Fleabane In Bloom

April 24, 2026

Like a tiny daisy, waiting to be picked and placed into a tiny vase. Perfect for a doll house. Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadlephicus).

Philadelphia Fleabane, like daisies, have disk flowers (they are the yellow at the center of the flower) and ray flowers (the white “petals” surrounding the yellow center). This Fleabane is in the aster (Asteraceae) family. Unlike true asters and daisies, this flower has more numerous and much thinner ray flowers.

Blooming along trails up here now, at the end of April.

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Wintercress On The Way To Buckhollow

April 23, 2026

For several years I drove up into Shenandoah National Park, as a master naturalist, along with friends as we worked to remove invasives at Buckhollow.

The scenery along the way is breathtaking, like this scene of a charming barn with a swath of lemon yellow, Wintercress (Burbarea vulgaris), and a few scattered dots of brilliant orange, California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), in the foreground.

Though neither of these plants are native to the area, they certainly create a stunning picture. Wintercress is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and California Poppy is native to western North America.

I enjoyed both the drive to get to that portion of the park as much as I enjoyed doing that work in the park. Pure pleasure.

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Wild Strawberries In Bloom

April 22, 2026

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), pollinated by many native bees, including Small Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa) and Sweat Bees (Halictidae), which often visit these blooms.

A tiny butterfly with a wingspan of about 1 inch, the Gray Hairstreak

These native strawberry plants are host plants to over 60 to 80 species of butterflies, moths, and skippers, including the Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus).

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Hummingbird Clearwing

April 21, 2026

A Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe), enjoying the nectar of apple blossoms on a cool spring day.

Though the Hummingbird Clearwing is a moth, it is diurnal, or active during the day — not nocturnal. They feed on flower nectar as adults, and have a long proboscis which they use to drink that nectar while hovering. This hovering action gives them the appearance of a small Hummingbird. From time to time I hear someone telling the story of seeing a tiny Hummingbird, but these are moths, not birds!

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Wild Geranium And Eastern Tailed Blue

April 20, 2026

A cluster of Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), just coming into bloom in the past couple days. Shortly those buds will be blooming too, filling the woods with pink.

If you look closely, at nearly the center of the picture, there is an Eastern Tailed Blue(Cupido comyntas) posing in a perfect manner. It’s a tiny butterfly that captivates me.

The dorsal (top) side of an Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas) is not often seen, as they typically rest with their wings closed. When they land they keep their wings up and closed, showing the ventral side (down), the dull gray side. The males’ dorsal side is a beautiful blue. The dorsal side of the females’ wings are dark gray, leaning a tiny bit toward blue during spring.

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Springbeauty

April 19, 2026

Virginia Springbeauty (Claytonia virginica) blooming right now. Open on bright sunny days, not open at night and not open on cloudy days. Native to eastern North America, and generally not found in Florida.

A small ephemeral perennial, growing to just 3 to 12 inches tall. The buds emerge from a stem between the plant’s two grass-like leaves. The blooms measure 1/2 to 3/4 inch across.

I’m always pleased to find these beauties every spring.

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Ubiquitous Tiger Swallowtails This Spring

April 18, 2026

While one of my sisters was visiting last weekend, she commented on the bounty of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus) that are here on the mountain this spring. I’ve noticed that too, and I’d use one of my Dad’s favorite words, ubiquitous, to describe the number that are around right now.

Dark form (female) of Tiger Swallowtail

And what a surprise – female Tiger Swallowtails are in two different color forms. The yellow one, like the one that you are used to seeing, and the black form, shown above. The black form is nearly all black, and commonly shows subtle black stripes, seen when the lighting and the viewer’s angle is just right. This color form has the appearance of a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) which discourages its predators with an unpleasant taste. The male is always the usual yellow and black.

Nature is amazing.

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Roundleaf Ragwort

April 17, 2026

Roundleaf Ragwort (Packera obovata), buds of deep rich purple that turn to lovely yellow as spring gets warmer. Growing along the trails and the roadside up here.

Native to eastern North America.

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Yellow Trillium Not Quite Native

April 15, 2026

Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum), native to the Southern Appalachian region, including Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky. Close, but not native to Virginia. In one of my gardens anyway, with a backdrop of Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) which is indeed native to Virginia.

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