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Vultures
I often meet the nicest people at the dump (and recycling center, THAT makes it sound better). And I often also see Vultures there. There are two species of Vultures in Virginia, Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura). There are subtle differences between the two, some of which you can even see…
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Christmas Cards
Christmas cards are something that I’ve created for years. No telling how long it has been, just many many years. All year long I’m wondering what will be my choice as December draws near. It’s early in the year and though the high temperature today was 73° there’s a chance of weather appropriate for the…
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Common Blue Violets
Today, again, I’m doing the ever present task of “housekeeping” or organizing my photographs. Aside from the prime benefit of doing this chore, being able to find some particular photo when I need it, it also gives me the opportunity to see images that I took long ago. Ones that I had forgotten about. Ones…
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Thinking about Mayapples
While doing some “housework” with my photographs this afternoon I came upon this image of a Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). Not remarkable on its own, but with the knowledge of the date it is something to take note of. That date, just five days from today. The end of February. February 26, 2018. That really took…
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Stellafane
The Pink Clubhouse. Stellafane Amateur Telescope Makers Convention. A big wonderful Star party. The convention is usually scheduled over the weekend of the new moon closest to the height of the Perseid meteor shower. The first Stellafane Convention was held in 1926 and has been held each year since with the exception of 1949 – 1953…
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Another Purple Finch Visit
Though the maps show me as being in the winter range of the Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) I seldom see any. But yesterday was my lucky day. There were two males and a female at one of my feeders. Black oil sunflowers seeds are on the top of the list for what they like at…
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The Night of Frogs
The title of today’s blog post brings to mind a movie that I recently watched, “Frogs” which is a 1972 horror film that was shown on Svengoolie. Like nearly all of Svengoolie’s movies, this one was certainly not scary but then, I promise you, this post will not be scary either unless you are totally…
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Eastern White Pine
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus). A native conifer that I often see up here on my mountain. It grows in the woods and we’ve planted and grown a few as Christmas trees. It’s a favorite of some as a Christmas tree, with it’s soft needles but I much prefer the very stiff and sharp needled,…
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Pitch Pine
Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) is native to eastern North America, or more specifically, southern Maine to New York, south to Virginia and southern Ohio, and in the mountains, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, northern Georgia, and western North and South Carolina. A medium sized pine with tufts of needles growing in random spots on its trunk.…
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Rabbits in Winter
Summer, and rabbits are seen often. Winter, and the sight of a rabbit is a rare thing. A time to stop and take notice. If you see a rabbit in Virginia, more than likely it is an Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). Rabbits don’t hibernate. But during the winter they are most active during dusk and…