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A Spotted Orbweaver For Halloween
It’s the Spotted Orbweaver (Neoscona crucifera) that decorates my porches as Halloween approaches. I really appreciate their decorating skills. Their webs are orb-shaped, and thus the name. Those webs can be up to 2 feet in diameter. These spiders don’t make it easy to identify this species. Individuals vary in color, and markings on the…
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Little Wren In Big Yucca
This afternoon I spied it as it looked all around. Maybe looking for the rest of its family. Yesterday there were 3 of them talking to each other and hopping here and there. A Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) in a Yucca filamentosa. The little Carolina Wren has a surprising average life span of 6 years.…
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Snow Just Before Halloween
Yep. On October 29th 2011 it snowed on my pumpkin. Sitting right there on the front porch. Not much snow. In the middle of winter it would have been a disappointment. But on October 29th? Pure GLEE! The ultimate way to decorate a pumpkin! _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts…
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Carolina Wren, Preening
This is a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), preening its feathers after taking a dip in the bird bath. Preening is an activity that all birds take part in, to keep their feathers in tip-top shape. The act of preening enables birds to eliminate dirt and parasites from their feathers. It helps in repairing splits in…
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Watermelon Radishes
Thanks to Pedro of Saint Isidore Homestead & Permaculture at the Greene Farmers Market for these incredibly beautiful Watermelon Radishes (Raphanus sativus). This morning Bill sliced them up and with lots of other ingredients created a delicious soup. We had the soup with slices of another purchase from the Greene Farmers Market. Thanks to Cedar…
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Drupes Of Maple-leaf Viburnum
Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium). Native to eastern and central North America. Growing to 3 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet in width. A colony forming bush. The berry-like drupe of Maple-leaf Viburnum is red when unripe. As it ripens it becomes a blackish purple. Those ripe drupes mean autumn, with leaves of…
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Sugar Maple
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum). Native to eastern Canada and eastern United States. It is a tree that prefers the higher, and cooler, elevations here in central Virginia, further up than here where I live. We did plant a few Sugar Maple trees several years ago though, and they seem to be quite happy. It is…
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Strappy Blooms
Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), is in bloom right now. Providing nectar and pollen to fruit flies, blow flies, wasps, bees, and beetles this late in the year when there is very little otherwise available to them. The flowers make me think of yellow shredded coconut. Each blossom is made up of 4 petals and 4…
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White Oak
While I was out this morning, the sun hitting these rich red leaves caught my eye. They’re White Oak (Quercus alba). A tree that is native to eastern and central North America. A tree that grows to 50-80 feet occasionally to 100 feet. And a diameter of 36-48 inches. An incredible lifespan of 350-500 years.…
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Clematis Virginiana
Clematis virginiana So many marvelous things to see up in The Park yesterday, including large puffs of white, scattered here and there. The seeds of Clematis virginiana. In this picture I’ve really zeroed in on the seeds these puffs contain, making the color seem more pale orange-tan than the white I was seeing from a…