Confusing Weather

Yesterday yummy. It got up to 63°, the sun shining, and a lovely blue sky. Unquestionably a perfect spring day. Those Daffodils definitely added to that perfection.

Today was quite a different story. At the crack of dawn the thermometer had fallen to 17°, and the trees were being violently whipped by high winds, as heavy snow plastered anything that got in its way.

By 8:00 am the power at our cabin had succumbed to the extreme weather. Fortunately the cabin has a helper, a generator. It exercises itself every week and is always ready to arrive like Mighty Mouse to save the day. The generator handles everything except the washer and dryer, and the heat pump and air conditioner. A benefit of having no power? A fire in the wood stove. Lovely.

Those Daffodils? The blizzard turned them into a heap of lemon yellow petals and icy white snow. Not to worry though. Daffodils are tough critters. They can take nearly anything that Mother Nature throws their way. By Monday, when temperatures are predicted to be up into the 60s again, they’ll be up and looking quite happy again.

And now, as I sit writing this blog post, the power has been restored, and I’m totally delighted with five inches of snow that has decorated my mountain, looking like someone has poured marshmallow fluff over everything.

Eggs in the Pond

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) eggs. There’s a small man-made pond within sight of my kitchen window. Late winter and early spring finds much activity out there. Wood Frogs are the ones that start things off, having what seem like parties, loud parties that last all night long and on through the day, for many days. Now, as a result, the pond has many clumps of eggs. Of course there are Wood Frog eggs. No surprise there. All that noisy carousing. But there are other clumps of eggs that look quite different.

These eggs, look a bit like wads of cotton that have been wrapped around stems of aquatic plants in the pond. The eggs of Red-spotted Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens). Adult Newts populated my pond soon after it was put in and have been there ever since. Their life has four stages: 1) egg 2) tadpole 3) eft (terrestrial juvenile) and 4) newt (aquatic adult). In late winter/early spring female newts lay 200-375 eggs, attaching them to aquatic plants.

Here is the terrestrial juvenile stage. A little critter that I love to find in the woods. The Red-spotted Newt can live for between 12 and 15 years and can grow to a length of 5.5 inches. I’m uncertain of the number of aquatic adults that are living in the pond. They’re shy creatures that I don’t get to see often. But when I do I’m elated.

Yellow-lined Owlet

The Yellow-lined Owlet moth (Colobochyla interpuncta) does an incredible job of using camouflage to become nearly invisible.

Here’s another look. Same photo, just closer. Ah, there it is. See those two little legs sticking out?

The larvae of Yellow-lined Owlets feed on the leaves of persimmon trees and willows. Their adults are active during the months of April through September. They can be found in North America from Wisconsin to Nova Scotia south to Florida and Texas. Wonder how many of these moths I’ve walked past without even noticing them. Amazing camouflage job, Mother Nature.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

A regular around here. The Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). And here you get a glimpse of why it has its name, a very tiny smudge of red on its belly. They can be found in the eastern United States, from Florida north to Canada.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers eat fruit, nuts, seeds, berries (such as Poison Ivy berries shown above) and tree sap.

They also eat arboreal arthropods and other invertebrates which include caterpillars, flies, grasshoppers, and the larvae of beetles. And you can add to the list, tree frogs, small fish, nestling birds and bird eggs, and Brown and Green Anoles. That’s a Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) in the photo above, which I photographed in Florida. There it is an invasive species, and seems to be everywhere. It is native to Cuba and the Bahamas. And these woodpeckers enjoy the suet that I put out for them here at my cabin.

Coltsfoot

It’s blooming now along roadsides where it grows aggressively. Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). A plant that is native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia.

It is a plant that has flowers that resemble Dandelions, though if you’re quite familiar with Dandelions you’ll know that this is not one.

The leaves are totally different from Dandelion leaves, being roundish, or heart shaped, much like a Violet leaf with a slightly toothed edge. These leaves don’t even appear until the blooms are fading. You may spot some green leaves in this image, above. They are definitely Dandelion leaves. The leaves of the Coltsfoot have not emerged yet. They’re waiting for those flowers to fade.

