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Pink Fog
Perhaps spring is here. Though the forecast for this coming Tuesday (the day this will be published) is for more snow. My Redbuds, Cercis canadensis, here in the mountains of central Virginia are just now showing the slightest signs, of thoughts of blooms. This picture, above, was taken 5 days ago, while our newest, 8 inches of…
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More Pie Heritage
Okay, my title says, “More Pie Heritage.” Some time ago, I wrote a blog referring to my “apple pie heritage”. This blog is about Funny Cake. So, am I talking about pie, or am I talking about cake? It is in a pie crust, but it is a cake, made with all the requirements for cake. And…
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Grumpy Birds
Those of you who are fortunate to have hummingbirds come to your garden, to get a sip from your feeder, or to enjoy the nectar provided by your flowers – you’ll know how intolerant they are. I’ve actually seen one hummingbird come up behind another, who is feeding, and hammer him on the head with…
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Juniper Berries
A pioneer tree or bush, depending on your thoughts, and its growing conditions, Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is often one of the first to move into a field that has been cleared. Eastern Red Cedars are actually Junipers. They play an important role in the lives of a long list of insects, birds…
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Poison Ivy Good?
I am highly allergic to Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). As a youngster, I never got a Poison Ivy rash, though I loved to romp in the unending woods directly behind my house. Vines to swing over the creek, forts my friends and I were out there constantly. In 1985 I had a wakeup call, with…
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Come Walk With Me
Ice storm overnight. Beauty beyond words. Walk carefully with me and I will show you some of that beauty. Watch your step. It is very slick. If this blog had a sound track, this is what it would look like. I don’t know what the music actually sounds like, but as I was working on…
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Black Bear Hibernation
Sleeping through some, or most of the winter, as Black Bears (Ursus americanus) do, has been referred to as winter sleep, carnivorean lethargy, dormancy or torpor. Now leading physiologists simply call this long sleep, hibernation. We humans sometimes get up in the middle of the night for a midnight snack. Black Bears are known to…
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Bear Signs
I see signs of Black Bear, Ursus americanus, up here in the mountains very often, though I don’t see the bears themselves frequently. An often seen sign of bear, is a pile of bear poop, or bear scat, a term used in more sophisticated company. Bear scat can weigh typically, one half pound, to one pound.…
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Sign Of Bears
Several times a year I see a Black Bear,Ursus americanus, in my yard. Black Bears are around nearly all the time. I know that they’ve been around, even when I don’t see them, due to signs that they leave me. Last night I wrote a blog about how I can tell that Black Bears, Ursus americanus, have…
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Just An Inch
Wednesday night, into Thursday morning, the weather forecast was for some rain, and maybe in the mountains a little snow. Hooray for elevation! It was beginning to stick when I hit the sack and Thursday morning I was greeted with an inch of snow on the grass. Given all the talk of the rain/snow line…