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.
Putty Root (Aplectrum hyemale), an Orchid native to eastern North America. A raceme comes up out of the soil mid-spring with no leaves. It blooms with multiple flowers, each perhaps a bit less than 1/2 inch across.
The flowers last perhaps 2 or 3 weeks slowly fading away. In autumn a single leaf is produced, green with white pinstripes. The leaf stays green through the winter fading away in March.
So many wonders to find in the woods!
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A deciduous shrub, native to eastern United States, Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus), showing off its dark red blooms right now. This, a young flower.
And this a more mature flower. The fragrant blooms will last for nearly a month. The leaves and stems are also scented if rubbed or scratched. The aroma will vary from shrub to shrub.
The Carolina Allspice is host plant for Double-banded Zale Moth, Oblique-banded Leafroller Moth, and the Saddleback Caterpillar Moth. Pollinators that are attracted to the flowers are Sap Beetles, Bees, Butterflies, and Hummingbirds.
Pure pleasure to have them around.
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Seen out on the lane today. A Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arethemis) sitting in the gravel, in the ventral, or wings up position. And in the image below it’s in the dorsal, or wings open position.
Native to eastern United States, in the southeastern states in particular. Host plants are a wide variety of trees and bushes such as Willow, Poplar, Cherry, Birch, Hawthorn, Birch, and Hop Hornbeam.
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Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) in bloom just a few days ago. Trees that I’ve learned a great many things about since I’ve lived up here on my mountain. First off, I was amazed to learn that they grow into very large trees.
Growing up with woods just behind my house I was familiar with small Sasssafras saplings with their wonderful fragrance. I’ve been surprised to find out that Sassafras trees grow to be quite large trees, growing to 60 feet tall and sometimes even taller. And a trunk up to 24 inches in diameter.
Many surprises as I became quite familiar with this tree which seemed to be so different from the saplings I knew as a child. Another, the fruit, dark blue-black drupes measuring in at about 1/3 inch in length. I sure didn’t know about these!
So much to learn about nature. I’ll be busy learning for years and years. And if I were a tree surely it would be a Sassafras.
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These photos are Spiderwort (Tradescantia), blooming in my gardens right now. Tradescantia are native to the Americas from southern Canada to the West Indies to northern Argentina, with somewhere between 70 and 86 species. In the United States there are about 17 native species, many of these are close relatives to Tradescantia virginia and will often interbreed.
Hummingbirds love these flowers and they’re a great sourse of nectar for the hummers as well as the butterflies and bees that are attracted by the colors.
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Rain puddled on Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). What a pure delight to see how much rain has fallen, yesterday evening and early this morning. The past couple months there has been very little rain and all the plants up here in the mountains are celebrating.
Coral Honeysuckle leaves are waxy, water repelling, or hydrophobic. The leaves immediately below the blooms of Coral Honeysuckle are fused, giving the appearance of the stem growing up through these joined leaves. They catch water when it rains. The puddles looking like gemstones.
Coral Honeysuckle is native to eastern North America and host plant to Spring Azure Butterflies (Celastrina ladon) and Snowberry Clearwing Moths (Hemaris diffinis).
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A Broadhead Skink (Plestiodon laticeps), trying to blend in with the ledge it is resting on. You might notice that it is shedding its skin, which happens routinely from time to time.
These skinks eat a wide variety of insects, spiders, snails, small rodents and smaller reptiles including young skinks, hunting for meals in trees and on the ground.
They look similar to Five-lined Skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus), even with the bright blue tail as a juvenile. Size in the adults of the Five-lined are 5 to 8.5 inches while Broadheads are 6 to 13 inches. Adult Five-lined Skinks have a red-orange head during mating season.
The Broadhead Skink is native to the southeast United States and is the largest Skink in that region.
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A Red Trillium (Trillium erectum). One of many treasures of nature. On Hightop Mountain in Shenandoah National Park.
This Trillium doesn’t produce nectar, but flies, beetles, and fungus gnats are attracted to the blossom’s unpleasant scent. They act as pollinators for these beautiful flowers.
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This afternoon, a female Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) came by to take a dip in the birdbath.
I so seldom see a female Towhee that it took a moment for me to realize what it was. When males and females of the same species of birds are different in appearance like this, it is called sexual dimorphism.
And you know the mnemonic for Towhees, “Drink your tea?” The female rarely sings that song. I hear that so very often. I’ll have to figure out what song the female sings.
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On the way to yoga today, I saw my first Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) of the year. Something that I always do with such a sighting, particularly on my mountain road with hardly any traffic, I stopped, pulled out my camera and took pictures. Having a record of the markings on the turtle’s carapace, the domed upper portion of its shell, allows me to identify a turtle if I happen to see it again. The markings on its shell are, like a fingerprint, unique to the individual. Then I took it across the road, in the direction it was heading and put it on the side, and off the road. It was at least for this crossing, safe from any traffic that might happen along.
A few years ago my granddaughter, who was 7 at the time, found a baby Box Turtle here at the cabin. Oh my! Was that ever exciting!
That made me think of their home range, which is typically around 2 acres. It is that small area where they spend their entire life. If picked up and moved to another location that turtle will spend the rest of their life looking for home.
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