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Asparagus
Yum! Asparagus, home grown. Straight from the garden. A joy to have at the table. A pleasure.
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Maple-leaf Viburnum
Just now beginning to leaf out, greeting spring. Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), native to eastern North America, an understory, deciduous shrub. It’s plentiful up here on my mountain, and is easy to identify with its twin, maple-like leaves. I’ve been fortunate to have received several of these shrubs as gifts. Shrubs that I’m watching grow…
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Choreography in the Woods
And the award for Choreography in the Woods goes to: Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum). Slowly dancing from the soil. Unfurling its fronds. Extending its pinnae. Shedding spring rains. Northern Maidenhair Fern is native to moist forests in eastern North America. The genus name, Adiantum, comes from the Greek word, adiantos, which means, unwetted –…
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Witch Hazel in Spring
American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), my hero. “The American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is one of those plants that would like to have everyone’s undivided attention. You know the type: a bit of a rebel, marches to the beat of its own drum. This native shrub’s unwillingness to heed convention has made it popular among gardeners for…
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Apple Blossom Time
Apple trees at the moment are a huge puff of snow white and soft pink. A delight for pollinators gathering to make the trees buzz with excitement. This pollinator, above, is a Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Two Spicebush Swallowtails (Papilio troilus). A Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus). A Nessus Sphinx Moth (Amphion floridensis). And looking quite…
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Owling
Perhaps if you are into children’s books or you’re a birder, you know the word “owling.” I’m familiar with the word thanks to Jane Yolen’s lovely 1987 book, Owl Moon. It’s about a little girl and her father who love to go out as the sun is setting, looking for owls. Or as they call…
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Contemplating the Plunge
Contemplating the plunge. A tiny Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) at the edge of the birdbath about to take a dip.
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2022 Hummingbird Arrival
It’s happened! It seems like magic that it is exactly one year after the date when the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) arrived in 2021. Amazing! This first arrival is a male (though these images are of females at the height of Hummingbird season 2016). That’s usually the case. Males are the first to leave…
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Soft Magenta
Just beginning, along trails in the mountains, along the edge of the dirt road that climbs my mountain. Like a soft fabric made just for a little girl’s twirly-swirly dress of emerald green with soft magenta dots. Dancing in the wind, just like that little girl does. Blooms of Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) are just…
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Star Chickweed
A sweet little well behaved native plant that has the burden of a common name which makes me think of an invasive non-native. This is Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) which is native to the eastern United States. Though it looks like the flower has ten petals, each of the five petals is deeply cleft creating…