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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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Which Chickadee?
In North America there are seven native species of chickadee. Two of those species are the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) which are found from New England to the West Coast along the northern tier of the United States and southern Canada, and the Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) which resides in southeastern U.S. The two species…
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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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Wood Frogs
I’m on the watch for the Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) to arrive at my little manmade pond. During the cold of winter Wood Frogs hibernate in the soil under leaf litter where their bodies go through freeze and thaw cycles depending on weather conditions. In mid February they awaken from their hibernation and search for…
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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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Dark-eyed Junco
I’ve always lived in an area where Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) are called snowbirds, since they migrate to the area for the winter. I had a surprise back in the summer 2014 when I went just a short distance from my cabin, up the mountain, to Shenandoah National Park and saw Juncos enjoying the warm…
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Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Another Orchid!
There’s another orchid out there waiting for you. Something to look for as you wander the woods during the winter (when there is no snow on the ground!). An EVERGREEN native orchid. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyear pubescens). Native to eastern North America. Actually one of the most common orchids on this part of the continent.…
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Hermit Thrush
After an absence of a couple months, they’re back at my berries and birdbath again. This is a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) going after berries of Smooth Sumac, which is a small tree that I really enjoy having in my yard because it attracts such interesting birds. I’ve tried to figure out how to entice…