Tendrils

Category: Caterpillars

  • Playing In The Icy Pool This Morning

    February 12, 2026 My camera and I got to play at the vernal pool today, the one at the yoga studio where I take classes. It has been dry for so long, much longer than is usual, so we had a great time. Melting snowcrete created a marvelous amount of moisture, perfect for imagination. One…

  • Hunger At The Garden Gate

    January 2, 2026 Word seems to have gotten out. No songbirds there for a meal. A Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) sitting on the garden gate, a spot where there are often many birds. Try, try again little hawk. And it is indeed a small hawk. The males of this species are the smallest hawks in…

  • Shortest Day Of The Year

    The seedhead of a Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma), wearing its snow white winter cap. Just waiting for a hungry bird to come along for a meal. And Happy Winter! Yes, today is the first day of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The shortest day and the longest night of the year. _______________________ If you…

  • Sign Of A Pileated Woodpecker

    November 21, 2025 This morning on my way down the mountain I saw a woodpecker that I often see, a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). The largest woodpecker in North America. About the size of a crow. Measuring in at 16 to 19 inches long, with a wingspan of 26 to 30 inches, weighing about 8.8…

  • Red Maple Decked Out For Autumn

    October 26, 2025 The Red Maples (Acer rubrum) are joining in with many of the trees in the woods to create a celebration of autumn. As is often the case, this week is the peak of the spectacular color display. Before long it will look like winter, with shades of black and white leaving only…

  • At The Post Office

    August 3, 2025 Just no telling when Mother Nature will allow her children to make an appearance. Even at a walkway leading to the Post Office. A seed made its way to a crack between the sidewalk and curb. The seed germinated and managed to live to produce a bloom of a rose-colored Zinnia (Zinnia).…

  • A Pair Of Towhees

    May 17, 2025 He came by just before lunch today. Splashing around in the birdbath to get those feathers clean. He had enough of the cleaning and went to a perch to shake off the water and get his feathers in order again. A male Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). Just a couple minutes later, she…

  • Variegated Fritillary Caterpillar

    March 28, 2025

  • The Elusive Towhee

    March 27, 2025 Another solitary bird. One that is around but not obvious, since it enjoys dense shrubs and lots of leaf litter in which to search for their next meal of seeds or insects. An Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). The male Towhee sings its song, an easy one to remember, “Drink your teeeeea!” A…

  • A Good Start To Spring

    March 20, 2025 Happy first day of spring! It’s been a mighty nice start to the new season. I don’t think “normal” would be an appropriate word to describe how things have been this year. Perhaps “expected” would be a better word. This image is from March 22, 2018. And I have oodles of other…