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Dark-eyed Junco
I’ve always lived in an area where Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) are called snowbirds, since they migrate to the area for the winter. I had a surprise back in the summer 2014 when I went just a short distance from my cabin, up the mountain, to Shenandoah National Park and saw Juncos enjoying the warm…
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Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Another Orchid!
There’s another orchid out there waiting for you. Something to look for as you wander the woods during the winter (when there is no snow on the ground!). An EVERGREEN native orchid. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyear pubescens). Native to eastern North America. Actually one of the most common orchids on this part of the continent.…
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Hermit Thrush
After an absence of a couple months, they’re back at my berries and birdbath again. This is a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) going after berries of Smooth Sumac, which is a small tree that I really enjoy having in my yard because it attracts such interesting birds. I’ve tried to figure out how to entice…
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Black Walnut Bark
So many trees out there! Summer provides us with leaves to look at to recognize species, often right away. When winter arrives we’re left with very little hint as to what species of tree we might be looking at. Along with limb character, the tips and buds on branches, and the look of leaf scars,…
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Ash Trees
SNOW! Overnight I got six big inches of snow here at my cabin. Snow to me means photographs. Nature all dressed up in fancy sparkly dress. This afternoon my camera and I got our hiking boots on and went up the mountain. It has been much too long since we’ve been out to take in…
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Putty Root Orchid
An orchid that is native to eastern and central U.S., and Canada. Putty Root (Aplectrum hyemale). The world of Mother Nature is always filled with surprises. This plant provides one of those surprises. Its growth timing seems backward. In autumn the plant sends up ONE basal leaf to collect dappled sunlight during the fall, winter…
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Intrepid Daffodil
In the garden today – the intrepid daffodil. Sending fingers up to test out conditions. Or perhaps their bulbs are sending up periscopes to see if it’s safe. But for Daffodils things are just fine. They can take most anything. Even snow in late March. Tough as nails they stand up to wintery conditions. Surprise…
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Lucky Bird Day
Today was a lucky bird kind of day. And I didn’t even step outside. Mid-day I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) in one of the huge oak trees in front of my cabin. Not at all unusual here, but to see one, a HUGE and BEAUTIFUL bird, is to stop everything to admire the…
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Dogwood Buds In Ice
As I went to bed last night sleet and freezing rain were clicking at my skylight windows promising me a very good next day. There’s been hardly any snow so far this winter. Sleet and freezing rain with its resulting ice is NEARLY as wonderful to me as “take me back to my childhood” snow.…