Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.
With temperatures up to 73° two days ago, yesterday’s temperatures were a pleasant surprise (says the lover of winter), fluctuating around 30° with nothing registering higher than 31°. But it was raining lightly with very little icing, and no snow. That was a weird disappointment. Last night though ice happened. My world was covered in diamonds as I got ready for my day. I was elated.
My Witch Hazels (Hamamelis virginiana) near the back of my studio looked dazzling in their dressing of ice. This small tree is a rebel in the world of flowering trees, blooming in October and November, hanging onto those blossoms for a couple months. Witch Hazels are native to eastern North America. Here in the mountains I see many of them in the higher elevations. They’re one of the host plants of Spring Azure butterflies.
I often meet the nicest people at the dump (and recycling center, THAT makes it sound better). And I often also see Vultures there. There are two species of Vultures in Virginia, Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura). There are subtle differences between the two, some of which you can even see as they fly past.
Something I notice right away as a Turkey Vulture soars above is the silvery white on the underside of their wings. That silvery white is on the trailing back edge of the wing, from the very tips all the way to the bird’s body. Those wings create a six foot wingspan. Mighty wide. They “float” as they ride the thermals with their wings held in a dihedral (shallow V) shape, seeming to wobble from side to side instead of flapping which saves them energy. Their tails are long, even longer than their toes as they fly. With a closer look you’ll see that they have a bald red (often bright red, sometimes dark red) head. Adult Turkey Vultures have a white bill. They have an incredible olfactory system, the largest in the bird world, which allows them to smell their dinner, carrion, from more than a mile away.
Both the Turkey Vulture and the Black Vulture have no feathers on their heads. This helps them stay clean as they stick their heads inside carcasses while scavenging. It also helps them with temperature regulation.
The Black Vulture is very similar to the Turkey Vulture, but if you take the time, it’s pretty easy to tell the difference between these two Vultures. Wings are different. With the Black Vulture onlythe wing tips are silvery white, like silver fingers. The wingspan of this Vulture is five feet. As they fly they hold their wings out flat, rather than in the dihedral shape of the Turkey Vulture. Flight consists of several flaps of the wings then a short glide. The Black Vulture sports a short roundish tail. They hunt by sight, not smell.
Though Vultures have a reputation of being rather creepy they’re a tremendous benefit to our environment, cleaning up roadkill and carrion and rids areas of wildlife diseases that those dead animals might be carrying.
Christmas cards are something that I’ve created for years. No telling how long it has been, just many many years. All year long I’m wondering what will be my choice as December draws near. It’s early in the year and though the high temperature today was 73° there’s a chance of weather appropriate for the subject of a card coming up tomorrow. Snow? Sleet? Crazy weather. It is not supposed to be in the 70s on February 23. But maybe tomorrow will make up for it. Bring on the cold.
Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) seem an appropriate subject, particularly if snow is involved. No need for me to entice Cardinals to come to my feeders. I think I’ve got the magic draw without giving it any thought. Black oil sunflower seeds and a bird bath filled with water.
These birds that don’t migrate. I appreciate that. They’re here all year long. Adding crimson or buff to the landscape whether against the many shades of green of summer or the blacks and whites of winter.
Northern Cardinals are included in a long list of birds that will attack reflections of themselves not just in windows or mirrors but chrome bumpers, shiny grills, gazing balls, or similar shiny surfaces. They become convinced that what they see is a rival bird and will attack it incessantly. Right Gary? There are many suggestions listed on the Internet on how to discourage this behavior. Seems that it takes as much determination on the homeowner’s part as the determination the Cardinal has to overcome the problem.
But for me, I am looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what the weather brings. Maybe the perfect scene for a Cardinal to pose for a Christmas card. Got my fingers crossed.
Today, again, I’m doing the ever present task of “housekeeping” or organizing my photographs. Aside from the prime benefit of doing this chore, being able to find some particular photo when I need it, it also gives me the opportunity to see images that I took long ago. Ones that I had forgotten about. Ones that perhaps needed to be brought to my attention again. That could be the case of this one.
The wonderful Common Blue Violet (Viola papilionacea). A flower that makes me think of a precious friend, Ana. Ana’s Mom is 104 years old and loves Violets. I see these beautiful flowers and think of her. A native plant that I love to have show up in the grass around my cabin. A flower that I enjoy having volunteer in my gardens. They’re the host plant of Fritillary Butterflies, and it is because of Violets that we have Fritillaries. Thank you Violets.
