Tendrils

Author: Brenda Clements Jones

  • Another Day Into Spring

    Checking on how spring is progressing today I found just what I had been expecting to see for a few days now. Pushing their way up through the soil, a single bud wrapped in a single leaf. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) pushing its way up through the first days of spring. Early March up through early…

  • Little Buds

    Clinging to the ends of the branches all winter long. Waiting for spring to start growing. Becoming blossoms. Then blueberries. Making me happy. Bringing delight to the birds. No problem, there will be plenty. Enough for the birds. An abundance for me and my freezer. Plenty for the rest of year. Pies, muffins, coffee cake.…

  • A Pair Of Downy Woodpeckers

    A pair of Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) have been coming to my feeder regularly for quite a while. This image is of the male. The male and female Downy Woodpecker look similar with the exception of the red spot at the back of the male’s head. The female has no red, just black and white.…

  • Chatterbox Neighbor

    A tiny guy that I see and hear every day. It is quite the chatterbox and if I didn’t know better I would think that it was scolding me. But surely that isn’t the case. We’re neighbors after all. It is at the feeder often and every evening it will choose either the bird house…

  • Company On A Mini-hike

    A mini-hike today, filled with loads of nature. Several Mourning Cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa) fluttering around me enjoying the warmth of this late winter day. One of the earliest species of butterfly to be seen in late winter since they overwinter as adults. This one looking pretty ragged, like it has had a tough time through…

  • Just The Beginning

    Yesterday I took a look where the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) usually come up and sure enough, there they were. Just as I expected. Little purplish-green leaves coming up through the soil. Given 3 or 4 weeks and this is what the plants will look like. They bloom for about 3 weeks. What a splendid…

  • Honey Pinkgill Mushroom

    Well this morning was quite a surprise. I went out to fill the bird feeder and as I stepped off the back porch there was a sprinkling of tiny mushrooms looking up at me. When I say “tiny” I mean that the largest caps were less than an inch across. Perhaps 20 of them, minus…

  • Tiny Pond Lots Of Clacking Day And Night

    They have been out there in the little pond since at least February 11th clacking away day and night. They’re having a ball in their breeding season. Meeting up at the neighborhood little pond. Eggs in the water, waiting for the season to move along. Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). Nature is great entertainment. All one…

  • Redbuds Soon To Be Pink

    The Eastern Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are preparing for their annual PINK spring celebration. Their red buds are coming out soaking up the sunshine in preparation for loads of blossoms. For me, here in the mountains, that will be a wait of 3 or 4 weeks. And during the time when they are in full bloom…

  • Yellow Blooms

    March 1st. Happy meteorological spring! Right on time, Daffodils (Narcissus) are celebrating. There are years when snow greets the first of the Daffodils. This image is from one of those years. March 3, 2016 to be exact. Makes no difference to the flowers, they just pop back up and shake the snow off. They’re tough.…