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Echinacea Hybrid
A photo from long long ago, when I didn’t have the wisdom to stick to native plants in my garden. Despite that, this is a favorite image. An Echinacea hybrid. Those petals such a beautiful warm color, accented by the soft yellow Crab Spider (Thomisidae), who has just captured its dinner. Those Echinacea plants have…
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Raucousness
One of two Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) that have decided there is food for them at the feeder. This one temporarily playing coy for the camera. Unlike the Blue Jay’s normal demeanor of pure raucousness. Birds with beautiful feathers, many shades of blue, are here around my cabin all year long. They certainly are the…
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White-breasted Nuthatch Again
It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen one. One feeder, and only one, has been up for just a few weeks. Today though, I was treated to the arrival of one White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). They’re usually permanent residents here. This is the look of a male White-breasted Nuthatch, black, gray, and white. The…
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Apple Pie With Green Chiles
It was an apple pie sort of morning. Mighty chilly outside. To say the least. Those apples had been wafting their aroma all around the room ever since they came into the cabin. My favorite for pies, McIntosh apples. Quartered, seeded, peeled, chopped into pieces, filled the waiting pie pan lined with Mom’s pie crust…
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Not Berries
In the vegetable garden there’s not much going on right now, except the parsley which is going crazy, enjoying the cold weather. Aside from that, there are what appear to be berries on the asparagus plants. Beautiful, small, perfectly round, scarlet. Though they resemble berries, they are actually seed pods, containing three or four seeds…
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The Sapsuckers Are Back
Elation at the cabin this afternoon as I spotted two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius). One took off before I was able to get a photo of both of them together, working on a Flowering Dogwood tree. They’ve returned to their winter home! The one that remained in this image is a female. Working to get…
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The Garden Gate
Tonight has me looking through photographs. Mainly snow pictures. I’m thinking perhaps I’ll come across an image that will be the perfect Christmas card. I’m not sure about this one, though I love it. It’s from February 6, 2010, part of my favorite winter, 72 inches total during the season. In this image, mighty deep…
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Robins Roaming Together For Winter Food
During the winter the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), here in Virginia changes its diet, eliminating invertebrates and switching to fruits and berries. Roaming, flocking, together with many other Robins, sometimes Cedar Waxwings joining in, looking for winter fruits, such as Holly berries, Juniper berries, Crabapples, Hawthorn berries. Emptying one location after another of those fruits.…
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Dressed For The Season
Three little Red Maple leaves (Acer rubrum) on a stump, dressed appropriately for the holiday. Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving! _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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Reeling With Joy
Such a comfort to go for a walk and find the soil is moist, after receiving 2.93 inches of rain yesterday. After being so dry for so long. I expect this is just an aberration, like the 2.12 inches of rain that fell from the sky on September 10th. An absolute tease. Who knows though.…