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A Snow Day
February 11, 2025 The snow started this morning at about 9:15, coming down at a good clip. That lasted a while and then it slowed, only to get serious again a bit before noon. And that has continued through the day. Beautiful, serious snow coming down. Even now nearly twelve hours after it first started…
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Still There For The Birds
February 10, 2025 Fruits, berries, or technically drupes of Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium). Waiting for birds to find them. As is the case here, sometimes it is well into winter before these drupes are discovered and eaten. A time when there are fewer things to eat. Located out by the end of my lane, I keep…
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Snowdrops By The Back Porch
February 9, 2025 Soon to open, Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis). Native to Europe. Though not native, it is a well behaved plant. Two leaves emerge from a bulb along with a single pedicel, or stem, with a solitary flower. Three to six inches tall. It is said that Snowdrops blooming indicate that spring is coming. However…
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And NOW There Is Power!
February 8, 2025 It is Saturday evening as I sit here typing this. You might recall on Thursday I posted a blog about my Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) which had been painted by Mother Nature with a thick, beautiful, coating of silvery ice. Early Thursday morning that ice event caused many many trees to come…
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Ice On The Filaments
February 7, 2025 Another plant that is a state flower. This is a Yucca Filamentosa (Yucca filamentosa). A species of Yucca that is native to Viriginia. The Yucca is the state flower of New Mexico, though there is no particular species mentioned in that designation. I’m taking advantage of that lack of stipulation since I…
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Sharp-shinned Hawk
February 5, 2025 What a surprise this afternoon after I refilled the birdbath. I was back inside when I noticed a Bluejay sized bird fly into the garden, then up into the Flowering Dogwood. Certainly not a Bluejay, just that size. A Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus). These hawks prey upon small birds for the most…
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Box Elder Samaras
February 4, 2025 Box Elder (Acer negundo), a species of Maple that is native to much of eastern North America and in many scattered areas throughout the rest of the continent, all the way south to Guatemala. There is even a Box Elder County in Utah. These are seeds of Box Elder, called helicopters or…
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An Emerging Redbud
February 3, 2025 One determined tiny Redbud (Cercis canadensis) trying its best to survive. Emerging from the leaf litter. Hanging out above the leaf of a Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana). In looking for an answer as to why the leaf of this small seedling would be red and not green, I find an answer in…
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Two Cardinals
February 2, 2025 Two Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) in a Flowering Dogwood tree (Cornus florida) about two weeks ago, puffed up against the very cold temperatures. That day, and today, quite similar. High temperature for both days only creeping to the mid-thirties. Cardinals are monogamous, staying together from the mating season through the winter. Some Cardinals…