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Being Bold
I’m thoroughly enjoying this elusive bird showing off its bold side. Circumstances must be just right for this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) to step out and be seen. This picture is from today. Usually they are hidden under dense bushes. Hiding from my camera. Not so the past couple days with tempting blueberries on the…
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Downy False Foxglove
Downy False Foxglove (Aureolaria virginica), flowers during the summer months, June through August. Downy False Foxglove is a perennial hemiparasite. Hemiparasite means that it depends upon its host for some of its nutrients. In this case, Downy False Foxglove depends upon Oak trees (Quercus), mainly White Oaks (Quercus alba), getting these nutrients through their roots.…
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Grape Tube Galls
Nature is full of surprises, like these galls that I found on a wild grapevine. They’re grape tube galls, created by a midge, Schizomyia viticola. The midge lays eggs on the leaf and the gall is the plant’s reaction to it. Actually there is very little damage done to the grapevine, and these galls are…
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Brown Thrasher In The Birdbath
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). An elusive bird that most often is found in dense bushes, brushing its long beak back and forth in leaf litter searching for a meal of insects. Most frequently I see Brown Thrashers while blueberries are just ripening. And timing was just perfect today. Many bushes with berries turning from soft…
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Punctuation On The Trail
With wings up, in the ventral position, the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) proudly shows off why it is referred to as Question Mark. The striking white curve and dot. A question mark. Well, on this side, a question mark in reverse. Here the same butterfly demonstrates the wings fully open, in the dorsal position. Found…
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Swallowtail On Milkweed
A few days ago I published a post titled, A Milkweed Plant, about the Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia). And now I’ve come upon a couple butterflies enjoying the blooms of this same Fourleaf Milkweed. These two butterflies are Zebra Swallowtails (Eurytides marcellus). Their host plant is the Pawpaw Tree. Adults feed on the nectar of…
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Soon
From blossoms in April, To green berries in May, To oodles in June, That become all sorts of play. Gets the attention of Towhees, And attracts Cedar Waxwings. They’ll fill up the freezer, And keep us fed all winter. While making our yard busy with nature. What could be better. _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like…
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Poison Ivy In Bloom
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). Every year, as spring turns to summer and I see the blooms of this plant that makes me itch, just looking at it, I think back to a time when I had no idea that it bloomed. But now I do know, and despite my extreme sensitivity to the urushiol in…
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Butterfly Called Snout
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta). Snouts have what looks like an extremely prominent nose formed by elongated mouthparts. Certainly an offbeat sort of look for a butterfly. Native to North and South America. A species of butterfly that overwinters as an adult. The host plant for Snouts are Hackberry trees (Celtis). Adults are attracted to fermenting fruit,…
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A Milkweed Plant
Blooming now along the trails up here in the woods. Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia). Host plant to the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). This Milkweed is native to the eastern United States and Canada. In this picture you can see how it has gotten a couple of its common names. The Fourleaf Milkweed, with its four leaves…