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Wood Frog Eggs In The Pond
Just a few days ago the noisy Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) arrived at my little pond for their breeding season. Two days ago Granddaughter and I went out to check on the pond and the eggs. Here’s what was out there, and surely today there are many more. Those frogs have really been busy. Since…
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Looking For Lunch
Yesterday, just after noon a bird came by, surely on the lookout for its lunch. It sat in a Maple Tree which was thinking of bursting forth with red springtime blooms. The bird, a large one, a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). As it sat there, the birds at the feeders immediately realized the hawk was…
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Rock-shield Lichen
Rock-shield Lichen (Xanthoparmelia). A lichen that I commonly see up here growing on rocks. An incredible organism that is a symbiotic partnership between a fungus and an alga. I’ve become fascinated with lichens, but still I’m struggling to understand them. Not a plant, not an animal but an organism. There are about 3,600 species of…
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Winter Berries
A native small tree or large shrub, laden with berries now in winter. Providing food for small mammals, songbirds, and game birds. Blackhaw Viburnum (viburnum prunifolium). Growing in the woods around my cabin. Perhaps a couple more in prominent locations might be nice.
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Sunshine Yellow Flowers In Winter
Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). Given to me a few years ago by a dear friend. A small patch in the garden glowing with the color of happiness, right now, mid-February. Not a native to North America, but of France, Italy and the Balkans. In my garden it’s well behaved and hasn’t spread at all, so…
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The Wood Frogs Have Returned
The Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) have returned to my pond with their noisy, “Clack, clack, clack!” Incredible frogs that spend the early part of winter hunkered down in leaf litter, hibernating. That leaf litter only gives these frogs minimal protection against the cold. They will spend much of their hibernation actually frozen. They don’t breathe,…
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Shape Of The Day
The shape of the day, of course, is the heart. These are a few of the hearts from my many photographs. Created by nature, or created by an expressive person. This one, above is a cherry pie. Walk slowly, otherwise you’ll miss something, like this heart, made by nature, on a Sassafras leaf. A mincemeat…
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Floral Witnesses Of History
There is a very old cabin a short walk from the cabin where I live. It’s believed that it was last occupied in the 1950s. In going back through deeds, I can trace the cabin to 1905 but it is possible that it is older than that. The paper trail ends leaving no more hints.…
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Butterbutt
More formally known as a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata). A black, white and gray bird accented with that lovely bright buttery color. A bird that shows up at my birdbath occasionally during the winter. I’m patiently waiting, hoping one will make an appearance. Often it is mid-February when I’m able to capture a photograph. This…