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Ice Storm After 4.5 Inches of Snow
No falling today, even though I’m out in The Incredible World of Ice and Snow. Walking in it feels like walking in a landscape filled with ice cubes. But OMG how beautiful. And along with the occasional drip drip drip there’s also the loud sound of snow and ice CRASHING to the glazed forest floor,…
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Cute Spider
Jumping Spiders (Phidippus) are to me nothing but charm. All of 1/8 to 3/4 inch long. They are not a threat to humans, but if they feel trapped or threatened they will bite. And they are venomous but that venom is not dangerous to people. They are carnivorous, eating for the most part small insects…
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Gregarious Cardinals
Quite the contrast to their breeding season during which Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are singularly territorial, winter is a time for them to hang out in flocks. Sitting in the blueberry bushes waiting their turn at the platform feeder. Waiting for a chance at the sunflower seeds. Or just sitting soaking up the sun enjoying…
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Mother Nature’s Art
When there is a weather forecast that includes freezing rain or snow or simply freezing temperatures, I’m all set, so is my camera. A vernal pool is a wonderful canvas for great artwork. Freezing temperatures and moisture, a magical mix. Mother Nature has created an ear worm! I’m hearing, “earth below us drifting falling” and…
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Snow Drops
The name is Snow Drop (Galanthus nivalis). This is what it looks like right now against my back steps as night time temperatures go down to well below freezing. It welcomes those temperatures and its namesake, snow, without a care. One very hardy plant that grows up from a bulb. A plant that is native…
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American Beech
Hawaiian shave ice. Snow collects in the cone shapes that American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaves make during the winter. It reminds me of a trip long ago. A trip to Hawaii to see a total solar eclipse. A trip to be introduced to Hawaiian shave ice, which brings me back to the subject of my…
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Which Chickadee?
In North America there are seven native species of chickadee. Two of those species are the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) which are found from New England to the West Coast along the northern tier of the United States and southern Canada, and the Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) which resides in southeastern U.S. The two species…
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Five Inches of Snow
It snowed overnight. Wet puffy snow has covered everything. I’ve been transported into a Christmas card waiting to be signed and sent on its way. It’s the second snow here this winter making winter seem a bit more like the way winters ought to be. The winters that I think of when I think back…
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Wood Frogs
I’m on the watch for the Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) to arrive at my little manmade pond. During the cold of winter Wood Frogs hibernate in the soil under leaf litter where their bodies go through freeze and thaw cycles depending on weather conditions. In mid February they awaken from their hibernation and search for…
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In Praise of Blueberries
In my yard I’ve got a good number of mature blueberry bushes. Twelve? Fourteen? Enough that I can stock my freezer with loads of quarts of luscious berries to last throughout the year. And the birds? They’re welcome to their share. I love that the berries entice them. Of the birds that come to enjoy…