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Ash Trees
SNOW! Overnight I got six big inches of snow here at my cabin. Snow to me means photographs. Nature all dressed up in fancy sparkly dress. This afternoon my camera and I got our hiking boots on and went up the mountain. It has been much too long since we’ve been out to take in…
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Putty Root Orchid
An orchid that is native to eastern and central U.S., and Canada. Putty Root (Aplectrum hyemale). The world of Mother Nature is always filled with surprises. This plant provides one of those surprises. Its growth timing seems backward. In autumn the plant sends up ONE basal leaf to collect dappled sunlight during the fall, winter…
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Intrepid Daffodil
In the garden today – the intrepid daffodil. Sending fingers up to test out conditions. Or perhaps their bulbs are sending up periscopes to see if it’s safe. But for Daffodils things are just fine. They can take most anything. Even snow in late March. Tough as nails they stand up to wintery conditions. Surprise…
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Dogwood Buds In Ice
As I went to bed last night sleet and freezing rain were clicking at my skylight windows promising me a very good next day. There’s been hardly any snow so far this winter. Sleet and freezing rain with its resulting ice is NEARLY as wonderful to me as “take me back to my childhood” snow.…
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Cooper’s Hawk
A garden with bunches of song birds cheerily partaking of the goodies put out at the feeders. Quite a busy scene. And then, “POOF!” in the blink of an eye everyone vanishes. Not a one to be seen. Totally quiet. Not a soul. What just happened? Look into the trees. There, sitting perfectly still. It’s…
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White-breasted Nuthatch
Yesterday’s post was about an irruptive visitor. The tiny Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) who shows up in the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia, if its usual seed supply is less than optimal. But there’s another Nuthatch that lives here all year long. The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). It is fun to…
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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.