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.

Trilliums

Late April and early May is Trillium time in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Seeing Trillium along the trails in the mountains close to my cabin has inspired me to include them in my gardens. Little by little, as the saying goes. Yes, little by little, I am getting Trillium incorporated into my cabin gardens. The photograph, above is one of my garden Trillium, a White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, which is easy to find on the trails of the higher elevations of Snow Mountain and Hightop.

And here, another image of White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, in bud.

There is another form of the White Trillium, pictured in bud above, which blooms in pale pink and white. This is Trillium grandiflorum forma roseum. I don’t have this form in my gardens. This image was taken further up the mountain, very near Shenandoah National Park.

I’m in search of a nursery that has this form of Trillium, but I must be *cautious* to only purchase any of these Trillium from a nursery which grows its plants from seed and does not dig them from the wild. One must be careful too, not to pick any portion of a wild Trillium, since doing this can cause the entire plant to die. Though I have many acres up here, I would not pick or transplant any of the Trillium on my property, since I believe they are happy where Mother Nature has planted them. I must find a reliable source to make my gardens beautiful.

Hiking this time of year provides such breath taking views of Trillium carpeting the forest floor. An experience that makes lugging two heavy cameras and various lenses well worth it. This image above, is another image of Trillium grandiflorum forma roseum.

Yellow Trillium, Trillium luteum, is another of the Trillium that are in my garden. Not many, but I am hoping for these and others to spread as the years go by. And, Oh MY! Does this one have a delightful, lemon scent!

Here, another species of the small population of Trillium that populate my gardens. This one, pictured above, Prairie Trillium, Trillium recurvatum.

Trillium are a family of plants that produce seeds that have an appendage, called an elaiosome, which are attractive to ants, who gather the seeds, and feed them to their larvae. Once the lipid and protein rich elaiosomes are consumed, the ants take the seeds to their “trash room” which is a splendid environment for the seeds to sprout. I’m hoping ants will help *my* Trillium spread.

The showstopper, above, is the Red Trillium, Trillium erectum, which I have only seen in Shenandoah National Park. It is on my mountain, but within park boundaries. One of these days I’ll find this one, at a dependable native plant nursery, and add it to my collection.

And now, my Trillium, at least the White Trillium, are fading, looking like the ghosts of Trillium past. I’m looking forward to seeing what stunning plants will emerge as the season progresses. How about you?

Fruit at the Cabin

In front of my cabin right now, there is a constant buzz . There are loads of trees and bushes involved in the sound, three good sized trees, planted soon after our cabin was built, many years ago – pear, MacIntosh apple, and Monmorency cherry, and a good number of blueberry bushes planted at about the same time as the fruit trees. Plus there are several wild cherry trees contributing to the buzz, at the edge of the woods.

As you might imagine, the sound is not exactly being generated by the trees and bushes themselves, but by the critters that are enjoying the nectar, like the Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Hemaris thysbe, pictured above, at the apple tree.

There are loads of bees and wasps. This bee is sipping nectar at one of the blueberry bushes.

The most plentiful species buzzing about is a large number of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus. They give action to the scene with their constant motion and larger size. The two images, above, are both Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. The top image is a light morph female. The image immediately above is a male.

This, above, is also an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. It is a dark morph female. The dark morph female is mimicking the color and pattern of the Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor. There is a measure of protection using this coloring and pattern, since Pipevine Swallowtails are poisonous and predators will be less likely to eat the mimic.

This visitor, a bit frayed, is one of my favorite butterflies, a Zebra Swallowtail, Protographium marcellus. If this butterfly were newly emerged from its chrysalis, it would have two swordlike tails and the faded coral spots, that you see here, would be a brilliant crimson.

Another butterfly buzzing about is the Silver-spotted Skipper, Epargyreus clarus, one of our largest skippers. Interesting: it is said that the Silver-spotted Skipper will not seek the nectar of flowers that are yellow. I’ll have to watch the yellow flowers on the mountain, and see! This skipper is quite common in the area.

All this action, sipping of nectar, brings on pollination of the blooms. Soon there will be apples, pears, cherries, and blueberries as a result, enough to keep me busy for a while, like the pollinators that are busy right now!

A Walk to Westover

A bright sunny and delightfully chilly morning for a walk to the farmer's market — **A bright sunny and delightfully chilly morning for a walk to the farmer’s market**

Sunday morning found me walking to the Westover Farmer’s Market, through Mother Nature’s slant on things in an urban environment. An environment a bit different than I have become accustomed to.

**Japanese Red Maple with sun shining through its leaves making them even more brilliant**

Some of the trees, shrubs, flowers, familiar – from my childhood. The Japanese Red Maple brought back memories of a tree that my parents planted at the house where I grew up. A small tree with dainty, elegant, deep rich red leaves. That yard, from years ago – I think I could still map out each of the many trees that were within its boundaries.

