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Robins a Sign of Spring?
American Robins, Turdus migratorius. Some migrate. Some don’t migrate. Either way, during winter they are often seen searching for earthworms, grubs, fruits and berries. Here at my cabin it’s not unusual to see flocks of robins congregating in the frigid temperatures, eating and taking advantage of the birdbath I keep thawed with a water warmer.…
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Eastern Phoebe
Watching for a meal, on a post next to the garden. An Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, is a perfect friend to have around. A loner, even as mated pairs they spend little time together. A loner, finding insects to wolf down, she relies on insects for sustenance most of the year. When it is too chilly,…
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Catbrier and Beautyberry
It has been so dry, but yesterday brought a glorious 1/4 inch of rain. Hallelujah! That rain brings a brief moment of relief to suffering vegetation. The rain also brings beauty to the landscape. I love what rain does to colors, deepens them, makes them more rich. But of course more rich! Those colors are decorated with…
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warblers, Setophaga coronata, have to come to visit for the winter. They’re also affectionately referred to as Butter Butts. When insects are available, that’s their meal of choice but here, in the cold months, they will settle for goldenrod seeds, and the berries of juniper, poison ivy, poison oak, greenbrier, grapes, Virginia creeper and dogwood. Some people are able to entice them…
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Northern Flicker
A patch of the native plant, Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra. A wonderful magnet for birds during the late winter and early spring. Hard to decide which might be my favorite bird, but one that is right up there at the top, Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, is one of the birds that is attracted to the rich crimson berries. The…
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Robin
American Robin, Turdus migratorius. Two in one of my Eastern Red Cedar trees chowing down. They love those berries. Robins have no concept of the legends we humans have, such as Robins being a sign of spring. This photograph was taken in December. They’re around my cabin from time to time throughout the winter. Silly Robins. Wishing you…
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Fruit at the Cabin
In front of my cabin right now, there is a constant buzz . There are loads of trees and bushes involved in the sound, three good sized trees, planted soon after our cabin was built, many years ago – pear, MacIntosh apple, and Monmorency cherry, and a good number of blueberry bushes planted at about the same…
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Pi or Blueberries
This pan will do the job of representing two words: pi and pie. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and this pan is a circle. A Pie is usually a sweet, baked good which often is cooked up in a pan such as this. Many people look to me as a pie…
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Hackberry
Here on Snow Mountain, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, I see quite a few hackberry trees, Celtis occidentalis. Most are trees with circumferences of 5 inches or smaller, trees that have not been around long. Their small size may be, in part, because the forest up here is a young forest. Back in the 1950s…
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Snow Mountain
This morning I was greeted by a tiny bit less than an inch of snow here on the mountain. I skipped yoga (!!) and spent the morning walking and enjoying the sounds of snow. Okay, mainly the sounds of birds enjoying the new, white blanket. Many were robins, and cedar waxwings gathering in the tree…