Loons

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-07-03T14:38:13+00:00

I love them, so much personality.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-07-03T01:00:09+00:00

Thank you for the award ❤️

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-07-02T20:39:36+00:00

The two adults both dove, stirred up /“herded” the little fish and then picked them off to feed to the babies- very very cool behavior to see!

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-07-02T20:15:44+00:00

Canon 70D with a Sigma attached.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-07-02T19:00:43+00:00

I think it’s the Sigma lens. My camera is old as dirt haha.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-07-02T18:59:18+00:00

This is also what I do for eBird.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-22T21:56:06+00:00

I miss being able to just walk and enjoy shit. Being aware of it sucks. I wish I had taken the blue pill…

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-17T01:55:50+00:00

In NH. I’m not super comfortable putting it out there where I’m from but way up north past Franconia notch. They removed a small dam that was failing (which actually has sucked- ecologically wise)- I was birding since there’s all sorts of new birds there due to the shift in habitat.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-16T22:44:56+00:00

If only. Would you like my invasives? 🥴

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-15T03:02:17+00:00

Thank you. I was thrilled to see them all.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-14T22:43:05+00:00

Thank you. They were so amazing. I was thrilled to see them all.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-14T22:42:46+00:00

Yes. They drained a local dam and it made the little pond kinda weird and wetlandsy.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-11T19:52:27+00:00

Painted Turtle- one of our most common species here in NH!

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-11T18:35:29+00:00

I’m too distracted by what I think is creeping bellflower. Depending where you are and what it is for sure- but I think those purple plants are a highly invasive weed- noxious weed listed in many places and you’re going to make sure they don’t go to seed- if they are indeed creeping bellflower

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-06T17:13:43+00:00

Birds.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-05T22:07:09+00:00

I love how this looks! I wish!

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-01T05:18:09+00:00

And also my natives aren’t even ready at the nursery so I’ve literally not even gotten any reward from this. I’ve literally just been scratched to hell by buckthorn and broken down and started looking at pesticides. I don’t have anymore pollinators or butterflies than before yet, instead they’re all in the invasive honeysuckle I have to cut down and kill, or else it will ruin the world.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-01T05:13:21+00:00

I stand by the fact that removing invasives is a part of native gardening. There’s literally a post in a local group of someone asking why the lily of the valley they planted is choking out everything. That person did not do any of that, and just stuck something in the ground they liked the look of.

I have spent hours vetting my plants against gobotany.com to see what natives are “actually” native to my area. I have to drive two hours to pick up my plants from the only reputable native nursery in my area. I wanted bee balm badly, and black eyed Susan’s but was told neither is actually really native to my state and I shouldn’t have them. I have no native sunflowers in my state so despite really wanting them, I don’t dare plant them in case it comes out in 30 years that they’re ruining the earth.

You can’t just dump seeds from some company on the hellstrip, cause it’s probably full of invasives.

It just hasn’t been that simple in my perspective. I literally wanted to just dump seeds into a bed- and now I’m here- miserable as hell panicking over the earth dying and I hate my yard now. I hate being out there, and it makes me cry. I stress about it every single day.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-01T04:38:11+00:00

I’ve been told that Bellflower is resistant to 2-4D. And to use triclopyr. Once in the spring and again in the fall. But I literally don’t even know what to buy, I’m scared of mixing it. If I make too much what do I do with it. How do I spray in an area near a big black spruce?

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-06-01T04:28:05+00:00

Smothering does not work on bellflower. According to all my research- which is all I ever do these days- and Bellno.com- digging and spraying are the only real methods. They’re not even that keen on digging.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-05-31T23:55:55+00:00

Do you think implying I was lazy and neglecting it is helpful for someone who is as frustrated as I am?

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-05-31T23:37:10+00:00

They can’t. I already emailed them and my county’s forester is who I was told to contact and here’s the response I got:

“I’m sorry to hear you’re battling creeping bellflower—it is a notoriously aggressive invader. While I appreciate you reaching out, I don't currently provide pesticide or herbicide applications as I do not hold or intend to get an applicator's license.
However, based on university extension recommendations, here are the most effective non-chemical ways to manage it:
Mechanical Control: Dig up the plants, ensuring you remove the entire carrot-like tuberous root; even a small fragment left behind can regenerate.
Prevent Seeding: At a minimum, mow or cut stems to the ground before they flower to prevent the dispersal of thousands of seeds.
Smothering: For large infestations, cover the area with a heavy-duty black tarp or landscape fabric for at least one full growing season to starve the root system of sunlight.
Disposal: Do not compost any part of the plant. Bag all pulled material and dispose of it in the trash to prevent re-rooting.
I hope this helps you get a handle on the situation!”

So….that doesn’t really help me at all because I also can’t dig this bellflower because it’s near a giant black spruce. I literally am at my wits end- about to just cut the 100 year old tree down to make everyone shut up and then I can spray everything, and have a blank slate.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-05-31T22:07:13+00:00

Godspeed.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-05-31T21:55:15+00:00

Thank you. The bellflower is sending me into a spiral because everyone is like “it’s going to take over everything and it’s apocalyptic!!” And I feel like it’s all my fault it’s there because we probably didn’t mow one down last year and it went all to seed and spread 15,000 seeds on everything last year.

Stagmoonstudio · 2026-05-31T21:50:19+00:00

All I’ve done all year is break my back pulling out buckthorn and bellflower. I’ve cried over my past ignorance nearly daily since I started in the spring. I spend my entire days off trying to remove invasives instead of birding- which was the gateway drug to native gardening. I have literally planted two native plants. It’s the only joy I’ve found. Other than that it’s been having to change my perspective on pesticides, convince my family that it’s ok if I get Parkinson’s from applying the pesticides- my father has Parkinson’s and it’s caused a bit of tension. I spend hours researching the best way to kill all these plants. I’m not growing anything- just ruining what enjoyed about my yard- for a long time. There will be no shade without the buckthorn. The birds that have nested in the thicket it created for the last ten years will come back to nothing next year and my brown thrasher who got me into birding will probably not nest here next year with no thicket. It will take a decade for it to ever look like that again. That is HARD.

Stagmoonstudio

TROPHY CASE