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So Many Common Box Turtles
Four days ago GrandCamper spotted a female Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) digging a hole in the soil to lay her eggs. We were much too excited and created way too much commotion. Next thing we knew she had vanished without laying her eggs. We learned our lesson. In the photo above GrandCamper is adding…
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Common Snapping Turtle
Much to my surprise it just showed up one day on a path behind my cabin. A tiny Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). They have a reputation as having a combative disposition but this creature was so little I could hardly think of it in those terms. A short distance from where I first saw…
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Silverleaf Mountain Mint
An attractive mint that grows here on my mountain, Silverleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum). The flowers attract lots of beneficial pollinators like this Spicebush Swallowtail, and other butterflies, bees, wasps, and moths. The blooms, first appearing midsummer will last until late summer. The square stems, leaves and even the flowers have a silvery look. All…
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Baby Common Box Turtle
Today as I was looking through images from a few years ago, I came upon one of these photos and thought you might enjoy seeing the fun time our family had back then. Take a look, and see what you think. From June 2021. Yesterday GrandCamper and I were checking on the little pawpaw trees…
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It’s Blueberry Season
An abundance of blueberries on the bushes keeping me busy. Picking them before the birds get them. I don’t mind sharing them though. There’s plenty!
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Carolina Horsenettle
One to watch out for. Carolina Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense), all parts of the plant are poisonous including cherry tomato-looking berries which turn yellow when ripe. Native to southeastern United States but has spread widely.
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Eastern Cottontail
Populating the area around the cabin, a few Eastern Cottontail Rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) provide fun entertainment as they grow from the size of one’s hand to an adult. They love to eat the clover which grows in great abundance and because care is taken not to tempt them, they eat little else. Little else that…
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Common Box Turtle
So many Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) shell designs! Each and every one of them different. They fascinate me. But then it’s not just the shell design, it’s the whole turtle that fascinates me. As I’m out roaming I’ll stop if I see a turtle in the middle of the road, to help it get…
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Common Whitetail Dragonfly
I’m constantly learning things as I dig through my books and page through various sites on the internet. One of today’s new things is the word to describe the color quality of the abdomen of a male Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia). That word: pruinose, which means frosted in appearance. Makes me think of blueberries which…
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Hooded Warbler
Hooded Warblers (Setophaga citrina) have been delighting me here in the mountains for many years. They spend the breeding season in eastern North America, and the winter in Central America and the West Indies. If you feed the birds during the summer, these birds generally won’t come to your feeders. They spend all their feeding moments gleaning…