-
Bloodroot in Bloom Now
The first of the Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) — up and blooming. A spring ephemeral native from Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Manitoba, that grows prolifically up here in the Blue Ridge. As the leaf and bud push up through the soil, that leaf will envelop the bud, protecting it…
-
Recycling
It is not so much that our planet needs or wants our help, it is actually that Nature needs our help. This planet will keep on happily spinning around not caring about whatever might be on its surface for billions of years. But we humans have the responsibility to care for this planet, not for…
-
Rhubarb
Today’s discovery: rhubarb is up in the garden! In what will seem like the blink of an eye, there will be lots to work with. Between what the garden produces and what I can find at the Greene Farmers Market, I’ll have plenty. I’ll have plenty to chop into pieces and put into the freezer.…
-
Black Vultures
Yesterday I took recycling and trash to the landfill and recycling center down in town. There is always a population of gregarious Black Vultures hanging around the facility looking for a meal. They’re most often in the trees. This day though they were convened on a hillside as if at the edge of a lake…
-
Happy Pi Day
How amusing to celebrate, math and baking, together for the sake of Pi Day. Fun to approach mathematics with sense of humor. Pies being thrown into the mix for the sake of pi. In order to recall the never ending digits used to express the mathematical constant, there are mnemonic poems called piems (combining the…
-
Purple Deadnettle Revisited
If you haven’t noticed it yet, take up an image, keep it in mind, watch for it. It’s out there. Even now. Purple Deadnettle (Hamamelis virginiana) is a member of the mint family. Its square stem is a sure sign of that heritage. It’s an herbaceous plant not native to North America but to Europe…
-
Confusing Weather
Yesterday yummy. It got up to 63°, the sun shining, and a lovely blue sky. Unquestionably a perfect spring day. Those Daffodils definitely added to that perfection. Today was quite a different story. At the crack of dawn the thermometer had fallen to 17°, and the trees were being violently whipped by high winds, as…
-
Eggs in the Pond
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) eggs. There’s a small man-made pond within sight of my kitchen window. Late winter and early spring finds much activity out there. Wood Frogs are the ones that start things off, having what seem like parties, loud parties that last all night long and on through the day, for many days.…
-
Yellow-lined Owlet
The Yellow-lined Owlet moth (Colobochyla interpuncta) does an incredible job of using camouflage to become nearly invisible. Here’s another look. Same photo, just closer. Ah, there it is. See those two little legs sticking out? The larvae of Yellow-lined Owlets feed on the leaves of persimmon trees and willows. Their adults are active during the…
-
Red-bellied Woodpecker
A regular around here. The Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). And here you get a glimpse of why it has its name, a very tiny smudge of red on its belly. They can be found in the eastern United States, from Florida north to Canada. Red-bellied Woodpeckers eat fruit, nuts, seeds, berries (such as Poison Ivy…