Bankside

No Apologies

2012-02-02T21:34:00.008-05:00

I'll make no apologies for these distant photos. It's never a good idea to get too close to a Bald Eagle's nest.

This one is about 5 miles south of the house. I pass it twice a day and have seen an eagle at the nest every day this week. I pulled off to the side of the road to take these pictures, parked along a stretch of road littered with "No Parking" signs. As I left the site, a second eagle, presumably the other mate, was winging his/her way to the nest. I hope they have a successful nesting season.

Yesterday, I saw other big birds in the sky. I didn't have my camera with me at the time so this will have to do.
A large flock of Turkey Vultures was circling over the river on February 1st. Typically, they don't come back from the southern U. S. or southern South America until early- to mid-March. It's been a strange season, indeed.

Snow. Melt.

2012-01-29T11:23:00.003-05:00

Saturday dawned with a beautiful coating of snow on every limb and twig.
(The three trees in the middle of the river are usually on dry ground.)

Red Squirrels couldn't hide their comings and goings.

The snow melted throughout the day.

Flooded field across the road

The river is up.
But that's not really news, anymore.

An Odd Freeze

2012-01-21T19:35:00.004-05:00

In nearly 30 years, the river's never done this before.

It typically freezes slowly, smoothly, ice skate-ably.

But this morning was different.

I wondered if it had frozen as the wind howled, whipping it into chunks as it froze. I don't have any other theories. Do you?

Walking on Water

2012-01-15T15:26:00.004-05:00

Lows were in the teens this week and the pond froze enough to support White-tailed Deer.

Ice is forming upstream, but next week will be warmer and it might be a while before anyone walks on the river.

Frozen, Unfrozen

2012-01-08T19:32:00.006-05:00

Bald Cypress knees at the Pond

The Pond, nearly frozen

January harvest

The homemade greenhouse is working. Several nights were in the teens but turnips and turnip greens came through just fine. They easily pulled from soft dirt while uncovered carrots were frozen solidly into the ground.

First Snow

2012-01-02T21:48:00.006-05:00

Two Jays

A very brief journey

2011-12-26T18:14:00.010-05:00

We'd been making plans for weeks to escape civilization for the holidaze: packing lists, shopping, food prep, vacation requests, dog boarding, reservations, maps... you know the routine.

Our destination: southeastern Ohio's beautiful Hocking Hills. It's only a 2-hour drive but it feels like a world away.

It was nice to be out of the flatlands and into the hills. Hemlocks and cedars provided some welcome green.

Our secluded cabin was lovely, with a hot tub, wood burning fireplace, and not-one-but-TWO bathrooms.

The ravines and sandstone outcroppings behind the cabin were gorgeous.

Trees growing right out of rock always amaze me

as do mini-landscapes of lush moss and fern growing on boulders.

And now should follow a breathtaking series of photos of nearby Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, Conkles Hollow, Cantwell Cliffs... but after a day and a half, we missed the dogs awfully and decided to come home early. It was a good decision.

Closed

2011-12-04T16:04:00.005-05:00

The river rose this week and our road was closed for a couple of days.

The house is a mile up the road. I was able to detour out of the valley to get home.

Black Walnuts were stored high and dry by the squirrels. There in the bottom right you can see some other action.

Beavers are back! Quite a few little elms have been chewed. I've been out at dawn and dusk but haven't seen them yet.

The river receded on Friday and the sun shone Saturday morning. I went for a walk and heard the crackling of ice as the water fell.

Rain is falling again and will continue through Monday night. I'm getting used to it.

Tree, high water

2011-12-01T19:17:00.001-05:00

Reflection of the tree across the road on a flooded field

Late November

2011-11-27T13:20:00.013-05:00

My zoom capability and patience are equally poor so I don't post many bird pictures, though there are certainly plenty of birds around.

I keep trying, though.

Blue Jay in Witch-hazel tree

Someone carelessly dropped peanuts on the dock while feeding the squirrels. This Jay carried them away, three at a time: one down the hatch, one in his mouth, and a third in his beak. It was fun to watch.

