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A Good Start To Spring
March 20, 2025 Happy first day of spring! It’s been a mighty nice start to the new season. I don’t think “normal” would be an appropriate word to describe how things have been this year. Perhaps “expected” would be a better word. This image is from March 22, 2018. And I have oodles of other…
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The Owl Is Here Again!
March 19, 2025 I’m pleased to realize that this Barred Owl (Strix varia) hangs out here a good bit. It showed up again this evening, as dessert was being served, and stayed on that same Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) branch for more than an hour. It’s the same branch I captured it on many days…
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Sure Looks Like Asparagus
March 17, 2025 This the emerging tip of of a flower stalk on a Yucca Filamentosa (Yucca filamentosa), taken in May 2023. Sure looks like an asparagus spear to me, and with good reason. Yucca plants and asparagus belong to the same plant family, which is Asparagaceae. Don’t try eating that asparagus looking Yucca tip…
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Slickrock Paintbrush
March 16, 2025 A plant to be admired for its determination and ability to sprout where its seeds are scattered. In cracks in rocks high up on steep walls at Zion National Park, where I managed to capture a picture. This plant has an appropriate common name, Slickrock Paintbrush (Castilleja scabrida). That brilliant red, by…
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First Butterfly Of Late Winter/Early Spring
March 15, 2025 Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa), native to North America and Eurasia. These butterflies have a remarkable lifespan, living as adults for 10 to 12 months, much longer than the normal life span of 2 to 4 weeks. As adults they feed on sap, ripe and fallen fruits, and honeydew from aphids. These…
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And Now Toad Eggs
March 14, 2025 Yesterday I wrote about Frog and Salamander Eggs. In the picture above are some eggs that are different. They’re the eggs of an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus). I found them in a small stream running alongside the road further up the mountain. Frog eggs are always in eggmasses. Salamander eggs are sometimes…
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Frogs And Salamanders
March 13, 2025 They have partied and now there are eggmasses in my vernal pool. These two clumps are the eggs of Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). They contain from 1,000 to 3,000 eggs each. They hatch 9 to 30 days later, in part depending on the temperature of the water. Warmer water encouraging hatching more…
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Here Comes Spring
March 12, 2025 Daffodil (Narcissus). No Daffodils are native to North America. They’re native to southern Europe and North Africa, with the main concentration being in the Western Mediterranean on the Iberian Peninsula. Most species of Daffodil bloom in late winter to spring, but there are five species that march to the beat of their…
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An Orchid At The Table
March 11, 2025 An Orchid (Orchidaceae) greets me as I take a seat at the dinner table. It blooms year after year. Like most houseplants, it’s not a native plant. A kind gesture from a dear friend that I see occasionally at yoga. It came as quite a surprise to me, as I have become…