariapopova.bsky.social essay about a beautiful children's book called "The Wanting Monster."
www.themarginalian.org/.../29/the-w...
Although I am torn up about many much more difficult things near and far, over my espresso I wrote
A Tale of Fulfillment
#poetry
www.themarginalian.org/.../29/the-w...
Although I am torn up about many much more difficult things near and far, over my espresso I wrote
A Tale of Fulfillment
#poetry
May 29, 2025 at 4:53 PM
This morning, I read a @mariapopova.bsky.social essay about a beautiful children's book called "The Wanting Monster."
www.themarginalian.org/.../29/the-w...
Although I am torn up about many much more difficult things near and far, over my espresso I wrote
A Tale of Fulfillment
#poetry
www.themarginalian.org/.../29/the-w...
Although I am torn up about many much more difficult things near and far, over my espresso I wrote
A Tale of Fulfillment
#poetry
While waiting for Sly and Family to move on out, I have put my thoughts into words. Probably somewhat risky, given medication and pain. #kidneystones #poetry
May 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
While waiting for Sly and Family to move on out, I have put my thoughts into words. Probably somewhat risky, given medication and pain. #kidneystones #poetry
The naming is now official. I await the (even more painful) emergence of "Sly and the Family of Stones." Sly clocks in at 6mm. According to experts and ChatGPT, I will be mice elf again. #kidneystones
May 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
The naming is now official. I await the (even more painful) emergence of "Sly and the Family of Stones." Sly clocks in at 6mm. According to experts and ChatGPT, I will be mice elf again. #kidneystones
5. Sciurus niger
For a couple of years, my fox squirrels have been unable to reach the bird feeder. Instead they raid my fruit trees. Squeeze here and it will come out there. #backyardwildlife #denver #biodiversity
For a couple of years, my fox squirrels have been unable to reach the bird feeder. Instead they raid my fruit trees. Squeeze here and it will come out there. #backyardwildlife #denver #biodiversity
May 21, 2025 at 6:59 PM
5. Sciurus niger
For a couple of years, my fox squirrels have been unable to reach the bird feeder. Instead they raid my fruit trees. Squeeze here and it will come out there. #backyardwildlife #denver #biodiversity
For a couple of years, my fox squirrels have been unable to reach the bird feeder. Instead they raid my fruit trees. Squeeze here and it will come out there. #backyardwildlife #denver #biodiversity
Cornus stolonifera. For number 4, I want down a bit of a rabbit hole into the taxonomy of dogwoods. Who knew? Is it Cornus alba, Cornus sericia? Call it 'red osier.' And I'll get to that bug, too. #denver #backyardwildlife #biodiversity #gardening
May 15, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Cornus stolonifera. For number 4, I want down a bit of a rabbit hole into the taxonomy of dogwoods. Who knew? Is it Cornus alba, Cornus sericia? Call it 'red osier.' And I'll get to that bug, too. #denver #backyardwildlife #biodiversity #gardening
No. 3
Colaptes auratus cafer, the western red-shafted flicker provides the soundtrack for mid-May, calling, drumming, ak-ak-ak-ing. #denver #backyardwildlife #biodiversity
Colaptes auratus cafer, the western red-shafted flicker provides the soundtrack for mid-May, calling, drumming, ak-ak-ak-ing. #denver #backyardwildlife #biodiversity
May 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
No. 3
Colaptes auratus cafer, the western red-shafted flicker provides the soundtrack for mid-May, calling, drumming, ak-ak-ak-ing. #denver #backyardwildlife #biodiversity
Colaptes auratus cafer, the western red-shafted flicker provides the soundtrack for mid-May, calling, drumming, ak-ak-ak-ing. #denver #backyardwildlife #biodiversity
Here's a mothers' day poem I wrote for all the mothers and one in particular. #mothersday #poetry
May 12, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Here's a mothers' day poem I wrote for all the mothers and one in particular. #mothersday #poetry