Flora and fauna: Bird turned artist; land auctions; a fruit's 'ugly duckling phase;' animal days; can you 'migrate' trees?

Ferrisburgh with his first painting. (Courtesy photo 
 by Anna Morris via The Washington Post)

It's hard to keep a good bird down, and in the case of Ferrisburgh, an American kestrel with an injured wing, you also can't keep him from his dream of being an artist. "Ferrisburgh is headlining art classes in Vermont and drawing crowds with his talented talons," reports Cathy Free of The Washington Post. "A couple of his paintings are now being auctioned at a fundraiser online, and the raptor recently showed off his skills at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science."

Farmland sales hit their peak in the fall and even with today's high interest rates, business is brisk. Jim Rothermich from Iowa Appraisal is "keeping a close eye on this month's land auctions because, as he says, November is the busiest month for land auctions," reports Margy Eckelkamp of Farm Journal. Rothermich told Eckelkamp, "We're getting strong results. High interest rates and sub-$5 per bushel corn is not affecting land market conditions." Read two examples of recent Iowa land sales here. Read about big land auction sales in South Dakota here.

Even ripe quince is rock-hard and must be cooked to
be enjoyed. (Photo by Ralph Walden, The Seattle Times)

Neither apple nor pear, the quince is an exquisite fruit that takes patience and an open mind. "The bewitchingly fragrant fruit. . . does go through an ugly duckling phase, Orchardist Edith Walden acknowledges. The fruits are misshapen and fuzzy," reports Rebekah Dunn for The Seattle Times. "But at the last minute, the color matures to yellow. The fuzz retreats." Walden adds, "And then they start emitting this fragrance; people walk along the road, and they just want to know what that smell is. It's just entrancing."

What do free-range chickens munch on throughout winter? While there are few bugs, "they do like to scratch under a light snow and pick up seeds, and nibble on refuse from the fall garden," reports Jodi Henke of Successful Farming. Here are tips for keeping your chickens fed and safe during cold weather.

When things don't work out in one place -- be it a job, a school, or a region -- humans often move, but what about trees? Specifically, giant sequoias only grow in groves with unique climates and that climate is changing. "The largest trees on the planet can't easily 'migrate' — but in a warming world, some humans are helping them try to find new homes," reports Moises Velasquez-Manoff of The New York Times. "Millions of years ago, redwoods — or their close relatives — grew across the Pacific Northwest. By moving them, [tree ambassador] Philip Stielstra reasoned, he was helping the magnificent trees regain lost territory."

Days dedicated to animals are peppered throughout the year. This illustration features animals with their
own days. Can you find the sea monkey? (Illustration by Armando Veve, National Geographic)

If you love hedgehogs, bears or badgers (oh, my!), you're in luck because there's a day to celebrate almost any creature. Go online and "pick a random day, week, or month, and you'll find an almost disturbing number of observances. . .days referencing animals specifically are plentiful, even crowded," reports Oliver Whang of National Geographic. "The observances' intents are a mixture: altruistic, commercial, historical, fantastical, serious, funny. . . . National Sea Monkey Day exists to celebrate 'the tiny brine shrimp that swim around mail-order aquariums' -- and from little more than that, the holiday not only went viral, it appeared in Newsweek."