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Scarlet Beebalm And Morning Rain
Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) native to eastern North America. A delight for hummingbirds in the area, bees, and some sphinx moths. A cool and crazy looking flower that makes me wonder if Dr Seuss used it as inspiration for some of his drawings. Perhaps?
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Plume Moths
While admiring Common Milkweed which produces an amazing fragrance across long distances, I discover several unusual looking insects. They look like a capital T or an old-fashioned airplane, with a wingspan of perhaps 5/8 inch. Feathery wings and spiny, delicate looking legs. These are Plume Moths (Pterophoridae). There are more than 1,000 species of Plume…
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Rubies On A Bush
I planted these bushes for their beauty. The rubies please me beyond words. Red Currant (Ribes rubrum). Each year when they mature into their richness, childhood memories of family reunions in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, return. The Red Currant bushes growing tall next to the quoit pits. I’ve just stumbled upon something that makes me feel so…
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Watch Where You Step!
Just a couple days after the grass was cut. Two tiny bunnies were found hiding in that short grass. Warming themselves in the sun and hiding from predators. How they were found, I don’t know. Perhaps the magic of the Woodland Fairy. They were quite invisible to ordinary searching eyes such as mine. But Granddaughter…
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The Woodland Fairy
Imagine my surprise when the Woodland Fairy stopped by to visit me today. She asked me to call her Chestnut. We sat down and talked for a quite a long time. Chestnut was filled with great stories of her life in the woods. Chestnut lives in a humongous hollow tree. Her magic is why the…
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Wineberry Flower
Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius). An invasive plant that is found throughout the woods up here. Right now there are small flowers. Five, heart shaped, pale pink petals with longer pointed sepals. Very soon to become berries. An invasive, but oh the berries are so good.
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Purple?
Purple-flowered Raspberry (Rubus odoratus), blooming in the mountains right now. Native to eastern North America. Leaves that look much like maple leaves. Berries that are not my favorite, but birds like them.
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Ma and Pa Carolina Wren
The two of them so active. Back and forth from the nest. Bringing morsels of yummy caterpillars for their nestlings. Only stopping from time to time to sing with great bravado. Nestlings grow quickly. Hatching to fledging takes 12 to 14 days. Thank goodness. I’m worn out just watching Ma and Pa.
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Mixed Feelings
Great to see a bear cub again. This is not the one that was seen today though. This picture is from a couple years ago. The one on our lane today was too quick, or perhaps too shy to have its picture taken. But at least a bear is back! Before today, the last Black Bear…
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It’s The Little Things
White clover (Trifolium repens) that was cut just a few days ago towering over the mushrooms. That’s mighty little. It’s Conocybe lactea with the common name of White Dunce Cap. A mushroom often found in grass, popping up right after a rain. They’re thin, fragile, lasting only a few hours before disappearing. You’ll often find me…