While doing some “housework” with my photographs this afternoon I came upon this image of a Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). Not remarkable on its own, but with the knowledge of the date it is something to take note of. That date, just five days from today. The end of February. February 26, 2018. That really took me by surprise. After noticing that date, I immediately dropped everything and went out to the forest edge where the Mayapples live but found nothing. Not a hint.
But I’ll be watching. Patiently waiting to see what appears to be little umbrellas emerging from the soil. Watching and waiting for those parasols to spring up and begin their unfurling.
I’ll be looking for the double leaves that indicate a single flower will make its presence known in the axil of those two leaves. Only one leaf, no flower. Soon, spring.
The Pink Clubhouse. Stellafane Amateur Telescope Makers Convention. A big wonderful Star party. The convention is usually scheduled over the weekend of the new moon closest to the height of the Perseid meteor shower. The first Stellafane Convention was held in 1926 and has been held each year since with the exception of 1949 – 1953 and 2020. It’s located on Breezy Hill in Springfield, Vermont. I’ve been to 18 or 19 of these conventions. So many telescopes, so many meteors, so many good times.
Though the maps show me as being in the winter range of the Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) I seldom see any. But yesterday was my lucky day. There were two males and a female at one of my feeders. Black oil sunflowers seeds are on the top of the list for what they like at the feeder and that’s something that is always out there for anyone that might be hungry. Here they are, enjoying the feast, left to right, female Purple Finch, male Purple Finch, in the blur in front, a White-throated Sparrow, and on the right another male Purple Finch.
And here, a male in front and a female in back. Females and immature Purple Finches are brown and white. Mature males are what I would call raspberry red but certainly not purple.
The title of today’s blog post brings to mind a movie that I recently watched, “Frogs” which is a 1972 horror film that was shown on Svengoolie. Like nearly all of Svengoolie’s movies, this one was certainly not scary but then, I promise you, this post will not be scary either unless you are totally creeped out by my friends, the frogs.
The weather last night lived up to predictions with lots of high winds and eventually, rain. After climbing into bed I thought I heard a, “Clack, clack!” The sound of Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). They’re charming little frogs with a bandit like masks. Their coloring varies from brown, red, green, or gray. That seems to be something that often happens with frogs. Look for their color pattern but not necessarily their exact color. Sure enough as the wind died down a bit and the rain started, I heard that, “Clack, clack!” more and more. Frogs seem to love getting rained on. On through the night. All night long. Into the daylight hours they sang their song.
Thus the start of mating season for Wood Frogs. Males seek out vernal pools with the hope that those pools will retain their water until their tadpoles can mature, till the end of June, which explains their early mating season. Their clacking is an invitation to females to come to mate. Out from beneath the leaf litter where both males and females have spent the coldest of the winter. Soon I’ll be seeing Wood Frog egg masses in my little pond.
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus). A native conifer that I often see up here on my mountain. It grows in the woods and we’ve planted and grown a few as Christmas trees. It’s a favorite of some as a Christmas tree, with it’s soft needles but I much prefer the very stiff and sharp needled, rigidly branched, but not user friendly Colorado Blue Spruce. In the northeast the Eastern White Pine is known to be the tallest of trees. They can reach heights of up to 150 feet, and can live 200 years with a maximum age sometimes surpassing 450 years.
White Pine is found in extreme southeastern Canada and the northeastern US down through the Appalachian Mountains into northernmost Georgia. It’s a tree that likes to have full sun but will get by with a daily dose of four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight. Its needles are in bundles, called fascicles. Each of those fascicles contains 5 needles. Those needles generally range from three to five inches long.
The pinecones of Eastern White Pines that are generally noticed are the female cones. They are 3 to 8 inches long, cylindrical with a slight curve, hang downward from branches and contain the tree’s seeds. These cones mature in 2 to 3 years and after shedding their seeds the cone will drop to the ground.
Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) is native to eastern North America, or more specifically, southern Maine to New York, south to Virginia and southern Ohio, and in the mountains, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, northern Georgia, and western North and South Carolina. A medium sized pine with tufts of needles growing in random spots on its trunk. Often contorted in appearance. Needles frequently in bundles of three, with a length of three to five inches long. And those pinecones, ever so pretty.
