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Sunshine Yellow Blooms
The brightest of yellow, blooming right now. Narrow Leaf Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa), a native to eastern North America. A member of the Evening Primrose family, Onagraceae. Bees, butterflies and skippers pollinate the flowers. A delight to see, brightening the roadsides. _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up…
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Bird Days
The summer birds are arriving. I’m having a grand time seeing the first of this, that, and the other bird, as each day ticks by. Yesterday was a good one for seeing firsts. Not necessarily a good day for photos though. As I’ve raved about in the past, my birdbath is a great attraction for…
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Goldfinches At The Yucca
Not quite in their full summer plumage, the Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) were at the Yucca filamentosa yesterday afternoon as if it were their playground. Truth be told, I’ve been sprinkling hulled sunflower seeds on the ground, which is what called to them. Goldfinches are seed eaters. I love to let my gardens be, as summer…
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Being Bold
I’m thoroughly enjoying this elusive bird showing off its bold side. Circumstances must be just right for this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) to step out and be seen. This picture is from today. Usually they are hidden under dense bushes. Hiding from my camera. Not so the past couple days with tempting blueberries on the…
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Downy False Foxglove
Downy False Foxglove (Aureolaria virginica), flowers during the summer months, June through August. Downy False Foxglove is a perennial hemiparasite. Hemiparasite means that it depends upon its host for some of its nutrients. In this case, Downy False Foxglove depends upon Oak trees (Quercus), mainly White Oaks (Quercus alba), getting these nutrients through their roots.…
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Grape Tube Galls
Nature is full of surprises, like these galls that I found on a wild grapevine. They’re grape tube galls, created by a midge, Schizomyia viticola. The midge lays eggs on the leaf and the gall is the plant’s reaction to it. Actually there is very little damage done to the grapevine, and these galls are…
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Brown Thrasher In The Birdbath
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). An elusive bird that most often is found in dense bushes, brushing its long beak back and forth in leaf litter searching for a meal of insects. Most frequently I see Brown Thrashers while blueberries are just ripening. And timing was just perfect today. Many bushes with berries turning from soft…
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Punctuation On The Trail
With wings up, in the ventral position, the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) proudly shows off why it is referred to as Question Mark. The striking white curve and dot. A question mark. Well, on this side, a question mark in reverse. Here the same butterfly demonstrates the wings fully open, in the dorsal position. Found…
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Swallowtail On Milkweed
A few days ago I published a post titled, A Milkweed Plant, about the Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia). And now I’ve come upon a couple butterflies enjoying the blooms of this same Fourleaf Milkweed. These two butterflies are Zebra Swallowtails (Eurytides marcellus). Their host plant is the Pawpaw Tree. Adults feed on the nectar of…