Each stem, scaly, and bracted, bears a single flower.

The Coltsfoot seedheads too, resemble that of the Dandelion, though the seeds of the Coltsfoot are much more dense, and the tips of fluff have a coppery color which the Dandelion doesn’t have.

On the Internet I’m seeing many claims of medicinal qualities of Coltsfoot but along with those claims I am seeing statements that all parts of the plant contain alkaloids that are toxic to the liver. You’ll want to find something safer to use as a medicine.

Goldfinch Still in Winter Attire

In the past few weeks I’ve been seeing a few Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) coming to my feeders. They return for the seeds that I put out, hulled sunflower seed and nyjer seed.

They’re dressed in their winter garb. Males hardly recognizable without their brilliant yellow body feathers, and trademark, rich black foreheads. In the next month or so both both males and females will begin their molts to trade-in winter feathers for summer plumage. After the molt starts, in the in-between stage, they have a strange mottled look. This happens twice a year. Once in late winter and again in late summer.

First of the Green and Gold

This is what they’ll look like come May, but now just a single minuscule speck of yellow nestled in the green. The first hint I’ve seen of a Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) bloom this spring. These plants don’t grow tall but do spread out nicely. Don’t be concerned though, their growth is not aggressive.

Green and Gold is native to eastern North America. A plant that I’ve had on my back hill for many years. A low growing ground cover with opposite, hairy leaves. Those leaves are considered semi-evergreen. Here on my mountain the plants stay green through winter. Peak bloom time is in May and will produce flowers intermittently through autumn. Quite the pleasure to have just steps from the back door.

Overwintering as an Adult

While most butterflies overwinter as eggs or pupae, there are a few including this one, the Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) that overwinter as adults. They wedge themselves in crevices in trees, behind loose bark, or under loose shingles away from the worst of winter.

You’ll see them out on trails on warm sunny days during the winter and early spring. Certainly the first of the butterflies in the spring.

See that bright white mark on the ventral side of the wing, the mark that if you use your imagination might look like a comma? That is why this butterfly is called “comma.”

Sunflowers for Ukraine

My heart goes out to Ukraine. The news all day long is so devastating. So insane.


The national flower of Ukraine is the Sunflower. A flower that symbolizes happiness, optimism, honesty, longevity, peace, admiration, and devotion.

It’s believed that Sunflowers were planted and grown as a crop by American Indians in what is now New Mexico and Arizona around 5000 BCE.

Back in 1996, Ukraine, which had the third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, committed to total nuclear disarmament. In a ceremony to honor the occasion representatives from the US, Ukraine and Russia planted Sunflowers in locations where missile silos had been. Sunflowers were chosen because they absorb radioactive isotopes from the environment. These special flowers have also been planted at Chernobyl and Fukushima in order to help remove radioactive toxins.

My heart goes out to Ukraine, its land, its towns and cities, its ancient castles, its parks, its natural world and most of all its people.

Maples in Bloom

Early March, meteorological spring and things are just beginning to stir. Flowers? Not many, certainly not many of the native sort but a few.

The Maples (Acer) in the lower elevations are acknowledging that spring is here.

Maple blooms are something that you’ve got to be aware of, or something that you’ve got to look for. They don’t demand attention.

They’re subtle. But wait, there’s more to come.

Once the little noticed flowers are finished, along comes the magical things we used to play with when we were children, the helicopters.

Throw them in the air and see what happens. That action, such fun, spinning as they drop, in order to fall far from the parent tree. These helicopters are technically termed samaras.

And which of these photos is different from all the rest? All the images with the exception of this last one are of Red Maples (Acer rubrum), native to eastern and central North America. The picture immediately above is of samaras of a Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum). Silver Maples are native to the eastern and central US and southeastern Canada.

And the show is just beginning. Soon comes many beautiful shades of green, then OH MY, so many warm gorgeous colors of autumn.