Springstar, Ipheion uniflorum, related to onions, is a new flower to me — **Springstar, *Ipheion uniflorum*, related to onions, is a new flower to me**

The beautiful Springstar blooms, I don’t recall ever seeing before. In one patch, they covered a wide swath of not yet mowed grass. Perfect timing for the blooms since the grass was still in sleepy mode and was only just beginning to think of growing.

There were, of course, plants that I see everyday in my mountain woods. Maples with smooth, silvery bark. Samaras, which I called helicopters, long before I knew the word samara.

Honeysuckle, which is all too abundant in both this urban setting and in the mountain setting that I am used to. Honeysuckle growing rapidly, making it difficult for native plants to get a foothold in the competitive world of nature.

**Lilacs in bloom with their fantastic fragrance filling the air**

Lilacs, which I used to associate with Mother’s Day, but look it is blooming now. Perhaps my childhood home is a bit further north than this setting, or is this a sign of climate change, or a sign of memories a bit askew?

**A happy Camelia, soaking up the sunshine**

A Camelia, which makes me think of how fussy they always seemed to be, trying to bloom when it was still much too cold. Now in my mountain home, I try for plants that are native to that mountain, things that have proven to be survivors. Things that don’t have to be fussed over. I want to be out taking photographs, not fussing in the garden!

**Redbud covering the streets with pink cheer**

Small native trees like Redbud, require no fuss. They are everywhere along the road up to my cabin. Planted there by Mother Nature. I’m glad to have her on my side.

**Squirrels everywhere, who are not shy**

Mother Nature has a large team of assistants. Squirrels who collect nuts in the fall, bury them and often leave them to grow. Squirrels in this urban setting are much more bold than the ones I’m used to now. Country squirrels don’t wait to see what you are up to, they scurry quickly at the least little bit of movement.

Between home and the farmer's market, parks abound — **Between home and the farmer’s market, parks abound**

On the way home, the obligatory stop at the park brings joy to everyone. Smiles all around. No farmer’s market on my mountain. No playground to delight, but oh, so many other things to lighten my heart!

Red-spotted Newt

I have an adult Red-spotted Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, in my small pond. Doing research, and learning about this newt has been a fun journey.

A type of salamander, they start out their life in a pond, marsh, stream or small lake, as an egg mass that resembles a big wad of cotton, attached to a piece of underwater vegetation.

The Red-spotted Newt, lays her eggs, one at a time, and the eggs, often numbering a few hundred, will hatch in a month or two, depending on the water temperature. When the eggs hatch they become larvae with feathery gills and a coloring much like the adult Red-spotted Newt.

**Juvenile stage of the Red-spotted Newt, land based, Red Eft**

The larvae live in their watery environment for 2 to 5 months eating aquatic insects and small snails.

At the end of summer, larvae will leave the water, shedding their gills, developing sac-like lungs, and begin another stage in their lives, as Red Efts, remarkably beautiful orange beings with brighter orange spots, surrounded with black circles.

I enjoy finding Red Efts, while I’m out in the woods. They are slow moving critters, appearing to be willing models for my photography.

They spend as many as 4 years as terrestrial creatures. During this stage the Red Efts will hibernate during the winter under a log or rock. During the summer in dry weather they may seek shelter under those same logs or rocks to keep their skin moist, coming out during rainy weather.

**An adult Red-spotted Newt in his underwater world**

For the next couple years, the Red Eft will become darker, and develop a longer, blade-like tail. He will find a body of water to enter, where he will live for the rest of his life as an aquatic adult. In this stage he will eat insects, frog and fish eggs, crustaceans, and worms.

Notice the long tail of the Red-spotted Newt in his underwater world — **Notice the long tail of the adult Red-spotted Newt in my pond**

Red-spotted Newts can live to be 12 to 15 years old. Quite a long life for a critter so small, generally growing as an adult to 5 inches long.

It took me a few years, first to find that I had a newt in my pond. And then to have the information click in my brain, to realize that this newt, and the Red Eft, and all the cottony masses of eggs were all the same species.

Fun finds in the forest!

Ants That Are Farmers

Large-flowered Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum — Large-flowered Trillium, *Trillium grandiflorum*

Every now and then, when I am doing research on a plant, I will discover that the plant has an unusual quality. The plants with this unusual quality are said to be myrmecochorous. They use a method of seed dispersal that is facilitated by ants.

Seed pod of Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla — Seed pod of Twinleaf, *Jeffersonia diphylla*

The seeds of myrmecochorous plants have fleshy appendages called elaiosomes which are packed with nutrients, and are tempting to ants. The picture above is of a seed pod of a Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla, filled with seeds with elaiosomes.

Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla — Twinleaf, *Jeffersonia diphylla*

Ants out hunting for food will stumble upon these seeds, gather them, and return to their colony to feed the elaiosomes to hungry larvae.

Spring Beauty, Claytonia virginica — Spring Beauty, *Claytonia virginica*

Once the elaiosomes are consumed, the ants have no further use for the seeds, and throw them into their colony’s “trash room.”

Wild Bleeding Heart, Dicentra Eximia — Wild Bleeding Heart, *Dicentra Eximia*

The environment in the “trash room” is a near perfect setting to start seeds – underground, and full of nourishment essential for plant growth.

Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia — Common Blue Violet, *Viola sororia*

A new crop of plants, thanks to ant farmers.

The plants included in this blog are but a few of the myrmecochorous plants of my area, the mountains of central Virginia, and world wide there are more than 3,000 species.

Sap is Flowing

In the past three days I have been entertained by a visitor that I have not seen for more than two years. I don’t really know if this visitor is actually one that I saw during the bitterest of late January and early February of 2014, but she is quite fun to watch whether new to my woods or not. I can see her out my kitchen window. She is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus various.

Back in the winter of 2014, a family of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers showed up at the “watering hole” adjacent to the woods, and just outside my kitchen window. Female, male and juvenile. It was so cold that I was concerned for them. The only thing they seemed to be doing was enjoying the warm water that I had provided, and shivering. Particularly the female. In the picture above, by the way, is the male. Notice his stronger coloring, and the crimson patch at this throat, compared to the first picture, my current visitor, a female. They stayed around for a few days, during those extreme days of 2014, and then I never saw any of this species of woodpecker again, until just a few days ago.

The female that has appeared at the suet feeder has declared this suet to be hers and hers alone.

She takes her time feeding at the suet and takes a break, clinging to the little Dogwood trunk just a few feet away, with her sharply clawed toes. There have been Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and Downy Woodpeckers who are regulars at the suet feeder. Now, if the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sees someone that she considers a violator of her space she immediately throws her body at the intruder. This has gone on for three solid days, every moment that the suet feeder has been out there, in daylight. I don’t know where she goes as the sun goes down, but she must trust that nobody is going to eat her suet.

This behavior has me curious and I’ve gone to an amazing reference “book”, the internet. I find that Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drill holes into trees that create sap flows, called sapwells. Sapwells provide the birds with sap which they lap up with their brush-tipped tongues, a path to the tree’s cambium which they eat, and the sap traps insects which they also eat.

The information about the sapwells is not new to me. Up in the woods there are trees that have lines of holes. These are sapwells created by the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Even in the trees immediately around my cabin, I don’t have concern about the woodpeckers harming my trees. Seldom is serious harm done.

I do find a bit of information that might apply. These Sapsuckers tend to watch over and protect their sapwells. This has me wondering. Could she have tapped into the little Dogwood? I go out and sure enough, I find a sapwell! And within a short time, she is working on another Dogwood just a short distance away. From my perch at the kitchen window I can see telltale moisture around the area where she has been working.

Nature is always prodding me to dig to get more information. Dig to learn more. I love Mother Nature.

Pi or Blueberries

This pan will do the job of representing two words: pi and pie. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and this pan is a circle. A Pie is usually a sweet, baked good which often is cooked up in a pan such as this. Many people look to me as a pie baker and I mention Pi Day because of that connection.

Whether you are a bird . . .

Whether you are a baby . . .

Whether you are a baker . . .

Whether you are a botanical connoisseur . . . chances are you have an interest in blueberries. As a baker, I love them for their ease of use. I just pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the batter for muffins, or pancakes, or pour them into a pastry lined pie pan and I am nearly done.

As a naturalist and photographer, I love the blueberry bushes in my gardens for their beauty in every season. Even in the middle of winter they are simply gorgeous.

A native shrub, which is easy to grow, with a bonus of yummy berries, I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Just be sure, as harvest time arrives, that you have enough room in your freezer, and enough time to stay one step ahead of the bear.

Happy Pi Day.

A Fresh Start And Spring

What a relief to get back to Tendrils and sharing my photographs with you. Much like many see winter a burdensome season, I felt isolated while this blog was on the fritz. Actually that is not how I see winter though. To me winter is a time of recalling childhood, sledding, snow-angels, snow days off from school, mugs of hot chocolate, a time of pure joy.

We are now in our last couple weeks of winter, so bear with me, if you will, as I delight in sharing with you a snow that fell in my woods just yesterday. A wimpy snow. A snow that was totally gone in less than eight hours. But a snow that brought with it, great beauty and magic.