A Dark-eyed Junco spent a bit of time surveying the situation before figuring out there was no way he could get a nut in that tiny beak.

After seeing Wheel Bugs the first time a couple of years ago, I look for them, and look forward to seeing them.

They have a bad rep, since their bite can be painful, but as with most creatures, if you don't bother them, they'd just as soon ignore you.

It's crazy to see snakes this late in November but it's been warm and this one was still quite lively.

With the leaves off the trees and a clear view to the west, sunsets are catching my eye these days.

2011-11-20T19:51:00.005-05:00

The world is brown and it's been difficult to muster the enthusiasm to photograph it.

The only color I've seen lately: sunset on the flooded field across the road.

It was quite warm today and we went to the Woods.

Shattered Puffball
(with deer print?)

Raccoon scat on a fallen Shagbark Hickory

The Swamp at the Woods is typically parched in November. It's good to move into Winter with a wet pool -- the salamanders and frogs will appreciate this when Spring rolls around.

Gerloids and Other Oddities

2011-11-08T22:27:00.004-05:00

A member of the mulberry family, the tree that bears these grapefruit-sized fruits goes by several names: Osage Orange, Hedge Apple, Monkey Brains, Bois D’Arc, and Gerloid. (The latter is a made-up name from my youth and the one that sticks with me. I hope it catches on.)

There is conflicting information about edibility. Some sites claim they are edible by humans while others report they are inedible and cause vomiting. I’ve never been tempted, since any handling releases latex-y sap. Squirrels and deer eat the seeds but serving as cover seems to be the trees’ primary wildlife value. The fruit may have been eaten by long-extinct ground sloths, mammoths, and mastodons.

Millions of the thorny trees were planted in the first half of the last century as living fences to contain cattle. The wood is hard and used for tool handles, fence posts, and bows. Dried wood burns hot and long.

We’ve seen Ghost Deer since 2008 but didn’t see her last winter and expected the worst. She reappeared last week! Of course, there could be more than one in the neighborhood but they’re quite uncommon. I hope to get another picture in the coming weeks that will include her head. :o)

The Witch Hazel flowers seem especially fat and vibrant this fall. I’ve read that ripened seeds will explode and shoot up to 30 feet. I’ve always thought it would be fun to lay out a sheet on the ground and do some measuring of my own. I’ll keep an eye on the seeds when they ripen.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

It was shaping up to be a beautiful, colorful autumn, when strong winds and rains came through a couple of weeks ago and blew most of the leaves off the trees. The past week has been beautiful, with clear, sunny skies, low humidity, no! mosquitoes!, and cool temps.

Trees and insects are going to sleep, summer birds are gone or making travel plans, flowers have had their day, and we’re settling into late fall.

In a fog

2011-10-30T15:38:00.003-04:00

The tree across the road this morning

Downriver

Leaves are falling and the world is opening up.

2011-10-22T20:51:00.010-04:00

The sun rose on a foggy river this morning.

The water is high. More than 2" of rain fell last week. My blood ran cold when I saw this forecast from NOAA: La Nina is returning, compounded by the Arctic Oscillation. We may be in for another rough, wet Winter.

Autumn is coming in fits and starts. Many trees are still green while some are in full color and others are naked.

O planted some American Hollies back in 1986. They fruited for the first time last year, with just a few berries.

They're loaded this year.

We took a walk in the Woods this afternoon. It's still green there.

The Swamp is usually bone dry this time of year, but it was fuller than I've seen it in quite some time. Capo enjoyed splashing in it.

Downed limbs were covered in fungus.

Golden maple leaves

The tree across the road is bare.

Eastern Wahoo berries. Northern Cardinals and Eastern Bluebirds will eat the fruit.

Through the trees

The Plover Diaries

2011-10-18T14:32:00.013-04:00

[Apologies for this duplicate post. I went back to edit some funky formatting, lost the post altogether, and when it reappeared, it had jumped ahead several weeks. Just skip ahead to the next one.]

Friday, August 19.

I was northbound again. It’s always a thrill when Big Mac comes into view.

