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. Rain coming down landing on the plants that need that moisture.

The plants in these photos are hydrophobic, meaning they tend to repel water. Look around your yard when it’s raining, or just after a rain if you prefer. You’ll see some leaves that look wet, other leaves, the ones that are hydrophobic, look like these photos. With water droplets ready to roll off.

The rain drops add something, something like an added touch of color to a painting. Making that painting complete. I love to see the rain drops.

The sweet rain – yesterday’s .98 inches and (as I write this at 9:34pm) today’s .41 inches – just what those thirsty plants need.

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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, where it is often found in dry, rocky, open woodland. Much like the conditions here on my mountain.

Fourleaf Milkweed is a perennial herb which grows to about 20 inches tall. Aside from the Monarch butterflies, its flowers are a source of nectar for bees, other butterflies, and many other insects.

So many plants to discover and enjoy as I hike.

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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 long and are opposite in arrangement.

The flowers turn to drupes (or berries) that are popular with birds. The leaves are beautiful in autumn becoming a golden color created with hues of red, purple and pink. This is a small Viburnum, a height of 6 feet is only rarely attained.

These Viburnums are found in the eastern and central United States.

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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.

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Another Arrival

The Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea) have arrived for the summer, adding more bright color to the woods. They love birdbaths, small seeds, and fruits.

My blueberries will be ripe soon. I’ll be happy to share them with the Indigo Buntings.

Something that astounds me is that they frequently migrate at night using celestial navigation. Amazing.

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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.

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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 pattern on its carapace (the top of its shell). I take a picture of each turtle that I help across the road and make note of where it was. The Common Box Turtle has a home range with a diameter of about (just!) 750 feet. Home ranges of these turtles often will overlap.

The Common Box turtle can live to be 25 to 30 years old. Some have lived to be 40 to 50 years old and a few lucky ones have been recorded to live beyond 100 years.

How special that they can live that long. Maybe with the help of people who stop to help them across the road.

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Going To Seed

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) a perennial herb, native to Eastern North America. It’s decorating the landscape everywhere up here now. Rich pink dots of color can be found in endless places. Charming spring.

Flowers though, in the lower elevations are coming to the end of their lives, slowly becoming seed pods with a fun surprise included in each one. Those pods have fibers inside that begin to coil up, spring-like, as they ripen and dry.

That coiling creates tension inside the pod allowing those spring-loaded seeds to be flung a good distance from the plant.

This is what those spring-loaded seeds were tossed from. This is what is left after the seeds are gone, only an empty capsule left. I think this is something fun to see, making my imagination run wild. It looks like a miniature carousel or a tiny fairy in a ballet performance or any number of other tiny things.

           

Calling All Hummingbirds

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) blooming abundantly right now, to welcome the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds back from their wintering grounds in Central America. Long tubular orangish-red flowers, seem to be designed just for the clowns of summer.

Coral Honeysuckle is native to the eastern United States. Its opposite leaves, growing directly below the blooms are fused at the stem forming a cup which catch rain drops creating enchanting little puddles.

These flowers continue blooming through the summer though not quite as enthusiastically as in the spring.

And they’re beautiful.

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Delicate Yellow In May

Hiking along the trails up here in the mountains during May you might find this splendid herbaceous perennial. With rich yellow blooms, this is Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea).

The native range of Golden Alexanders is the eastern and central US where it can grow to 2.5 feet tall.

The host plant of the Black Swallowtail butterfly.

Finding these plants in bloom while out roaming is pure delight.

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