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Green Frog
One of my dear little friends sitting by the pond. Sitting perfectly still hoping that I continue on my way. Hoping that I don’t give away its position at the edge of the water. Silently telling me to go away. Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans). Living in the pond along with many other creatures. I haven’t…
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Dewberry
A native plant that is quite insistent. It keeps showing up in my gardens. With stems that are more like vines than stems, creeping along the ground. Stems that have little stickers. Stems that form roots when they touch the soil. Making its presence known. Dewberry (Rubus invisus) is native to the eastern and east-central…
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Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus). A bird that I seldom see. In part perhaps because they will sit in dense shrubbery sitting perfectly still, like a frog that is trying to convince you that, “You can’t see me.” They do this as they are watching and waiting for a meal to come by. Few birds will…
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Pressing My Luck – Bears
Every year it is always the same. I take great pleasure in feeding the birds and would do it all year long except there is the Bear (Ursus americanus) issue. They come out of their winter slumber focused on finding a quick meal. Though not the repast that would totally fill a several hundred pound…
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Yellow-breasted Chat
It’s been several years now since one of my favorite summer birds has come by for the season to brighten me. I would swear they are ventriloquists. Sounding like one was here but really there. Or sounding like one was high in the tree top but no one was there at all. And their sound.…
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Yellow Trillium
Not quite native to Virginia though I’m quite pleased to have these flowers blooming in my gardens. Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum) is native to Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky. Some speak of a lemony scent. It must be mighty subtle. I don’t detect it. The plants emerge from underground rhizomes which will spread slowly if…
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Rose-breasted Grosbeak
What a special treat just three years ago when I saw my first Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (Pheucticus ludovicianus). They were migrating through but they took their sweet time giving me great opportunities to observe and admire them. They were wonderful models for me too. Late April until early May is when they’ve arrived. Three years in…
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Scarlet Tanager
They winter in South America. And their little wings carry them a humongous number of miles to get to their breeding grounds in eastern North America. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea). Male Scarlet Tanagers are that perfect color combination of brilliant red and black. Smart birds, they’re my favorite colors to wear too. The females are…
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Summer Resident Has Arrived – Indigo Bunting
I’m delighted! This morning I spotted my first Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) in its brilliant garb. It didn’t look tired in the least, although it has just completed a trip from northern South America. Using the stars in the night sky to navigate.
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Philadelphia Fleabane
Small daisy like flowers. Perfect for a party for fairies that are surely celebrating spring right about now. Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) is blooming in lovely bunches along the roadside coming up my mountain. This Fleabane is a biennial or short-lived perennial. Perhaps a bit tall for fairies, it’s nine to thirty inches tall. Its…