The snow that fell overnight, fell in perfect temperatures. Temperatures that allowed the flakes to stick to everything. Everything that is, except the lane, leading out to the dirt road up the mountain that also was not covered with snow. Here you see snowflakes perched atop a rose hip, its crystalline structure still intact.

The snow and its sleight of hand created a Fairyland that is only seen in winter. A Fairyland where the forest is given a new color. White. A color of joy, along with sparkly jewels. Jewels that drape atop branches that might otherwise be bare. Spider webs become necklaces, strung with diamonds, diamonds made of snowflakes.

The snow laughs at the tractor, meant to be a spell to keep the frozen jewels away. Buries it in magnificent fluff.

But winter can only stay around for so long and must give way to spring. Give way to flowers and warmth. Give way to joy in new beginnings. Spring is making its way in my woods. Soon the black and white landscape will be green again.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

Beautiful patterns, holes in tree bark, looking like a sort of Morse Code, is not the work of Martians leaving us a message, or wood boring insects. These holes are the work of a brightly colored, medium sized woodpecker, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius. The photo, above, is a cluster of holes (called sapwells) that I discovered less than a week ago, in an apple tree in front of my cabin. The picture, below, is lines of sapwells in an Eastern Red Cedar. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are attracted to sapwells, and will drink the sap that the Sapsucker has inadvertently provided for them. The Sapsucker watches for such things, and will chase the mooching hummingbird away.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, during early spring, tests and selects trees that will be the source of food during the coming season. The Sapsucker will consume the sap, and insects, that occasionally get trapped in the sap, coming back many times a day. The same tree may be a source of food for a Sapsucker and his mate, for several years.

If you are concerned about a special tree that is decorated with these sapwells, you might try wrapping the trunk of the tree with hardware cloth, or burlap.

The picture, above, is a male (left) and female (right) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker during a snow storm, last year in my woods. A pair will stay together during the nesting season to raise their young together. Often they will reunite after migrating, sometimes even returning to the same nesting area.

The picture, above, is a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Sapsuckers are not normally found at backyard feeders, although occasionally they might be found at suet. In the very coldest days of the winter, here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, of central Virginia, I will see Sapsuckers at my water warmer.

A female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the picture above.

Both the female and the male share duties, of incubation of their eggs, and feeding of the young, once they are hatched. The eggs hatch in 12 to 13 days. The babies are fed insects, sap, and fruit. Nestlings leave the nest 25 to 29 days after emerging from their eggs, and are fed by their parents for 10 days after leaving the nest. There is one brood per year.

And in the photo, above, a confused Sapsucker? I don’t have an answer. This is not an unusual sight. I’ve captured Sapsuckers in photographs on this utility pole many times. Obviously this little lady would not find any sap flowing. Perhaps she is using the pole as a communication device, as she tap, tap, taps?

My Winter Birds

Perhaps these are my pets, the birds that come to my feeders. Wild birds that give me comfort just by being there. The bird you see in the picture, above, is a winter bird in my area (the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia), a White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis. He has a sweet song that is easy to remember, using the mnemonic, “Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.”

I know that autumn will not last much longer, when I see these little birds, rustling around in the leaves on the forest floor. I have to look very closely to see them. Their feathers provide a great camouflage against the dry, brown, fallen leaves.

I must wait for the bears to retire for their winter slumber, before I put out the feeders for the cold months of the year. Otherwise I am likely to need to purchase a new feeder. Believe it or not, the bears do like bird seed too, and will carry a feeder off, or just totally destroy one with ease.

The bear, above, came out of his den, unannounced on January 17th, to cart off one of my feeders. He chose a new model that was designed to keep squirrels out. Needless to say, bird feeder designers don’t aim to keep bears out of the seeds. I suppose that would be an impossible task. If I know that bears are roaming, I don’t put out feeders.

I’m hoping Mr. Bear, is now back in his den. Hoping that the cold will keep him all snug and warm, and away from the bird feeders for while longer. Not only do I enjoy simply watching the birds and their antics, I depend on the feeders to bring them within easy shutter range, so that I can get pictures of my winter pets.

Another bird of winter, is the Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis. Most of them summer in the far north, some going into the Arctic. A few however, do stay in this general area year ’round. I have seen some summering in the Shenandoah National Park, which is just a short distance from my cabin. Here at my feeders though, it is only the migrating Dark-eyed Junco, that I see.

I speak of the wild birds as my pets. I don’t have any “all the time” pets living with me. A frequent visitor, though, is my son’s and daughter-in-law’s cat, Betelgeuse.

That’s Betelgeuse, in the picture above. She’s a rescue, Maine Coon cat. She is a predator. For her own safety and health, and for the sake of my wild pets, she is an indoor pet. I hope your cat is an indoor cat as well, for the sake of my wild pets.