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Chuck Lura

  • Have you been fighting the weeds yet this spring? Whether it is in gardens, yards, or fields, the weeds seem to be a perpetual problem. But we often give little thought to the native weedy species.
  • Consider making an effort this summer to spend more time observing the nighttime sky.
  • Seeing the first robin of the year is perhaps the most widely recognized harbinger of spring.
  • Next time you see a spider web, you might want to look at it a bit more closely: The spider silk is generating considerable interest and research into the production and applicability of a synthetic spider silk.
  • You might want to monitor the night sky over the next few weeks: The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower is on now, and will continue through much of May. There are nine meteor showers each year, and this one is among the better shows.
  • In the absence of burning, grazing, or other active management, native prairie can quickly deteriorate. Historically, bison grazed the prairie, wildfires occurred, and Native Americans set the grasslands on fire for a variety of reasons. They learned early on, for example, that burned over grasslands attracted bison because the regrowth was more accessible, palatable, and nutritious. Today, prescribed burning has become a widely accepted management tool for natural resource managers.
  • People have been known to be badly injured in the desert by getting tangled up with cactus, particularly a species of cholla commonly known as “jumping cholla.” There is no cholla cactus in North Dakota, but the state does have a native cactus, commonly known as fragile prickly pear or brittle pricklypear, that could be accused of “jumping.”
  • This time of year, there is not a lot of color on the landscape. But there is a red stemmed shrub that may catch your attention. If so, it is probably red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ).
  • On Friday, March 20, at 9:46 a.m., the sun crossed the celestial equator — marking the spring equinox. As the term “equinox” indicates, there is roughly equal time between sunrise and sunset around the globe.
  • Most North Dakotans know that the Red River Valley is a portion of the former lakebed of glacial Lake Agassiz, but there are other glacial lake plains in the state that are less well known.