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Swainson’s Thrush Migrating Through
October 29, 2025 Leaving its breeding grounds of northern North America, from Alaska and Canada down the Rocky Mountains into parts of the northeastern United States. Now migrating through Virginia, a Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), on its way to its winter home in Mexico, Central America, or South America. In the first image, notice the…
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Waiting For A Chestnut Miracle
October 28, 2025 American Chestnut (Castanea dentata). Once abundant in its native range of the eastern United States, principally in the Appalachian Mountains. It was at what is now the Bronx Zoo, in the borough of The Bronx, New York City, that the Chestnut Blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) was first discovered in 1904, by 1906 it…
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A Smart Bird In A Family Of Smart Birds
October 27, 2025 The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), in the Corvidae family. There are more than 120 species of birds in this family, including Crows, Ravens, Magpies, Nutcrackers, and of course Jays. Aside from sharing similar traits like having strong beaks and long tails, they also share the trait of being highly intelligent. They will…
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Eastern Redbud
October 25, 2025 Seed pods of Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) with colorful autumn leaves in the background. As you might guess from those seed pods, the Eastern Redbud tree belongs to the family Fabaceae, the legume or pea family. _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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Picking The Perfect Pumpkin
October 24, 2025 Picking the perfect pumpkin is such a weighty decision to make. Your Halloween celebration will be dependent upon your choice. To my mind the one most important part of that decision is what does the stem look like. Does it have an exquisite twist to it? To me, that is the determining…
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Standing Beneath A Huge White Oak
October 23, 2025 It’s peak of the magical, colorful season of autumn, and participating in the event is a huge White Oak (Quercus alba) growing alongside the road coming up my mountain. Branches as big as a normal sized tree, twisting and turning to show off its brilliant contribution. _______________________ If you would like to…
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Cushaw Squash
October 21, 2025 A wagonload of Cushaw Squash (Cucurbita argyrosperma), occasionally found at pumpkin patches in this area. Cultivated in the South and Southwestern United States as well as Mexico. It is a winter squash that is commonly found at the same time that pumpkins are abundant. Weighing in at 5 to 25 pounds, Cushaw…