February 13, 2026
I found some McIntosh apples a few days ago. My absolute favorite apple for pies. This afternoon I put together a Hatch Green Chile Apple Pie.
Sweets for the sweet. Made with Valentine’s Day in mind but we had some after dinner tonight. Yum!
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February 12, 2026
My camera and I got to play at the vernal pool today, the one at the yoga studio where I take classes. It has been dry for so long, much longer than is usual, so we had a great time. Melting snowcrete created a marvelous amount of moisture, perfect for imagination.
One of the captures this morning looks to me like the space photo of the week, from the James Webb telescope as it peers deep into the Milky Way. But of course this is actually a work of art by Mother Nature.
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February 11, 2026
The Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), or as birders affectionately refer to them, the Butterbutt.
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It is mind boggling, the number of species of mosses in North America. A list put together in 2025 tells me that there are 1,590 species.
This is a close look at one of them, Broom Forkmoss (Dicranum scoparium), found in North America from the Pacific Northwest to the Appalachian Mountains. An identifying characteristic is the way its leaves strongly curve to one side.
Another identifying feature is Broom Forkmoss often grows in round mats or clumps.
This moss along with other mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are called bryophytes. They are all small plants that have no true roots, but rather have rhizoids which are rootlike structures. These rhizoids help with hydration and assists in anchoring the plant to the ground.
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February 9, 2026
Its the middle of winter, relatively few plants are green. But this one is an evergreen, its leaves performing photoshythesis during the winter. Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata). The scientific name means “spotted winter-loving” in English. Growing to just 3 to 10 inches tall, preferring deep shade, frequently forming colonies.
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February 8, 2026
So many birds out there where I’m tossing hulled sunflower seeds, on top of the two week old snowcrete.
Along with the plethora of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis), there is also the occasional White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), and a few Chickadees (Poecile) along with their cousins Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor). They are both members of the Paridae family. Many others too, several Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), and many noisy Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata). And others that are not popping into my brain at the moment.
That’s a Tufted Titmouse in the picture above, in a bush, looking over the many areas of seed. Much action today in the bitter cold.
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February 7, 2026
This is a male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), enjoying the early morning sun. The male of this species has a bright red cap going from just above his beak, up and over the crown, and all the way down the nape of his neck. The female only has bright red on the nape of her neck.
Like most woodpeckers, the Red-bellied Woodpecker lives year round in the same area, and does not migrate. Its native range, eastern United States.
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February 6, 2026
Rock-shield Lichen (Xanthoparmelia), found growing on rocks in sunny, open areas. Slowly breaking down the bare rocks they are growing on with acids they secrete, turning the rock surface to soil.
If a good number of these lichens are found, it is an indication of good air quality. They get their nutrients directly through the air and many can’t live in high levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen, dying off if that air pollution is too high.
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February 5, 2026
Many many birds have been coming for the hulled sunflower seeds I’ve been putting out for them. Mostly White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) along with a few other species including this single elusive Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), showing up just every now and then. Not even every day.
This one, the one that comes by, is a male. He has a black head, upper body, and tail. I see a female, as well as a male, during the summer. Unlike the male, her head, upper body, and tail are brown instead of black; otherwise they are alike.
The Eastern Towhee, quite the solitary bird.
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February 4, 2026
I enjoy trees that I can identify by just looking at the bark. One of those trees, a White Oak (Quercus alba). Its bark on lower surfaces is a blocky pattern. On the upper surfaces there are overlapping thin plates of very pale gray, in an assortment of thin, flakey scales, arranged in a pattern that looks like vertical shingles.
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