There were high wind warnings, same as last year. I gripped the wheel and survived the crossing. 10 hours after leaving home, I reachec my destination: Grand Marais, Michigan, on the south shore of the Greatest Lake, Superior.

I was on a mission. To help protect a young Piping Plover chick.

Saturday, August 20. 24 days old.

The Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) of the Great Lakes are critically endangered and have been protected under the U. S. Endangered Species Act since 1986. Predators (crows, gulls, corvids, falcons, and herons; coyotes and dogs) take their toll. Storms wash away nests. Invasive plants alter shoreline habitat. Invasive aquatics have led to an increase in Botulism E outbreaks. Development encroaches on beaches. ATV riders run over nests.

Thanks to the efforts of individuals, government agencies, conservation groups, and universities, the numbers rose from 17 breeding pairs in 1986 to 71 in 2009, but dropped to 60 in 2010 and 55 in 2011. (The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is likely responsible for the most recent decline.) The birds are still very much in danger of being extirpated in the Great Lakes region.

The Grand Marais population is fortunate to have a dedicated band of volunteers to help protect the shorebirds. Volunteers and temporary staff, funded by a grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, are on the beach from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. throughout the breeding season, monitoring nests and chicks, asking owners to leash their dogs, deterring predators, and keeping vehicles off the beach.

The first clutch of early summer was taken by crows when the hatchlings were only a day old. The parents re-nested, it was unusually late in the season, and monitors were needed. I signed up to volunteer for several days.

On Saturday morning, the flightless chick wasn’t moving. He (or she) was alive but wasn’t foraging along the edge of the lake or river as had been his custom. Four hours passed and the monitoring crew was becoming seriously concerned and exploring options. Intervene or not? Call in a veterinarian? Drive the chick to plover wintering grounds in Florida? Any decision would have to be made through the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. And it was the weekend.

It had been a chilly night and as the sun warmed the beach and little feathers, the chick started moving about. Some of the volunteers thought he had been chilled by the cool temps, as he had only recently learned to regulate his body temperature.

Others thought he might be lonely and depressed. Of four eggs laid, this was the only survivor. One egg failed to hatch, one young chick had died of exposure after being separated from his or her parents, and the third was taken by a predator. Mom had migrated 3 weeks ago and Dad left yesterday. You can’t get much more alone than that.

I would have a 3- or 4-hour shift for the next few days.

I crossed the dunes,

waded across the Sucker River to the peninsula, and searched for the bird.

At times, he was actively feeding along the riverbank or the lake shore.

Other times, he was snoozing.

Sunrise on the riverbank,

and on Lonesome Point to the east.

Views were breathtaking in every direction.

Sunset over Grand Marais

Sunday, August 21. 25 days old.

The day started with thunder, lightning, and rain. ‘Though the morning was colder than the previous day, the chick was up at dawn, actively working the beach for insects and aquatic invertebrates. This led some of us to believe that he had, indeed, been feeling alone the previous morning. The storm left, the sun shone, a light rain moved back in, then out again.

This is how I spent my days.
Find the chick on the beach.

Zooming in should help. (All of these photos are zoomed and cropped. The goal was to remain 75 - 100 feet from the chick at all times so he wouldn't relate too much to humans.)

When he decided to cross from the river side to the lake side, he moved like a bullet across the sand. I had difficulty keeping up with his tiny 2" legs.

Monday, August 22. 26 days old.

A Merlin was in the neighborhood early this morning. The volunteers on duty at the time were alarmed, and rightfully so, but in the end, the falcon moved on and didn’t do any harm.

My 10:00 – 2:00 shift was relatively uneventful. I flapped my arms like a big bird to scare away a gang of juvenile seagulls. The weather was stunningly perfect: cool temps, warm sun, soft breeze, crashing waves. I sustained a sunburn.

Volunteers reported that he’d made a few short flights of 25 and maybe 50 feet. I wondered how I would keep up with him in the morning.

Tuesday, August 23. 27 days old.

