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Just A Number
Overnight, one of the digits that represent my age changed. Funny how that happens. Here I am, celebrating with a bow in my hair, on the left (my right). Today, being a special day, I was on alert for something unusual to show up in the world of nature. That seems to happen on holidays,…
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Mom And The Tulip Poplar
This is my Mom, many years ago when we lived in Cheverly, Maryland. Mom created a great love of nature in my heart. A love that will always be with me. I was introduced to many trees in that yard, including the young Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) that is behind her right shoulder (on the…
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Zebra Swallowtail On Wintercress
A Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) on an exotic invasive, Wintercress (Barbarea vulgarism). The host plant of the Zebra Swallowtail is the Pawpaw Tree (Asimina triloba). _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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GrandKitty Camp
We’re all having a grand time at GrandKitty Camp. Betelgeuse is being the perfect guest, politely asking for shower water, or bathroom water. That bowl of water next to her food just isn’t nearly as good as those two other choices. And she is ever so polite to ask for more food. Though I don’t…
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Spring Molt
Like many small songbirds, the Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) goes through two molts per year. One in the autumn, a complete molt. A total replacement of all their feathers, body feathers as well as wing and tail feathers. Male and female, they go from yellow to a dull gray with just the slightest suggestion of yellow.…
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Surprise Photo Op
Yesterday I was pleased when I got photos of a Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) at one of the feeders, as it was passing through on the way to its summer breeding grounds. I figured as the day ended I wouldn’t see any more of these Finches. But I was wrong. I don’t know if this…
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Tiny White Butterfly In Spring
A tiny white butterfly that flutters low to the ground with quick, erratic movements. Though that orange tip seems it would be obvious, when the butterfly is in flight it can be hard to spot. The Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea) has a wingspan of 1.5 inches. The male and female butterflies are sexually dimorphic, meaning…
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Long Gone
Signs. Old signs. Signs that are about to disappear forever. They intrigue me. This is a pair of such, old signs. Long gone. They sat, for who knows how long at the intersection of Seminole Trail, Airport Road and Proffit Road in Hollymead/Charlottesville, on the land where Walgreens now sits. Long gone. __________________________________________________________________________ If you…
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Wild Ginger Is Slowly Emerging
An herbaceous perennial, Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), is slowly emerging from its snug winter slumber. The gardens here at my cabin are at an elevation of 1800 feet. This is where these plants are just peeking up through the soil. I often hike up to elevations of 2600 feet and higher, where, during the summer…
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Chipping Sparrow
A little sparrow that I don’t often see. Small and quite tame, I’m pleased when one shows up at my feeders. The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a bird that will come to feeders, or eat scattered seeds on the ground. During the summer though, insects and spiders are a big part of their diet.…