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Hickory
Leaves emerging on Hickory (Carya) trees looking like hands reaching out into spring. Those leaves that emerge are pinnately compound leaves. Each leaf is made up of leaflets that are connected along both sides of the leaf stalk. The number of those leaflets varies from one Hickory species to another. It is always a remarkable…
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Blooms To Berries
A good distance up past our gate, at the edge of the narrow dirt road, there is a patch of Solomon’s Plume (Maianthemum racemosum) blending in with the other plants so that they’re hardly noticed. The herbaceous perennials each send up a single, unbranched stem. This stem is topped with a panicle of 20 to…
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Stellafane ’90
This is Stellafane ’90, a quilt inspired by one of many trips to an annual telescope makers convention and star party. My son, Kevin, and I went to those star parties for nearly 20 years. I was reminded of this quilt when a rare event happened in the sky a week ago, when Northern Lights…
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Sweet Rain!
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum) The end of April, so very hot and no rain for such a long time. No rain for nearly the whole month. Spiderwort (Tradescantia) Now it has cooled off with temperatures that seem normal, maybe even a bit cooler than normal. Most welcome temperatures. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) And now sweet, sweet rain.…
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Another Milkweed
This is Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia). The flowers can be white, or a subtle shade of pink or lavender. Monarch butterflies have a single host plant for the survival of their larvae —Milkweed. There are several dozen native species of Milkweed in North American. This Fourleaf Milkweed is native to the eastern US and Canada,…
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Leaves Like Maples
About to bloom up here in the mountains. Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium). The common name of Maple-leaf Viburnum is because of the resemblance of this Viburnum’s leaves to a Maple (Acer). The flowers are in flat-headed panicles, with each individual flower being 1/4 inch across. The leaves of Maple-leaf Viburnum grow up to five inches…
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Iris For Mom
My Mom loved Iris. I think perhaps purple Iris were her favorite. Butterflies love them too. This is a species I enjoy. A tiny Iris that is short in stature with a flower that measures 2.5 inches across. Native to southern and midwestern United States. Dwarf Crested Iris (Iris cristata). Happy Mother’s Day. _______________________________________________________________________ If…
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Northern Lights
Thanks to series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun I was able to go out and capture an image of the Northern lights (aurora borealis) tonight. A rare treat for central Virginia! That bright star you see nearly at the center of the picture is Vega. _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like…
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Like A Fingerprint
A handsome male Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) rambling across the road. This is my first this season to give a helping hand across the road and into a safe environment again. What intricate patterns they have on their shells. Those patterns are just like our fingerprints. You can identify a Box Turtle by the…