Whether your backyard has more mountains than humans or more pavement than plants, you can find something phenological to add to the Daily Bucket. For eleven years, Daily Kos members have been reporting natural events from their neighborhoods thanks to Mark Sumner who founded the Backyard Science group on Valentine’s Day 2011 and a day later filled the first Daily Bucket, a “generic container for pitching in your daily observations.”
Since then, nearly four thousand Daily Buckets have been written by a variety of Community members: scientists and academics, gardeners and fishers, hikers and park bench aficionados, photographers, writers, laborers, teachers, and myriad others interested in the natural history of their home areas and its variation over time.
Sumner introduced the group as a "a way to directly document the changes to our world … I intend to offer regular observations of my own neighborhood, and a place to report the changes that you're seeing. Don't restrict yourself to first frosts and changing leafs. Report that odd beetle you saw (there are enough entomologists around here that there's a very good chance someone can help you identify it), mention the fox in your front yard, the box turtle that struggled across your drive, and even the giant millipede that invaded your shower. Taken individually, these observations may have little value (though they're often interesting starts for a conversation). Taken together we can build up an image of the world that has real value, both now and for the future.”
Phenology forms the backbone of the Daily Bucket, and, as with many scientific terms, the etymology of phenology reveals its meaning: Phaino comes from the Greek word for “to show, to bring light, to make appear,” and logos meaning “study, reasoning.” I wrote about phenology in 2016: Daily Bucket: phenology is how we take earth's pulse - you already know how.
The appearance of new leaves on deciduous trees are one example of the phenology all around us. This is bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) in my Emerald Triangle backyard on 3 March 2020.
My grandfather planted potatoes when alder leaves were the size of mouse ears. Birds decide when to migrate, in part, based on the changing day length. Frogs know when to breed due to precipitation and temperature.
Phenology is the study of “natural phenomena that recur periodically, as migration or blossoming, and of their relation to climate and changes in season.”
Here in the Daily Bucket we focus on phenology seen in our daily lives and each Bucket is an open thread for us to discuss our observations in the comments.
THE DAILY BUCKET storY IS THE SPARK FOR OUR CONVERSATION
This may include glorious photographs or scientific information, but neither is necessary. All you need is an observation, a simple note with or without photos.
If you wish to add a photo, Flickr (Creative Commons license) and the DK Image Library (search by Tag or Description) can fill in for the photos you don’t have.
But you don’t need to add any photos.
All you need is a small idea that opens up a space for our conversation.
Wall Screw-Moss (Tortula muralis) on a brick retaining wall in my Seattle front yard, April 2019
PHENOLOGY IS HAPPENING EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE
If your neighborhood has more pavement than plants, you might notice the phenology of a weed growing from a sidewalk crack, or mosses and lichens on brick walls.
What about the insects on your car? The relative abundance of windshield insect splatter now compared to my childhood memories speaks strongly about the decline in insect abundance.
California sister (Adelpha californica) in Paradise CA August 2017
Perhaps a butterfly lands on your arm or you spot the first spring hummingbird in a city park. Do you have spiders on your balcony or those weird ones who trap themselves in a bathtub?
In the first Bucket, Sumner suggested other suitable Bucket material: “Flat Biology— -a record of things seen, uh... in a less than natural state after unfortunate encounters with moving vehicles. Does that sound gross? Creepy? Well … noting these unfortunate deaths is sometimes the best way to measure the presence and population levels of the critters that are sharing our neighborhoods.” sharing their neighborhoods with human interlopers.” (FIFY)
Everyone can make phenological observations, and if you get details wrong or don’t know the name of the organism you’ve photographed, just ask.
Bucket beauty can come from our discussion in comments as well as from the published story and photographs.
Guess wrong! Ask questions! We have fun figuring out possible answers.
🪲 🦋. 🐜. 🐞 🕷Curious about something you saw while walking in the woods? Spot an interesting bug? Wonder what is the name of that flower? Stumble on a rock and found what might be a fossil? This is the place to show your discoveries and marvel in the natural world. 🐸 🐸 🦆 🦆 🦅 🦉
The end of a California poppy flower’s life. May 2020. Emerald Triangle CA (Eschscholzia californica)
🦅🦋 If you want to explore past Daily Buckets, one way to look back many years is via the DK Search option. HERE is list of all the Daily Buckets in 2012. Note the familiar names of some authors (OceanDiver, PHScott, foresterbob, ). You can search other years by changing the date range on that page, but search for stories/diaries will only function one year at a time.
🦊 🐝 Here is a sample of older Daily Buckets from some members who are still participating and one from Redwoodman, a Bucket icon (RIP).
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foresterbob, August 22, 2017 — One Forester's (And One Cat's) View of the Eclipse
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PHScott, Sept. 21, 2017 — A Whimsical Look at Irma's Wanton Winds - Wildflower Edition
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Polly Syllabic, April 3, 2016 — first sighting of a desert giant
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RonK, June 16, 2016 — Sea Star Recovery in Bellingham Bay – A good news – bad news cruise
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OceanDiver, August 26, 2016 — Friendly Seal and the Bay in August
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Pandala, Jan. 2, 2019 — Beaver Deceivers and the Rodent Love Motel
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Bésame, Feb. 18, 2018 — Skimpy Squirrel, Chispa, and I share a special moment, a meeting of minds
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Redwoodman’s backyard energy vortex, Nov. 24, 2016 — My Illicit Allegiance
HAPPY SOLSTICE BUCKETEERS
PLEASE SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OF EARTH’S VITAL SIGNS
Green was the silence, wet was the light,
the month of June trembled like a butterfly.
Pablo Neruda
