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A Blue Jay
February 1, 2026 They come around in an aggressive manner. Noisy. With quick actions that appear confrontational. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), a bird in the Corvidae, or Crow family, native to eastern North America. In its scientific name, Cyanocitta cristata, the genus name Cyanocitta comes from two Greek words kyaneos, or blue, and kitta as…
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Barns
January 31, 2026 I enjoy capturing barns in pixels. There’s a charm about them. A story waiting to be told. I have more pictures of this one than any other, in all seasons of the year. It’s one that I pass several times a week on my way to yoga. If there were no fog…
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Hoarfrost And Pitch Pine
January 29, 2026 A picture from Monday of this week, January 26th. First thing that morning, I looked out hoping to find trees coated with beautiful ice. Instead I saw something just as lovely but more subtle, hoarfrost. Hoarfrost happens when surfaces, such as these Pitch Pine needles (Pinus rigida), become colder than 32°, the…
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Blizzard Of ’66
January 28, 2026 Oh, the memories! The bizarre weather that we are having right now makes me think of The Blizzard of ’66, January 1966. It brought us a total of 29 inches of snow in Seabrook/Lanham, Maryland. That’s me sitting on our driveway surrounded by tons of snow from the storm. The result? No…
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Fluffed Against The Cold
January 27, 2026 Like most mornings recently it was mighty cold this morning. Actually it was 10° when I took this picture. This tan striped White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) was fluffed up to keep warm while getting its breakfast of hulled sunflower seeds. By fluffing up their feathers, birds are creating trapped body heat against…
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Design In The Snow
January 26, 2026 The storm has been interesting. Lots of snow. Then lots of sleet, creating a strange surface. One that looks like a nice accumulation of snow, but I’m able to walk across it staying on top. No sinking in. No foot prints. This image, a design left by the snow and sleet. _______________________…
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A Day for Staying Inside
January 25, 2026 An amazing winter storm coming through. Snow, sleet, freezing rain. A day to stay inside. A day for flannel lined jeans, a warm sweater, and some orchids to enjoy. Many thanks to Anne, a yoga buddy, for the orchid a couple years ago. It’s still doing great. _______________________ If you would like…
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Another Native Orchid In The Wintery Woods
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) is a plant that looks very delicate, though it is an evergreen. This is what it looks like in the middle of the winter. And it occasionally lives on rock surfaces rather than in soil. A mighty tough plant. It’s one of the 64 species of Orchid that are native…
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On The Back Porch
January 23, 2026 Looking forward to snow coming down Saturday evening into Sunday. The talk is, several inches. We’ll see what actually happens. I’m hoping! This, the back porch with tracks of little feet. January 2017. _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!