When I need a photograph for my blog, just throw in RAIN and I know that I can find exactly what I want. Just take a bit of time. Roam with the camera. There it is.
And tonight’s post contains a Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) with the required rain. The Spruce, dreaming of becoming a Christmas tree, trying on raindrops as ornaments.
A Monarch caught in a splash of sunshine. A perfect color combination, purple and orange. A brief bit of comfort in autumn.
Oh, I miss seeing the bears that usually roam through the yard. American Black Bears (Ursus americanus). Their population has dropped drastically the past few years due to mange, a type of serious skin disease caused by parasitic mites.
The yard seemed to be a highway for them. They typically chose marking trees or marking poles along one of their favorite paths to leave their scent, while rubbing, clawing and biting the tree or pole. No matter their age or sex, but most often mature males do the marking, during mating season.
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) is a lovely small tree that grows next to my Mom’s front door in Florida. Right at home where it is a native plant.
Yaupon Holly is a dioecious, evergreen plant native to southeastern North America, including southeast Virginia through Florida, west to southeast Oklahoma and central Texas.
Those beautiful berries attract many birds, including Cedar Waxwings and Robins, and the tree itself is not attractive to deer. Seems the perfect combination.
What a kick to discover a Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) here!
This one showed up for a bit of a rest on November 4th on its migration south. Wilson’s Snipes spend their breeding season in northern North America and winter through the southern US, south through Central America and on to Venezuela.
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There’s great beauty in the world of mushrooms. And this is a fungus that certainly fills that bill. Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor). Beauty beyond words.
They’re an extremely common type of mushroom in our North American forests and are also found throughout the world on every continent except Antarctica. They are wonderful decomposers not only found on dead wood but also on trees in failing health. Turkey Tail Mushrooms are often found on deciduous trees, but are also found on coniferous trees from time to time.
This blog gives no information about the edibility or toxicity of any of the mushrooms that are written about.
Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia), year round residents with streaked feathers and hearts full of song.
This morning nearly caught me doing cartwheels. Almost. But certainly a moment of great joy. I spotted a Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis). One of my favorite birds. But because they are irruptive migrants, I don’t see them every winter. Absence, indeed, makes the heart grow fonder.
Irruptive migration is when a species of bird depends more upon its food supply than on other triggers of migration. These birds are more unpredictable but generally only migrate short distances. I love that it is a toss up whether I will see Red-breasted Nuthatches during the winter, and really cheer them on. Hoping for them to come visit me.
Aposematic coloration. Conspicuous marking or coloring that is meant to send a signal to a potential predator that its possible prey may be at least distasteful or at most poisonous.
So many examples. A color technique used by butterflies, skunks, snakes, frogs, bees, wasps, and so many others. This butterfly, above is a perfect example of aposematic coloration. Of course, this is a Monarch Butterfly, which eats Milkweeds which contain toxins that the Monarchs store up and pass along to their predators, which make the Monarchs extremely distasteful. And that, with the bright orange and black coloring makes it a perfect example of Aposematic Coloration.
It happened today. They all arrived. The Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). All the family. All the friends and neighbors. They’re quite affable and bring along everyone. Often birds of other species too such as the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), will arrive in equal numbers, creating quite the crowd.
Both the Cedar Waxwings and the Robins follow news of what is ripening in what fields. This particular rush to the trees has been precipitated by the ripening of Eastern Red Cedar berries. These berries are loved by the Cedar Waxwings, Robins, as well as various Woodpeckers, and many other species of birds.