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.
Perhaps you’ve noticed. I tend to anthropomophize. A lot. Rocks have thoughts. Trees reach out to greet me. The wind speaks to me. And on this particular evening, in this particular photograph there is a lovely Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). A female enjoying the incredible beauty of the ice storm we had a few days ago. Her rich buffy-orange-tan copies the color of the dogwood buds patiently waiting, knowing if they are indulgent, suffering in silence, spring will one day arrive.
Almost hidden in the image is one of the Cardinal’s buddies. A Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) in the lower left corner. I wonder perhaps it’s having a snack soon to sit back and enjoy the beauty in every corner. All around are their best friends who have come out to enjoy the glittery sparkly day.
So many birds consuming so many seeds. Just because their world is beautiful.
No falling today, even though I’m out in The Incredible World of Ice and Snow. Walking in it feels like walking in a landscape filled with ice cubes. But OMG how beautiful.
And along with the occasional drip drip drip there’s also the loud sound of snow and ice CRASHING to the glazed forest floor, and then CHITTER CHITTER CHITTER as the ice tumbles down the mountain on the slick surface of ice and cold under the trees.
Repeating over and over and once again over. Almost comical and entertaining. For me seeking a distraction from the hum drum of pandemic. Seeking out Mother Nature’s comfort.
And then the visuals, THICK ICE. My footsteps shattering the ice, as if breaking a mirror, and sinking into the soft snow which doesn’t make a sound. Only the SHATTER CRUNCH of my steps. My tracks now CRACKED GLASS-like in the snow.
All the branches of all the trees thickly coated with bumpy ice.
And now the needles that are sheltered by larger collections of pine needles. Not covered in ice but FROSTED BANNERS. TINY FLAGS all perfectly still in their fluttering. RIME ICE. So delicate. So tiny compared to the THICK ICE.
I could have stayed out all day long but it was lunch time.
Jumping Spiders (Phidippus) are to me nothing but charm. All of 1/8 to 3/4 inch long. They are not a threat to humans, but if they feel trapped or threatened they will bite. And they are venomous but that venom is not dangerous to people.
They are carnivorous, eating for the most part small insects and spiders. But there are a few that will also eat nectar and one Central American species that will eat mostly plants. AND the Regal Jumping Spider (Phidippus regius) can kill and eat small frogs and lizards along with the usual insects and spiders.
There are more than 6,000 species of Jumping Spiders, the largest taxonomic family of spiders. This one (above) is the Daring Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax). One frequent characteristic of this species is the iridescent green hue of the chelicerae (mouthparts).
And just to illustrate that I am not the only one that thinks these spiders are CUTE, here is a “teddy bear” of a spider made by Steiff. This one sits next to me on my sofa every day.
Quite the contrast to their breeding season during which Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are singularly territorial, winter is a time for them to hang out in flocks.
Sitting in the blueberry bushes waiting their turn at the platform feeder. Waiting for a chance at the sunflower seeds.
Or just sitting soaking up the sun enjoying its warmth.
It surprises me everyday to see so many beautiful Cardinals gathering in the snow, soft buff colored and brilliant red exclamation points in the black and white landscape.
The name is Snow Drop (Galanthus nivalis). This is what it looks like right now against my back steps as night time temperatures go down to well below freezing.
It welcomes those temperatures and its namesake, snow, without a care.
One very hardy plant that grows up from a bulb.
A plant that is native to Europe and southwestern Asia. It’s well behaved and stays where I plant it.
No worry of it being invasive and all the while brings joy in the middle of winter.
Hawaiian shave ice. Snow collects in the cone shapes that American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaves make during the winter. It reminds me of a trip long ago. A trip to Hawaii to see a total solar eclipse. A trip to be introduced to Hawaiian shave ice, which brings me back to the subject of my post.
Beech trees are obvious during the winter up here on my mountain. They are a tree that is shade tolerant and will happily grow at an unhurried pace, just waiting for surrounding trees to decline and provide that lovely spot of sunshine. Their marcescent leaves make them stand out against the many gray trunks of larger trees. If not for the drooping sepia leaves that cling until spring their smooth gray bark would blend right in.
As the tree matures that smooth gray bark doesn’t change much. Whether a young tree or an older tree, it still looks like the skin of an elephant.
The leaves of American Beech brings to mind another member of its family Fagaceae, the beloved American Chestnut tree, which has a very similar, ocean wave edge to its leaf.
Another point that you might keep in mind if you are looking for an American Beech tree, is its leaf buds which resemble thorns. Nothing to worry about though. They look like thorns but they’re friendly.
Those leaf buds will expand come spring, the leaves unfolding into emeralds to decorate the summer vista. Then in autumn they will shout with warm color, yummy splendor.
In North America there are seven native species of chickadee. Two of those species are the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) which are found from New England to the West Coast along the northern tier of the United States and southern Canada, and the Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) which resides in southeastern U.S.
The two species look extremely similar but under normal circumstances a birder can just look at the range map and go by that. If it is in the Black-capped range then it is that species and the same for the Carolina. But for a very thin strip across the U.S. there is a problem.
The native range of these two species overlap in a very narrow zone going from New Jersey to Kansas, and that zone takes a dip south along the Appalachian Mountains. In that narrow zone where the two species meet it becomes nearly impossible to tell one species from another since they can hybridize. And to add to the identity challenge in the overlap zone, each species can learn the song and call of the opposite species.
So here at my feeders, they are not Black-capped Chickadees or Carolina Chickadees, but just Chickadees. That keeps it simple.
It snowed overnight. Wet puffy snow has covered everything. I’ve been transported into a Christmas card waiting to be signed and sent on its way.
Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)
It’s the second snow here this winter making winter seem a bit more like the way winters ought to be. The winters that I think of when I think back to Kilmer Street and that wonderful hill. A great sledding hill, and oh! those snow forts!
Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
I’m roaming this morning. Me with my camera getting pelted with snowballs as the wet snow dropped from the trees. We stopped to get a picture of the berries of Smooth Sumac that the Northern Flicker, and Hermit Thrush love to gobble.
Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra)
The snow has really accumulated on the leaves of the White Oak tree. Young White Oak trees often keep their leaves during winter. Other trees that have this same characteristic are Beech, and Hornbeam. They are said to be marcescent.
White Oak (Quercus alba)
The snow has collected in the Flowering Dogwood trees as if they are stocking up on snowballs. Getting set for that big snowball battle surely soon to happen.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Camera and I follow the tracks of a wild turkey for a long way, until the tracks take a turn up and over a rock wall. We don’t feel like climbing.
Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)track. Glove added for scale.
The turkey’s track is about 4.5 inches long and the big critter has a stride of 2.5 feet. WOW!
Forsythia
The Forsythia has reached up, catching many clumps of snow. Stretching to where the sun might have been on any other morning. Stretching tall, other branches drooping. All waiting for the warmth of the sun. The warmth of early spring to be brightened by its blooms.
Perhaps those blooms will wait a little longer. I don’t think winter is close to being over. I hope not.
