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Red Berries Red Leaves
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). Leaves that, in a subtle way, start to turn from green to red in late June. You have to look and be very aware. It is indeed quite a minuscule change at first. After all it takes months to reach this point of rich red. And those berries. The ultimate scarlet.…
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Jack-O-Lantern Season
Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom (Omphalotus illudens) Maybe not the Jack-O-Lantern that first comes to mind. This one is a fungus. And a mushroom that is toxic to humans whether they are eaten cooked or raw. This one can easily be confused with edible Chanterelles. Don’t eat the Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms! This mushroom has a faint glow in the dark,…
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American Dagger Moth Caterpillar
American Dagger Moth Caterpillar (Acronicta americana). There is a long list of host plants of the American Dagger Moth, Box Elder, Maple, and Oak are three of many. One of those caterpillars that can cause a skin irritation. No venom involved but it can cause that skin irritation. Unless you like a painful or itchy…
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The Pumpkin Patch
There is a very important tradition in this family. Go to a pumpkin patch before Halloween to pick out a pumpkin. A most difficult decision when there are so many to chose from. But nobody said just ONE! Choosing one would be an impossible task. There are so many colors. And surely color is my…
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Fat Bear Week
Fat Bear Week is celebrated in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska from October 4 to 10 in 2023. The competition is between the Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) that live in that park. And all Grizzly Bears are Brown Bears. But Grizzly Bears are considered to be a separate subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis). The…
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October Is Pumpkin Month
Glad to see that October is National Pumpkin Month, otherwise I might have gone on a campaign to get the month set aside as such. After all they’re everywhere and in so many good things to eat. Flowers, seeds, and the flesh of the fruit itself, so nutritious. As well as, soon to be sitting…
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Another Year Of Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
The ubiquitous, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys). Or simply the BMSB. It is for sure ubiquitous around my cabin now. It is their season it seems. Certainly their season to try to enter homes to spend the winter. This photograph is just a few of the BMSBs on a window screen, waiting for an…
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Virginia Creeper In October
Today, the first day in October. And here, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), a gorgeous red in early autumn. Those red leaves as well as the berries should not be eaten, at least by humans. The berries are quite popular with birds during the winter, but they and the leaves contain teeny tiny, needle shaped calcium…
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Drama At The Web
Spiders love to decorate for Halloween, and I appreciate it so much. They spin their webs all over my cabin, making it look wondrously spooky. This is the species of spider that created the web where this drama occurred today at lunch. A Spotted Orb Weaver (Neoscona crucifera). As I sat eating lunch, I noticed…