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Tall Anemone
Tall Anemone (Anemone virginiana). A gift that shows up in my gardens thanks to Mother Nature. Filled with delight when it makes an appearance as a volunteer. A plant native to eastern North America where it can be found in 38 of the 50 United States. In the north from Maine to Minnesota and clear…
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Gregarious Cardinals
Quite the contrast to their breeding season during which Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are singularly territorial, winter is a time for them to hang out in flocks. Sitting in the blueberry bushes waiting their turn at the platform feeder. Waiting for a chance at the sunflower seeds. Or just sitting soaking up the sun enjoying…
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Snow Drops
The name is Snow Drop (Galanthus nivalis). This is what it looks like right now against my back steps as night time temperatures go down to well below freezing. It welcomes those temperatures and its namesake, snow, without a care. One very hardy plant that grows up from a bulb. A plant that is native…
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Five Inches of Snow
It snowed overnight. Wet puffy snow has covered everything. I’ve been transported into a Christmas card waiting to be signed and sent on its way. It’s the second snow here this winter making winter seem a bit more like the way winters ought to be. The winters that I think of when I think back…
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In Praise of Blueberries
In my yard I’ve got a good number of mature blueberry bushes. Twelve? Fourteen? Enough that I can stock my freezer with loads of quarts of luscious berries to last throughout the year. And the birds? They’re welcome to their share. I love that the berries entice them. Of the birds that come to enjoy…
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Black Walnut Bark
So many trees out there! Summer provides us with leaves to look at to recognize species, often right away. When winter arrives we’re left with very little hint as to what species of tree we might be looking at. Along with limb character, the tips and buds on branches, and the look of leaf scars,…
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Red-breasted Nuthatch
A little feathered creature that I see some winters. A bird that is said to be “irruptive,” meaning it depends on the seed supply where it normally spends its winters. In years when the seeds of pine, spruce, and fir trees are not plentiful these birds will venture into areas where they are not normally…
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A Strawberry Leaf
The landscape during winter. Shades of black, brown, white, with a bit of deep, subtle blue-green. A Cardinal adds spark to the setting. Feathers of scarlet keeping him warm. Look down as you step. Wild strawberries that gave you joy last summer have left a reminder. Leaves of wild strawberries now covered with frost.
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Eastern Comma
Another butterfly that you may see as you hike on an unusually warm winter day. An Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma). These species of butterflies that overwinter as adults have the ability to survive due to the presence of glycerol in their blood which prevents their bodies from freezing. They may come out to enjoy the…
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Mourning Cloak
As you are out hiking during the winter, take your time. Look around, notice things. There is so much to see, even in the dead of winter. If you’re fortunate you may see a Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa) on the trail in that patch of sunshine ahead of you, warming itself. They overwinter as…