Garden Thyme Herbs

08/28/2025

This little duck-billed platypus will grow up to be the only venomous egg-laying mammal on the planet.

The duck-billed platypus is one of the most fascinating and unique creatures on Earth a true evolutionary marvel. Native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, this semi-aquatic mammal looks like a mashup of several animals: it has the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver, the webbed feet of an otter, and it lays eggs like a reptile, yet it's undeniably a mammal.

Belonging to a rare group called monotremes (egg-laying mammals), the platypus is one of only five surviving species in this group the others being echidnas. Female platypuses lay one to three leathery eggs and keep them warm by curling around them until they hatch. Once born, the mother nurses her young, but here's another twist: she doesn't have n!pples. Instead, milk is secreted through pores in the skin and pools on grooves in her abdomen for the babies to lap up.

The platypus's duck-like bill isn't just for show it's a highly sensitive organ packed with electroreceptors, allowing the animal to detect the electric fields of prey underwater, such as insects, larvae, small crustaceans, and worms. This sensory ability is so advanced that the platypus hunts with its eyes, ears, and nostrils closed, relying entirely on this sixth sense while diving.

Despite its adorable appearance, the male platypus has a venomous spur on its hind legs.
During the breeding season, this spur can deliver a painful, though non-lethal, sting to rivals or threats a rare trait among mammals.

Measuring about 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) in body length, with a flat, paddle-like tail, and weighing between 1 to 2.5 kg (2-5.5 lbs), the platypus is perfectly adapted to its aquatic lifestyle. It spends much of its time in freshwater rivers, streams, and lakes, where it swims gracefully using its front webbed feet and steers with the back ones.

Currently, the duck-billed platypus is listed as Near Threatened, primarily due to habitat loss, water pollution, and the impacts of climate change. Conservation efforts are underway to protect its river ecosystems and ensure this bizarre and beloved animal continues to thrive.

In every way, the platypus challenges what we think we know about mammals it's weird, wonderful, and wonderfully weird. 💯💭😬

[Credit: Animal World]

08/24/2025

❤️❤️❤️

08/17/2025

⚡️🍁 FALL 'FUEL-UP' MIGRATION 🍁⚡️NEWS FLASH! (8.16)
HUMMERS INCREASING IN: NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW YORK, OHIO, WISCONSIN, ALABAMA, ARIZONA & SoCAL.

Hummingbirds need to double their body weight for the Epic Migration South. Thanks for keeping your Feeders Full!

🍁HELP TRACK HUMMERS!
Let us know when New Migrating Hummers arrive & when yours Depart. Add your Report to the Comments below.
______________________________________________________
🍁VIEW SIGHTINGS: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1XCywqxmXm5eCEGUx3f8dSR78NIuPMQg&usp=sharing
______________________________________________________
Thanks!
✨Sparkles✨

08/11/2025

Monarchs take about a month to develop from egg to adult, meaning people who see eggs or larvae now could be seeing what will become the super generation of monarchs!

Monarchs that emerge in late summer enter reproductive diapause (do not reproduce) and begin to migrate, navigating to overwintering grounds that they've never been to before, sometimes over 2,000 miles away. East of the Rocky Mountains, that's typically the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico, while western monarchs head to sites along the California coast.

Then, after waiting out the winter, they're the ones that start the migration next year. They can live for up to nine months, much longer than the period of several weeks that the typical summer monarch will live.

08/09/2025

08/08/2025

08/05/2025

We will be set up here for this wonderful event! Stop in and say “Hi!”

Don't miss our last Sip & Stroll Evening Market of the Summer, happening on August 23rd!
K.O. Grainger will be taking to our BIG STAGE with live music from 3pm-7pm🎤
Break from the Grind Food Truck and Big D's Tug Hill BBQ will be serving up mouth watering food🍗
And Over 25+ local vendors and artisans will be showcasing their businesses!
🍷Come Sip, Shop, and Support Local☺️

08/04/2025

This time of year, Lambsquarters is setting seed. Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album, has delicious edible leaves which can be used as a spinach substitute, but many folks don't know that the seeds are also edible. They are in fact a very close relative of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa).

These seeds have only just begun to ripen, but when the seeds are all mature they will be black like the few in the photos (marked by blue arrow). Separate the seeds from the casings and cook as you would Quinoa. Like a lot of the dark varieties or Quinoa it never fully softens.

Lambsquarters is a member of the amaranth family, which also includes beets, chard, quinoa, and spinach. Lambsquarters can be identified by the telltale dusty white coating on new growth and the undersides of leaves.

In many regions of the world, particularly in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, people intentionally grow lambsquarters as an agricultural crop. The leaves are exceptionally high in vitamins A and C, as well as in calcium, iron, and protein.

It’s easy to prepare—no need to parboil or cook for hours—and can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, or blanched. Unlike other weedy edibles, the leaves retain their mild spinachy flavor and don’t get bitter with age. The seeds similarly serve as a nutrition powerhouse. Of course, lambsquarters should only be consumed if collected from uncontaminated soil suitable for growing food plants.

The plant also provides a number of ecological services. Its long taproot extends deep into the soil, drawing water and nutrients closer to the surface and allowing more shallow-rooted plants access as well. No wonder you see perfectly healthy lambsquarters growing in the most poor soils. Its plentiful seeds provide a nutrient-packed meal for birds, especially in the food-scarce late fall. Lambsquarters also serves as a “trap crop” by diverting leaf miners, a common pest for beets and chard.