So, I chose YardMap, sponsored by Cornell University (my alma mater) 's Lab of Ornithology. For more than a decade now, I have been managing my yard as a wildlife habitat, so I thought it would be nice to document it all in YardMap, with the thought of adding other features in the future as well, or engaging in other Citizen Science projects in the spring.
It was a little tricky mapping my yard with YardMap. Once you submit your address, they send you a satellite photo of your yard. Then, you are supposed to choose the kind of yard (in my case, Home) and outline it. But, it was difficult to find the boundaries and I ended up including part of my neighbor's yard as well. I had to email the Help folks at YardMap to ask how to edit my yard.
It works out better, it turns out, if you select Map, rather than Satellite photo. Map shows the boundaries of your yard, which makes it much easier.
I have a rather unique property. I live in northern Virginia, outside Washington, DC and I am very fortunate to live walking distance to a Metro Station and yet have a mostly wooded, over 1 acre lot.
So, this is a photo of the entranceway to my house. I am a board member of the Virginia Native Plant Society and nearly everything I plant in my yard is native to northern Virginia. Although it is now Fall, I have a lot in bloom in my front yard: Goldenrod, Chocolate Eupatorium, Lyre-leaf Sage and New York Asters. All of these are very beneficial to pollinators. On a warm day, my entranceway is abuzz with bees! Not just honeybees, but little native bees as well. This gives me a warm feeling when I walk to my front door.
