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.

Wood Frogs

I’m on the watch for the Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) to arrive at my little manmade pond. During the cold of winter Wood Frogs hibernate in the soil under leaf litter where their bodies go through freeze and thaw cycles depending on weather conditions.

In mid February they awaken from their hibernation and search for vernal pools for breeding, often returning to the same pool year to year. They sometimes begin their breeding even before ice is totally gone from the pond.

While actively hunting for mates they’re quite the noise makers, sounding a “clack, clack, clack” particularly during and after rain.

Their egg masses are impressive to see, and can contain one thousand to three thousand eggs. The eggs hatch in nine and thirty days, depending on the temperature of the water.

The tadpoles undergo metamorphosis at about two months and crawl out of the vernal pool as tiny frogs. At this point, I’ve got to watch that I don’t step on any of the cute little things.

A fully grown Wood Frog varies in size from one and a half to three inches, and they generally live no longer than three years.

I’m looking forward to hearing that, “clack, clack, clack” sound!

In Praise of Blueberries

In my yard I’ve got a good number of mature blueberry bushes. Twelve? Fourteen? Enough that I can stock my freezer with loads of quarts of luscious berries to last throughout the year. And the birds? They’re welcome to their share. I love that the berries entice them.

Of the birds that come to enjoy the berries some are frequent visitors that I know well. A cardinal, a perfect example. Other birds don’t often make their presence known depending on the magic of camouflage to hide from my attentive eyes. A female scarlet tanager blending right in.

Each of the seasons provides a different aspect. A different way to appreciate the berries, the bushes. Winter with the buds anticipating the following spring develop sometimes encased in ice.

Winter as the rusty-red branches provide an accent to the snow that falls.

Spring with buds creamy white. Spring with buds soft red.

Spring and her blooms. A pollinators’ playground.

And then there’s summer. You know what that means.

Harvesting and eating.

Autumn celebrates with a brilliant palette. Sumptuous warm colors that tell me there is more to come with each season.

Can you tell? I am in love with blueberries and their bushes.

Dark-eyed Junco

I’ve always lived in an area where Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) are called snowbirds, since they migrate to the area for the winter.

I had a surprise back in the summer 2014 when I went just a short distance from my cabin, up the mountain, to Shenandoah National Park and saw Juncos enjoying the warm summer weather. After checking I realized that there is a population of Juncos that spend the summer along the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. So close to me in their own little world and no migrating thanks to the higher elevation.

Back here at home though they’re still my snowbirds.

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Another Orchid!

There’s another orchid out there waiting for you. Something to look for as you wander the woods during the winter (when there is no snow on the ground!). An EVERGREEN native orchid. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyear pubescens). Native to eastern North America. Actually one of the most common orchids on this part of the continent.


I find the leaves quite striking. ITS OWN LITTLE ART DISPLAY. Blooms appear in mid-July till September. They’re on a stalk, called a raceme, that is 4 to 14 inches tall, with flowers up and down the top portion, flowers facing in all directions. Those flowers, very small, are white or pale green.

Something to add to my “MUST DO” list. Get photos of these orchids. Right now I don’t have any. At least there are none in the huge collection of my photos that are keyworded so that I can locate them. Stay tuned.

Hermit Thrush

After an absence of a couple months, they’re back at my berries and birdbath again. This is a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) going after berries of Smooth Sumac, which is a small tree that I really enjoy having in my yard because it attracts such interesting birds.

I’ve tried to figure out how to entice the Hermit Thrush to be a feeder bird but they’ve offered only resistence. The one thing I can depend on is that they LOVE to have a bird bath around, that is not frozen, both for drinking and bathing.

During the summer they mainly eat insects but during the winter they go with what is more available, fruits and berries. Here in my yard they’re provided both the Smooth Sumac berries and also Beautyberries. They also enjoy rummaging through the leaf litter in my yard. Leaf litter seems to be a valuable asset for attracting birds.

Yesterday it was at the Beautyberry bush that I spotted a Hermit Thrush. I was pleased to see it, since I hadn’t seen one since late November. Using my photographs as a guide I can say that I see these birds from early November through late March of each year.

