I love rich bright colors. This certainly fills the bill.
A Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus), with its wonderful contrast of bold black stripes against crisp pure white, sipping nectar from the brilliant orange blooms of Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa).
Pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba) are the primary host plant for Zebra Swallowtails. These trees create the perfect environment and provide nutrients that are needed for proper development of the larvae of these butterflies.
A butterfly I love to see, which surely makes me happy that there are so many Pawpaw trees up here!
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A pop of bold color, hot pink, here and there up here. Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria), a native to Europe. A well behaved annual or biennial that is by no means invasive. A bloom that measures 1/3 to 1/2 inch across.
A fun feature of this plant is its explosive seed capsule. When that capsule is ready to disperse the seeds it splits open with great force, catapulting the seeds several yards away.
One of my many favorites.
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I’ve been watching the buds for what seems like forever. Today flowers on my Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) finally began to open. A Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) came by to enjoy the nectar of the blooms, one of their favorite food sources.
The blossoms of Butterfly Weed are also popular with bees, other butterflies, and hummingbirds. And it’s the host plant of the Queen and the Monarch butterfly.
I’m hoping I can propagate more of this plant for my garden. Not only do I love the pollinators that it attracts but I thoroughly enjoy its rich orange glow.
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Just the beginning of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) bloom time. A native flower that attracts all sorts of pollinators. Bees, hummingbirds, skippers, and butterflies like this Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele).
Ah spring and summer! So many splendid flowers!
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Butterflies are usually brightly colored creatures. This one not so much. But it is not a moth. Grayish-tan with eyespots that may be for startling predators. A Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela).
The word “little” in its common name is appropriate. Its wingspan is just 1.5″ to 1.75″. The host plant of the Little Wood Satyr is various species of grasses. As adults they rarely go to flowers but rather feed on oozing tree sap, rotten or fermenting fruit, solid animal wastes, and dead animals.
A butterfly that is native to eastern North America.
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A small bird with a long tail. Its total length, just 4″ to 5″, weighing a quarter of an ounce, about the weight of a nickel. Here, perching on the ferns of asparagus. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) sitting still for a split second for a photo. They seem to always be in motion.
They are here during breeding season. Eating insects, insect eggs, and spiders, sometimes catching the insects while in flight. The males are great participants in family life, working to help build their cup-shaped nests, helping to incubate the eggs, and helping to raise and feed the babies.
These little birds seem to enjoy collecting their meals in the vegetable garden. I hope they sense my appreciation.
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We discovered this tiny bunny as we were roaming. It was deep in the grass, though I’m sure, it was thinking the grass was certainly not deep enough. Trying ever so much to become invisible. Trying very hard to tell us, “You can’t see me!” We continued our wandering after I got a picture. Leaving it alone to feel safe again.
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus).
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Yum! Black Raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) native to eastern North America. Just beginning to ripen up here. They look quite similar to Allegheny Blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis) which also grow up here in the mountains.
Black Raspberries grow on bushes that have pale green stems and the berries are round, while Blackberries are longer than they are wide, and a bit larger than Black Raspberries. Another difference, Black Raspberries are hollow. Blackberries are solid. Black Raspberries also have a bloom similar to what is seen on Blueberries, though Blackberries do not have a bloom.
Yum, Black Raspberries are also sweeter than Blackberries.
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Today while out on an errand, a Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentia) was spotted alongside the road but past experience kept any help from occurring. Their necks are what gives them the specific epithet, serpentia, meaning “snake-like”. No matter how they are lifted, that head can come back and bite.
This image is of a baby Snapping Turtle that ambled through the yard a few years ago and decided to make my pond its home for a while. It was tiny compared to the one that was seen today.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Snapping Turtle and learning while it was living in the pond.
This turtle, like other turtles, has a shell called a carapace, over the top of their back. As it gets older it continues to get larger, generally being 8″ to 18.5″ long. Its tail is nearly as long as the carapace, and that muscular neck with the snapping mouth, that you must watch out for, is maybe 1/2 to 3/4 the length of the carapace. It’s a solitary creature whose life span is maybe 30 to 40 years.
This fun creature lived out there in the pond for 5 years. I have no idea where it went. Surely looking for another adventure.
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