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Dancing Garlic
It’s a first for the vegetable garden. Garlic (Allium sativum). Planted several months ago. It’s been a learning experience to see it coming up, green leaves reaching for the sky. And now flower buds atop their stems, bending in unison, Rockettes style. Who would have thought that garlic dances in the garden?! _______________________________________________________________________ If you…
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Striped Wintergreen
In bloom right now, in my woods. Such a treat to see. Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata). Small, evergreen plants that grow from rhizomes. With the blooms, the Striped Wintergreen is 6 to 10 inches tall. The plant without its flowers is 3 to 5 inches tall. Those beautiful evergreen leaves are thick, waxy-looking, a blue-green…
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Yucca Filamentosa
Yucca filamentosa. They’re in bloom right now. Today was mostly a gray day. I wanted to get some photos, so I waited until the sun was out a bit, to add that extra bit of color to the air. My camera and I stepped out when things looked just right. Having these plants on my…
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Cedar Waxwing Courtship
It’s now the mating season of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), which is from late spring through late summer. These birds perform a beautiful ritual which has the birds dancing-hopping back and forth, and the male presenting his chosen one with a berry, a bit of fruit, a flower petal or an insect. They will take…
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Sharing With The Birds
An picture of a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), enjoying the berries that are getting ripe around my cabin. But looking at it makes me wonder why this one doesn’t have the characteristic red waxy wing tips that I see so often. Those red wax tips on the Waxwing’s secondary feathers are red thanks to a…
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Common Whitetail
An interesting insect that perches on vegetation along the edges of ponds, marshes, and slow-moving rivers. Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia). Perching on vegetation, watching, waiting, to swoop out to capture mosquitos and other small flying insects in mid-air. A good insect to have around _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts…
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Walkingstick
This afternoon the hummingbird feeders needed to be refilled, so I took a break to wash them out and put new syrup in them. Much to my surprise, I spotted the smallest walkingstick I’ve ever seen, on one of the ant guards. This is a Northern Walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata). Two pictures for you, one for…
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Skipper
A skipper that is mighty easy to recognize thanks to its large bright white spot on the ventral view of its wings. This skipper is found in a large part of the United States into southern Canada. Adults sip the nectar of many different flowers. Skippers are classified together with true butterflies since they fly…
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Purple
What a lovely color. This is Venus’ Looking Glass (Triodanis perfoliata), in the Bellflower family (Campanulaceae). Its leaves clasp the stem, giving it another common name, Clasping Bellflower. Native to North and South America, ranging from Canada to Argentina. Pollinators attracted to Venus’ Looking Glass are small bees, and small butterflies and skippers. This annual…