Chatterbox Neighbor

A tiny guy that I see and hear every day. It is quite the chatterbox and if I didn’t know better I would think that it was scolding me. But surely that isn’t the case. We’re neighbors after all.

It is at the feeder often and every evening it will choose either the bird house by the front door, or the basket by the back door in which to roost.

My chatterbox neighbor, a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a most entertaining creature.

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Company On A Mini-hike

A mini-hike today, filled with loads of nature. Several Mourning Cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa) fluttering around me enjoying the warmth of this late winter day. One of the earliest species of butterfly to be seen in late winter since they overwinter as adults. This one looking pretty ragged, like it has had a tough time through the winter.

And oh! The sounds of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) were all around me. Their soft beautiful warbling made me totally glad I was outside to hear them.

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Just The Beginning

Yesterday I took a look where the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) usually come up and sure enough, there they were. Just as I expected. Little purplish-green leaves coming up through the soil.

Given 3 or 4 weeks and this is what the plants will look like. They bloom for about 3 weeks.

What a splendid way to celebrate spring.

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Honey Pinkgill Mushroom

Well this morning was quite a surprise. I went out to fill the bird feeder and as I stepped off the back porch there was a sprinkling of tiny mushrooms looking up at me. When I say “tiny” I mean that the largest caps were less than an inch across. Perhaps 20 of them, minus 1 so I could get photos of the gills.

I haven’t seen any mushrooms for 5 or 6 months. And these are not ones I’ve ever seen before. Honey Pinkgill Mushroom (Entoloma cetratum).

What fun! And in my own backyard. No hiking involved.

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Tiny Pond Lots Of Clacking Day And Night

They have been out there in the little pond since at least February 11th clacking away day and night. They’re having a ball in their breeding season. Meeting up at the neighborhood little pond.

Eggs in the water, waiting for the season to move along. Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus).

Nature is great entertainment. All one has to do is pay attention.

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Redbuds Soon To Be Pink

The Eastern Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are preparing for their annual PINK spring celebration. Their red buds are coming out soaking up the sunshine in preparation for loads of blossoms. For me, here in the mountains, that will be a wait of 3 or 4 weeks. And during the time when they are in full bloom I will watch for foggy days when the light is just right. If that light is just right I’ll be ecstatic, seeing pink fog!

And those pink flowers have an odd practice that is shared with perhaps 100 species of plants the world over. They are cauliflorous. This means their flowers can develop on any part of the tree. The flowers can spring up on the main trunk of the tree, on twigs, or on older branches. This strange flower placement is scattered among a wide variety plant families.

Looking forward to plowing headlong into astronomical spring!

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Yellow Blooms

March 1st. Happy meteorological spring! Right on time, Daffodils (Narcissus) are celebrating.

There are years when snow greets the first of the Daffodils. This image is from one of those years. March 3, 2016 to be exact. Makes no difference to the flowers, they just pop back up and shake the snow off. They’re tough.

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One Of The Woodpeckers

A year round resident, year round in most of the eastern US. A medium sized woodpecker. A female Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus).

It showed up this morning teasing me with poses that didn’t last very long but I managed to get a few pictures.

This makes me think, I’ve got to get into the kitchen and whip up some suet for the woodpeckers. They love it.

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Rain This Afternoon

Rain this afternoon. Drops of water hanging on the ends of needles.

If you look close enough at those drops of water perhaps you’ll get a glimpse of world around you.

These needles capturing the rain are the needles of one of our native trees, Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana). The needles are 1.5 to 3 inches long, growing in twisted pairs.

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Bluebird Visit Today

Well, that certainly was a pleasant surprise. An Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) dropped by for a visit this morning. It wasn’t alone. I could hear others singing their sweet songs in the woods, though I only saw one.

They live in this general location year round, but only occasionally right here. I’ve been putting out raisins and mealworms to get their attention. Perhaps that is why I saw this one? Maybe. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I will be seeing them again daily. It has happened in the past. Maybe again soon.

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