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Newly Emerged Leaves
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) leaves just beginning their growth. But why are they red? The red coloring often seen in new leaves is because of anthocyanin, a pigment which give those leaves that coloring. As the leaves mature and begin the process of photosynthesis, they gain the green pigment, chlorophyll, which gives them the coloring which…
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A Bush With A View
Way up the mountain, in a power line right of way, lives a quite large Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia). A Mountain Laurel with a beautiful view down the mountain. That view glowing in the sunshine. What a lovely day for a hike. And perfect timing for finding this pale pink bush in full bloom. Native…
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Two More Tempted By The Birdbath
Like the Red-eyed Vireo that I wrote about yesterday, two Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) showed up at the birdbath yesterday afternoon as well. And like the Vireo, I’ve been hearing the distinctive rapid trilling which nearly sounds as if it’s from a machine – that sound that the Chipping Sparrows make. I didn’t have much…
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Taking A Dip
I’ve been hearing them for some time now with their unmistakable song of, “Here I am. Where are you?” The Red-eyed Vireos (Vireo olivaceus) have come back from their wintering grounds in the Amazon basin of South America. They return to their same breeding grounds every year which pleases me. A couple years ago a…
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Wild Blueberries
My hike this morning took me way up the mountain to where there are precious little Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum) bushes. I missed their blooms, but green berries are on the bushes now and soon they will become a meal for some bird or other animal up there. These bushes usually grow to be 9…
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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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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,…