Glad they’re back and I hope they hang around through March!

Black Walnut Bark

So many trees out there! Summer provides us with leaves to look at to recognize species, often right away. When winter arrives we’re left with very little hint as to what species of tree we might be looking at. Along with limb character, the tips and buds on branches, and the look of leaf scars, there is also the bark of the tree. The tree above is a Black Walnut (Juglans nigra).

Black Walnut is a tree that is plentiful here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, giving me an opportunity to really get acquainted with all its traits. In the image above a White-breasted Nuthatch is checking out the bark of a Black Walnut tree by going down the trunk in its amusing way, going down head-first. Check out the pattern that the bark has presented to you.

From time to time the bark of the Black Walnut will remind me of a work of macrame or some other fiber artwork. Weaving maybe?

In this photo you’ll see a couple perfectly round holes in the Black Walnut bark. These are created by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The Sapsucker will hammer out a series of holes, drink the sap and eat the insects that get trapped in the sticky liquid.


The bark of Black Walnut, is communicating to you. Speaking to you in its limited winter way. Trying to tell you its identity.

Ash Trees

SNOW! Overnight I got six big inches of snow here at my cabin. Snow to me means photographs. Nature all dressed up in fancy sparkly dress.

This afternoon my camera and I got our hiking boots on and went up the mountain. It has been much too long since we’ve been out to take in the charm beyond my gardens and my yard.


I was in for a reality check. I wasn’t noticing, “Nature all dressed up in fancy sparkly dress.” But I was noticing something very heartbreaking.

I knew that Emerald Ash Borer had been attacking trees here on the mountain but to see so many in such a state of decline was a shock.


The Emerald Ash Borer is a native of north-eastern Asia. The first introduction of EAB to the US probably was to Michigan in the early to mid-1990s. Since then EAB has been found in 35 states.

What you are seeing in all these images, that lighter color of the bark. It’s called “blonding” and is a sign that the tree has been attacked by the EAB.

A sign that the tree is going to die. Soon there will be no Ash trees here in the mountains. This afternoon was indeed quite the reality check.

Putty Root Orchid

An orchid that is native to eastern and central U.S., and Canada. Putty Root (Aplectrum hyemale).


The world of Mother Nature is always filled with surprises. This plant provides one of those surprises. Its growth timing seems backward. In autumn the plant sends up ONE basal leaf to collect dappled sunlight during the fall, winter and spring. That leaf may grow to be as much as eight inches long. The top side of the unusual leaf is green with thin white stripes, the under side is purplish. Spring approaches, the leaf will fade.


Come late spring that single leaf will be totally withered away and in its place will grow a solitary flowering stalk that can rise to be perhaps ten inches tall.

Without striking colors, the leaf is more noticeable than the flowers. Still, it’s a native orchid. Remarkable.

Common Hackberry

Tree bark offers great opportunity to identify a tree during the winter. Some more straightforward than others. One tree that through its bark is a cinch to figure out, Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Its bark makes me think of a 3D topo map with all the ridges and valleys laid out and wrapped around the trunk.

The amount of furrowing increases as the tree ages. This image above is a younger tree than in the first photo.

Another point I pick up on in identifying, no matter what the season is, is the presence of Hackberry Galls, which are very often present on the twigs or leaves. These are caused by irritation of cells due to an insect called a Psyllid feeding on the Hackberry leaves and small branches.

In early summer you will find drupes (the fruit of the Common Hackberry Tree) on the trees. As the drupes mature they will go from green to a rich coppery purple color.

One last morsel of information not related to the identification of this tree is about a butterfly. The Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) depends on the Common Hackberry Tree as its exclusive caterpillar host plant. No Common Hackberry Trees, no Hackberry Emperors.

Intrepid Daffodil

In the garden today – the intrepid daffodil. Sending fingers up to test out conditions. Or perhaps their bulbs are sending up periscopes to see if it’s safe.

But for Daffodils things are just fine. They can take most anything. Even snow in late March.

Tough as nails they stand up to wintery conditions. Surprise ice and snow in mid April? No worry. The daffodils say, “Bring on spring! We’re READY!”