March 25, 2025
Often I’ll hear it calling its name before I see it. A Phoebe (Savornis phoebe) who often flicks its tail.
An insect eating bird that will take off from its perch in pursuit of its prey and return to that same spot to eat it. A solitary bird, so the one I see often around the cabin is indeed just one.
Glad to have it around eating insects.
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March 24, 2025
A small native flower that doesn’t get much attention. Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), native to eastern North America. In bloom right now.
This is one of those plants that has seeds that are attractive to ants. The ants gather them, take them to their nest and feed their larvae the nutritious portion of the seed, called the eliasome. They then discard the rest of the seed in the nest’s trash room where it stays and sprouts. A process called myrmecochory.
I watch for these plants to emerge and bloom every year. They’re early. And they’re subtle. Easy to miss.
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March 23, 2025
Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are budding out, soon to become charming clouds of pink scattered throughout the trails here in the mountains.
Those buds don’t just occur on twigs. Redbud trees send out buds directly on the tree’s trunk and large branches as well. This behavior is called cauliflory and is found not only in trees but also in some bushes and woody vines. It is found most often in the tropics in trees such as breadfruit, cacao, some figs and papayas.
I love to see the clouds of pink in the woods. It’s particularly enchanting on a foggy day.
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March 22, 2025
On the bushes right now.
Buds form for the following June in late summer and early autumn. Seems much preparation is in order for blueberries to happen. All winter long the buds sit. Waiting. And now spring is upon us and the bushes are taking signals — length of day and temperature. Things seem to be going well since the buds are expanding, soon to become blossoms. Soon after, Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) magically appear.
Nature is marvelous.
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March 21, 2025
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).
Though they are here in the area year round they aren’t in my yard all the time. They just pop in from time to time. Two days ago was one of those days when I had a special treat. A special visitor dressed in blue, with a soft sweet song.
Here he is, eyeing the birdbath. Thinking of taking a plunge.
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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 pictures of Daffodils (Narcissus) inundated with snow from many years in the past. Weather is just so fickle.
I’m thoroughly enjoying seeing color emerge throughout the woods. SPRING!
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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 ago. It watched intently as songbirds ate hulled sunflower seeds on the ground and woodpeckers worked at the suet in the feeders. Demonstrating to me how easily it can turn its head 270 degrees in either direction.
Surely it could see me as I was taking pictures and showed no concern. Same reaction as when I captured the Barred Owl in flight a while back. Same one? Probably.
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March 18, 2025
I was surprised as I stepped out the back door this afternoon, as I looked around and saw my Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) blooming. I had been wanting to see some native plants blooming but it hadn’t occurred to me to think about what those blooms might be. Yay spring!
Bloodroot is a plant that fascinates me because of its relationship with ants and myrmecochory. Myrmecochory involves an ant-plant interaction. The plant, Bloodroot in this case, has a seed with an attachment called an elaiosome that is attractive to ants because of its lipids, amino acids, or other nutrients. Ants gather these seeds and take them to their nest where they are consumed by ant larvae. The seeds are then discarded. Makes me think of the ants as farmers.
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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 though, it will taste like soap.
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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 the way, those are not petals but bracts. Bracts like you see on Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) or Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). All three of these have flowers that seem to have obvious petals but those petals are actually bracts.
Slickrock Paintbrush can be found mainly in Utah and Colorado, though it is native to Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. It grows at elevations of 3,900 to 9,200 feet.
I don’t think it would be happy here at all.
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