Reeling With Joy

Such a comfort to go for a walk and find the soil is moist, after receiving 2.93 inches of rain yesterday. After being so dry for so long. I expect this is just an aberration, like the 2.12 inches of rain that fell from the sky on September 10th. An absolute tease. Who knows though. I sure don’t. I doubt that it is known by anyone.

No more dried up patches of soil that have become like puzzle pieces, shrinking and raising at the edges. Except for the empty space between those puzzle pieces, fitting together perfectly. Just nice dirt in the garden that looks like it’s all set to receive some seeds.

Happy trees. Happy plants expressing their joy in their own plant ways.

We’ll see how long this lasts.

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Thankful For Rain

Rain drops on Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens).

Severe drought. A sad situation. But today, at long last it has rained all day. Still coming down steadily. I’m watching as the inches slowly creep up. As I write this the rain gauge tells me 2.89 inches. A bit of a dent in our 18 inch deficit.

Hallelujah.

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White Berries

Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa). White berries, not red, as we would normally expect on another member of the same genus (Cornus), a Flowering Dogwood tree.

Those white berries, sitting on bright crimson pedicles, that to me look like miniature trees. Those pedicles lasting through the winter.

Gray Dogwoods send out suckers from their rhizomes, creating dense thickets. They make great nesting sites for birds, and shelter for birds and small animals.

Another part of Mother Nature’s world that is pure pleasure to watch as each season goes by.

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Away With The Wind

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Spring finds the plant reaching tall to the sky. Summer brings blooms of pale mauve, brownish-pink.

Autumn’s cooling temperatures welcome horn-shaped seed pods filled with flat brown seeds. Fluff called milkweed floss are attached to the seeds, ready to send the seeds wherever the wind may take it.

Much like making wishes on Dandelion’s bright yellow flowers. Away the seeds go, with the wind.

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Winter Residents

They’ve been here a couple weeks now. Some of the winter residents. They’re thoroughly enjoying the seeds and suet that I’m putting out for them. White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis).

Come spring, they’ll be heading north again, to Canada and New England.

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Autumn Berries

Maple-leaf Viburnum berries (Viburnum acerifolium) ripen in early autumn, providing food for many animals, including deer, rabbits, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, songbirds, skunks and mice.

A small shrub, Maple-leaf Viburnum joins in with great colors in autumn.

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How Do They Spend The Winter

A painting of an Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), which I did for my Mom and Dad many years ago.

The Eastern Chipmunk is a very entertaining little creature who has quite the expandable set of cheeks, great for stuffing with seeds, peanuts, and acorns, and transporting them to their den. Storing them for their winter slumber.

Notice I used the word slumber. They don’t actually hibernate, but sleep for extended periods of time during the winter, waking every few weeks during the frigid months. They’ll munch on what they’re stowed away in the various rooms of their den, even perhaps stepping outside for a short stroll when the weather has a tiny bit of warmth to it. Their winter meals consist of things that won’t spoil from extended time, mostly nuts and seeds.

Their den is a two level series of rooms with food in the bottom level and sleeping space, lined with grass and leaves on the top level. This living space is more than ten feet long and three feet deep. Pretty nice for the solitary chipmunk.

Wondering if they are already in their dens or still scurrying about. Probably not. It’s still pretty warm.

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Creepy Looking But Good Insect

The largest of the true bugs in the family of Assassin and Ambush Bugs (Reduviidae). Generally about an inch long, sometimes reaching 1.5 inches. These are North American Wheel Bugs (Arilus cristatus). They’re found in eastern Canada, the United States, south into Mexico and Guatemala.

Good because they prey on garden pests, caterpillars and beetles. Among those are, Tent Caterpillars, Japanese Beetles, Mexican Bean Beetles, and Cabbage Worms. This Wheel Bug is a good guy.

And that creepy look? You should take that as a warning. Though it is said to be gentle, a bite will be brought on by rough treatment, or provocation. Its bite is extremely painful, though it doesn’t have venom. Don’t pick it up!

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An Invasive Introduced In 1806

Groan. Yes, introduced in 1806, to Long Island, New York, as an ornamental, for erosion control, and for wildlife uses. Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), native to east Asia, and some parts of China.

The flowers of this species of Honeysuckle provide food to deer, rabbits, hummingbirds and other animals. Its fruit, the berries pictured above, are quite popular with deer, small mammals, birds and other animals. Those animals in turn distribute the seeds, which have contributed to the plant becoming highly invasive.

Since it’s nearly Thanksgiving, I have to say that I’m thankful that Japanese Honeysuckle, if you have a small patch invading your garden, is easily removed. If you’ve got a larger problem with it, that’s another story.

Up Here

Many of the colorful leaves are covering the ground now, providing a place for overwintering animals to snuggle down, to survive through the cold of the jacket and mitten season.

Not all leaves are down though. There are still brilliant hues out there cheering the mountains. Here a Red Maple (Acer rubrum) greets the few people that manage to come up this far.

Still not the time of year that pleases me most, when the woods are a black and white ink drawing.

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