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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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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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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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. 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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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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An image of a Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) preparing to catapult to the bird bath, taken just a few days ago.
Tufted Titmice are birds that are here throughout the year. Fun little ones that know me and will come close to the feeder as I’m filling it, calling to them. Not shy birds!
As I was looking up information about the Tufted Titmouse I was surprised to find this bit of information on the allaboutbirds site: “Generally found at low elevations, Tufted Titmice are rarely reported at elevations above 2,000 feet.” This is particularly interesting because my cabin is at the 1,800 foot elevation and these birds are not rare here. Perhaps just a few hundred feet higher they are!
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A favorite bird. Technically one of many favorite birds. There are too many to narrow it down to one favorite! This is a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). Four days ago. It was in my yard getting ready to splash around in the bird bath. The Hermit Thrush is a bird that I only see during the winter months.
Every few days one will show up for a dip in the bird bath. Their diet while they are here is fruits and berries which are found here in the woods. They seem to have no interest in the feeder, though I’ve been putting out raisins.
This very same day, four days ago, but several years before, with several inches of snow on the ground I was fortunate to capture 6 Hermit Thrushes in the bird bath, doing what they need to do, taking care of their feathers, cleaning them.
Birds with a beautiful mesmerizing song. Such a special treat, to have them visit each winter!
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A female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). One of many birds trying to ignore the snow that lasted more than hour this afternoon. A high temperature of 50° earlier in the day. I happened to look out and see so much snow coming down I was totally blown away.
Despite the fast temperature drop, it only dropped to the middle thirties. Not cold enough to allow the snow to last. Just enough to bring back childhood BLISS as it came down. Pure JOY!
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Suddenly all the birds were gone from the garden. Only one, a Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) was left to look around. Left to see if any of the little birds had not gotten the urgent message that a hawk had arrived at the scene.
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