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At The Garden Gate
Female Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), a summer resident at the garden gate. ________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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Well This Is A Bummer
This afternoon, roaming around, preparing for tonight’s blog post which would have been Ironweed (Vernonia). I happened to glance at one of the leaves of the Ironweed that I was going to photograph and there was a strange looking creature that looked as if it was dressed up for a masquerade ball. Unfortunately this gaudy…
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Abloom Up Here Now
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is blooming now, in many places. Often growing to a height of about 3.5 feet. Each plant is unbranched until near the top where the flowers appear. The blooms are in densely packed clusters that are either flat-topped or dome-shaped. Individual flowers have 3 to 8 ray florets and 10 to 40…
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On My Hike This Morning
Out on my hike, taking in all that Mother Nature has to show me this morning. Something catches my eye. It’s a Larger Elm Leaf Beetle (Monocesta coryli). A beautiful beetle in its remarkable colors, various shades of yellow and metalic blue-green. No surprise this beetle is often found on Elm trees but also on…
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Dr Seuss Flowers
Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) It seems to be a flower from a drawing by Dr Seuss and certainly one designed just for my Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. It’s a flower that always makes me think of fireworks and the 4th of July. Native to eastern North America, it’s a perennial plant that is 2 to 4 feet…
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A Very Tall Wildflower
Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus), an herbaceous perennial that can grow to 5 – 7 feet tall. A member of the Aster family (Asteraceae) which is native to eastern and central North America. The nectar and pollen of the Woodland Sunflower are quite popular with a wide variety of insects including bees, butterflies and skippers, flies,…
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One Of The Longhorn Beetles
A Zebra Long-horned Beetle (Typocerus zebra), chowing down on the pollen and nectar of a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). This is what all adult Long-horned Beetles eat, just the pollen and nectar of flowers. Their size is about 1/2 inch. And they are believed to be harmless. The larval host of these beetles are pine…
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Feeding The Babies
I caught the action today as mom and dad Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) were occupied feeding the little ones. Going out and coming back with butterfly and moth larvae, insects, snails, spiders, berries and seeds. Carrying a medium sized spider, going in for the nestlings. And now, off in search of more. ________________________________ If you…
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After More Than A Year
A Black Bear (Ursus americanus) meandered to the cabin today, after an absence of any bears for a bit more than a year. And before that there had not been a bear here for three years. Not a one. This absence was caused by a serious outbreak of sarcoptic mange. Seems slowly the bears around…