Author: Brenda Clements Jones

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.

Trumpet Honeysuckle

Ice covered berries of NATIVE honeysuckle. Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).

The scarlet berries bring Quail, Purple Finches, Goldfinches, Hermit Thrushes, American Robins, and surely more birds, to the vines which are native to the southeastern United States.

Spring Azure butterflies and Snowberry Clearwing moths use the Trumpet Honeysuckle as their host plant.

And if you’re guessing that Hummingbirds are attracted to the blooms you are certainly correct.

I’m fascinated by the leaves immediately below blooms which are not only opposite but also fused into an oblong shape that creates a cup that can catch raindrops, making silvery pebbles of water. I’m going to experiment with propagating Trumpet Honeysuckle come spring, either by layering and/or by cuttings. Wish me luck!

Ice

This past December fooled me. It was so warm. Not at all the way December is supposed to be in the Blue Ridge Mountains or in the Mid-Atlantic states. The whole month was that way. The warmth had me worried about how the rest of the winter would be.

But January came through for me. It’s been a nice frigid cold. Perfect. So far my cabin has been decorated by 17″ of beautiful snow. The first came on January 3rd. Those 9″ were the best, wet, clinging, heavy snow that stayed on the trees for several days. A perfect fairyland. These pictures are not of those snows but what winter also brings, the frosty cold, and with it, ICE.

The first image at the top of this post is of ice on the vernal pool at my yoga studio. The second is also at the yoga studio, and is of frost. And the photo just above this text is ice covered Blueberry buds. And no need to worry, the Blueberry flowers and the berries themselves were just fine, not damaged at all by the ice.

These buds are of Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). And again Mother Nature is a gentle artist, creating beautiful landscapes covered in ice and still those buds were not harmed. Going on to bloom, creating another gorgeous landscape of flowers a couple months later.

More ice and another Dogwood. This one Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) with its fruit stalks, or pedicels encrusted in ice.

And here, one of my favorite Pine trees. Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida). Plastered in ice. All this icy elegance, just one part of why winter is my favorite season.

Not Every Winter

It’s not every winter I see them. But quite the treat to see when they do show up. The Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata).

Internet sites say you can attract them with sunflower seed, raisins, suet, and peanut butter.

Where I see them most often though, not at the feeders but at the birdbath.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll get to see them this winter.

They Laugh at Winter

It’s been a mighty cold January. Last night’s low was an invigorating 6°. And yet here they come. Leaves emerging from the soil and soon there will be buds.

Daffodils (Narcissus) are intrepid plants native to southern Europe and North Africa concentrated mainly in the western Mediterranean area.

In the genus Narcissus there are over 50 species, and a multitude of cultivars.

I’ve heard expressions of concern when snow falls on Daffodil blooms but these flowers laugh at such things and keep coming back for more.

Bloom time varies greatly from one cultivar or species to another but I’m anticipating the first flowers to appear here in central Virginia in about a month. And if it snows on them, they’ll just chuckle.

Midwinter Blooms

Many months of new discoveries. Training to become a master naturalist. February 2010. Blandy Aboretum of Virginia. Midwinter, and my first introduction to Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis).

Then a precious friend shared some of her Winter Aconite with me. All these years later they still emerge, sometimes through the snow, in early February. Like rays of warm sunshine on cold winters days. Hope for warmer days IF one should desire warmer days.

Leaves of long hearts joined together at the center. Circles of green.

And like the leaves, the seedpods arranged in a magical symmetry. Beauty in nature.


Time Travel and Hackberry Emperors

Come with me while I do a bit of time travel. Leaving the snow, ice and invigorating cold, we emerge in the sweltering heat and humidity of midsummer. Be sure to bring along your insect spray. Ticks are everywhere. And watch where you step, snakes are active too.

I’ve come upon these photos of Hackberry Emperors (Asterocampa celtis) as I’m going through my innumerable images, giving them keywords, so that I can find them. An ever present task. A must. You wouldn’t believe how many picts I have. Impossible to find things without those keywords.

And here we have brown winged insects. These Hackberry Emperors are not moths but are butterflies. Not impressive colors like many would expect but nonetheless butterflies. The “Hackberry” of its name is this butterfly’s only host plant and is the food source for its larvae. And now, traveling back to beautiful cold winter.

Flicker in the Tulip Poplar

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). A woodpecker that normally is seen on the ground, searching for ants, beetles and grubs. They pound into the soil in a way similar to what you’d expect to see other woodpeckers doing, pounding into a tree.

As with most other insect eaters who are in this wintery land, Flickers switch to berries, fruits and seeds during the cold months. They have a long list of things they seek out to dine on including poison ivy berries, dogwood berries, sumac berries, wild cherries, grapes, bayberries, hackberries, elderberries, sunflower and thistle seeds. I’m grateful to this amiable Flicker that struck some great poses for me in a Tulip Poplar.

The Name, Tufted Titmouse

It all began long long ago, in the 14th century when the Old English name for bird, “mase,” and “tit,” meaning something small, were put together to represent the Tufted Titmouse. Time went by, the word “mase,” morphed into “mose” which eventually became “mouse” and took on new thoughts of what it means. A quick little rodent?

They certainly do make one think of a little mouse. But we’ve got to remember that it’s not named because it resembles a mouse but it’s a “little bird!”

The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), a very common bird at my feeders and in the woods around my cabin. And it seems their best buddies are Chickadees. I see them so very often together. They’re close cousins, members of the family, Paridae.

Berries on the Winter Diet

They eat insects spring, summer and autumn but when the Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) arrives here for the winter, insects aren’t prevalent. Fruits and berries fill in for that lack. A favorite in this image, Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra). A favorite for many birds and a favorite of mine for its drawing power. The power to attract birds.