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A Treasure Of Nature
May 2, 2025 A Red Trillium (Trillium erectum). One of many treasures of nature. On Hightop Mountain in Shenandoah National Park. This Trillium doesn’t produce nectar, but flies, beetles, and fungus gnats are attracted to the blossom’s unpleasant scent. They act as pollinators for these beautiful flowers. _______________________ If you would like to receive my…
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The First Turtle
April 30, 2025 On the way to yoga today, I saw my first Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) of the year. Something that I always do with such a sighting, particularly on my mountain road with hardly any traffic, I stopped, pulled out my camera and took pictures. Having a record of the markings on…
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They Are Back!
April 29, 2025 They arrived this afternoon. At least that’s when they came by to enjoy the bird baths. A male and female American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) adding their bright colors to the woods around the cabin. The image above is the male Redstart in his rich black and vivid orange. And this the female…
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Brilliant Color Is A Warning
April 28, 2025 This is a Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) wearing a red-orange color as a warning to predators. In all stages of their lives they are poisonous. Their skin secretes tetrodotoxin, a potent poison. During their land dwelling juvenile stage in life they are particularly toxic, therefore the warning. They start out living in…
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Seldom Seen
April 27, 2025 This blog post title, it is not the bluegrass group, The Seldom Scene, it’s about a bird that I hear often but rarely get an opportunity to capture in a picture. The Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus). Both male and female make a call that sounds like a Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) saying, “Myaaah!”…
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Philadelphia Fleabane
April 25, 2025 Blooming everywhere now. Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus), with blooms perfect for a doll house. Native to North America this Fleabane is found in almost all our states and Canada. Each bloom has many threadlike ray flowers, or petals, perhaps 150 to 400 that are white and also pink. The yellow center contains…
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Virginia State Insect
April 23, 2025 The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) pollinating apple blossoms, one of the steps in creating apples. The host plants of the Tiger Swallowtail are those in the Magnolia and Rose families. As an adult this butterfly enjoys a long life compared to many other butterflies, sipping the nectar of many flowers from…