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In A State of Torpor
Imagine, right now in the cold of winter, there are adult Mourning Cloak Butterflies (Nymphalis antiopa) hunkering down waiting for spring. Hunkering down in cracks in rocks, under loose tree bark, in tree cavities. They manage to do this in a state of torpor, which is similar to hibernation. As spring arrives, this butterfly’s task…
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Mighty Cold
One day later and it was mighty cold this morning at the yoga studio, 28°. The newly filled vernal pool pleased me with its thin covering of ice. I always bring along my camera, and Mother Nature did the rest. _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up…
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Winter And Some Trees Still Have Leaves
This afternoon’s sun, lighting up the marcescent leaves of an American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). Trees that have marcescent leaves are trees that keep their leaves until spring when new leaves begin to grow and push the old leaves off and to the ground. It is still uncertain why this happens. There are thoughts though, including…
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I Need To Make Some Suet For The Birds
Seeing movement some distance from me, I focused my attention on what was going on. Turns out it’s a male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) visiting me today. This is the smallest woodpecker in North America. One that I often see, all year long. They’re fascinating and having them here year ’round makes me feel quite…