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American Chestnut Bur!
Those of you that know me, know that I’m extremely interested in the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), the blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) that came close to totally wiping out the species, and the work being done by The American Chestnut Foundation. So you can imagine how surprised I was yesterday afternoon while I was out with…
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Hydrophobic
Hydrophobic, meaning water-repellent. Many plants have hydrophobic leaves and they can be found looking for them while it’s raining, or soon after it stops. This one is Virginia Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana). Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) is also hydrophobic. The reasons that leaves might be hydrophobic are many. One reason is to protect the plant from…
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Dot-Lined White Moth
With the look of a tiny stuffed animal wrapped in a white fluffy fur coat, this is a Dot-lined White Moth (Artace cribrarius). Wingspan of one to nearly two and a half inches, males are smaller than females. These moths are generally found in the eastern United States. Their larval host plants are species of…
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Surprise, Surprise!
What a delightful surprise this morning. Well, actually not really a surprise, but after almost a whole week of fog, drizzle, rain, and no sunshine – there it was, the sun was out creating lovely shadows all over the mountain! I grabbed my dear camera and the two of us roamed with thoughts of capturing…
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A Queen
Roaming with my camera a couple days ago as the drizzle came down, I came upon an Eastern Yellow Jacket (Vespula maculifrons). This one though was larger than I’m used to seeing. Turns out it is a queen Yellow Jacket. The size difference? The worker Yellow Jacket is about 1/2 inch long and the queen…
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Drizzle On Winged Sumac
Today more drizzle, fog, and rain. And the moisture only makes the color of the Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum) *pop* even more. This deciduous shrub or tree is a fun to find. When its flowers are blooming, mid-summer, the whole tree buzzes loudly with all the bees that are collecting nectar and pollen. And now,…