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Sassafras Albidum
October 10, 2025 Oh October! The month of COLOR! Here, Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is just beginning to celebrate. A fragrant tree, in all its parts, that grows to 30 – 60 feet tall with trunks that are 1 – 2 feet across, and sometimes larger. With gray-brown, deeply ridged and furrowed bark on older trees.…
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Caterpillar Of Spicebush Silkmoth
October 9, 2025 The caterpillar, or larval stage, of a Spicebush Silkmoth (callosamia promethea). The host plants of these moths are Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Sassafras (Sasssafras albidum), Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipfera), Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), White Ash (Fraxinus americana), Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Birches (Betulaceae), Maples (Sapindaceae), and Lindens (Tilia). As adults these…
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Black-throated Green Warbler
October 8, 2025 Another of the many creatures that are migrating through right now. A Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) making its way south. Going to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Jamaica, northern South America, with some choosing to stay in southern Texas or Florida. Here it’s captured heading to the birdbath for a…
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Witch Hazel Blooms Of October
October 6, 2025 They make me think of shredded coconut. The late in the season flowers of Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) each have 4 petals and 4 sepals. Those petals are tape-like, about .75 inches long, often distorted and twisted. Usually the blooms are soft or bright yellow, though occasionally you might come across this…
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On Their Way!
October 5, 2025 The last of the migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) came through a couple days ago, getting refills of energy at the Zinnias (Zinnia) that are in the garden. I captured this one in pixels and was surprised to see that I actually got a picture of its tongue reaching into the flower…
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What Is A Skipper?
October 4, 2025 Here, a Sachem Skipper (Atalopedes campestris), on a Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). What is a Skipper? A Skipper is a type of Butterfly. And a Moth is another type of insect in the same order as the Butterflies and Skippers, Lepidoptera. Butterflies, Skippers and Moths tend to be a bit confusing. Their differences…
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Painted Lady On Pineapple Sage
October 3, 2025 I’m very dedicated to sowing natives in my gardens but there are some plants that tell me that there needs to be an exception where they are concerned. For the autumn I put in non-natives, Zinnias (Zinnia), Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia), and Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) seen here. I plant them for…
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Paper Wasp On Goldenrod
October 2, 2025 Goldenrod (Solidago) produces beautiful, prolific blooms in late summer and early autumn. Its pollen is heavy, sticky, and not airborne like the green flowers of Ragweed (Ambrosia). In order to have an allergic reaction to Goldenrod you would in all probability have physical contact with it, and not simply by breathing in…
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Native Beautyberry
October 1, 2025 American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). Native to the southern United States, from Virginia south to Florida, and west to Texas. Please use caution if you are interested in getting this native shrub from a nursery. There sometimes 4 species of Beautyberry sold at your local nursery. The one you want has the scientific…