It was my first dawn shift and I was fearful that I wouldn’t be able to find him. My worrying was unnecessary, as I saw him working the bank before I even crossed over the river. He alternated between feeding on the waterline and snoozing invisibly in the rocks. The wind was stiff. It was the first time I’d been truly cold on the beach. He wasn’t doing much flying yet but he did fly 3 feet over a puddle of water, then acted aggressively to move some Semipalmated Plovers and Sanderlings off of "his stretch" of beach.

Find the chick in the picture.

There he is!

Find the chick in the picture.

Do you see him now?

There he is!

Plover with driftwood

By this time, I was becoming quite attached to him.

Wednesday, August 24. 28 days old.

Another early morning shift. He was feeding along the riverbank at dawn.

His visibility changed with the lighting conditions. I kept an eye on him nearly all the time; he was such a trickster when he wanted to blend into the landscape. But during his naps, I snapped a few pictures.

Bankside sand

A freighter on the horizon

He's awake again! Feeding along the river.

His tail feathers have developed since I first met him.

A long view of the beach

Feeding along the river

An hour later, he made his way to the mouth of the river. Then he flew across! It was only 20 or 30 feet, and his flight gained an altitude of just 2 feet, but it was a real, purposeful flight.

But holy wah! I had to stick with him and couldn’t determine the depth or strength of the river. I walkie-talkied my contact who instructed me to head back over the Sucker through shallow water, wade west, then make my way back to dry land. I tore off my shoes, peeled off my pants to my shorts, made the crossing and caught up with the chick on the island.

He was feeding in new territory.

And then, holy wah! He flew over a second mouth. I could see the riverbed this time and crossed over, sinking in soft sand on the far bank. I was soaked but too excited about his flight to care. He fed and rested, rested and fed. A Merlin flew along the far riverbank and moved on.

And that’s where I left him. My tour was done.

He will have a very short time to build his flight muscles and hone his flying skills, then will join other migrating shorebirds to make the trip south.

Thanks to Kathy and Bill Davis for their commitment to the birds, for hosting and spoiling me, and for a wonderful experience.

The program runs largely on volunteers and more will be needed next summer. If you love birds, adventure, beautiful landscapes, and want to make a difference, leave a comment and I'll connect you.

Spiders 'n' Snakes

2011-10-11T18:35:00.013-04:00

This post isn't all about spiders and snakes but I wanted to give my more delicate readers fair warning.

Spider and web in the orchard

By day, the Halloween Spider hides in a cluster of cedar leaves.

I've photographed Jewelweed flowers before, but not the seed pod. This is an extra-special pod.

When fully ripe, the slightest touch makes the pod explode, dispersing the seeds. It's no wonder its nickname is Touch-Me-Not.

I tried like heck to get a photo of this Argiope's back but she was snuggled in a shrub and every attempt disturbed her. I settled for a belly shot - note the silk coming from the spinnerets on her rear end.

The Red Squirrels have been busy squirreling away Black Walnuts.

We have a number of nest boxes around the yard, meant for Great Horned and Screech Owls, Raccoons and Flying Squirrels. Some have fallen into disrepair over the years
and now serve as walnut storage facilities.

You may recall there was only one snake sighting all year, and it was a sad one. I was thrilled to see not-one, not-two, but THREE snakes on Sunday.

This large(ish) Garter was in the driveway.

A wee snake was in the back yard. Its markings were indistinct so I'm unsure of the species.

A Midland Brown Snake was sunning at the back door.

Asters are thicker in the orchard than in previous years. They remind me of a springtime bed of Virginia Bluebells.

Fall color in the countryside is superb this year. Most of our yard is still green but there are patches of gold.

Sycamore on the bank

The Sun!

2011-10-02T09:17:00.003-04:00

It's been rainy all week and much of the past month. Sunrise was a gift this morning.

The river is high.

I slipped and fell in the mud to get these pictures.

Welcome, Autumn!

2011-09-27T09:00:00.008-04:00

We had 40 people at the house all weekend for a music thing so I've been ignoring Nature and post just a few random pics here...

It rained intermittently and heavily the past week. The river is up. A flood warning is in effect but the forecasted crest isn't threatening. Hooray. I'm not ready for another flood. The river has plenty of time to fall to normal before the ground freezes for the Winter.

There are millions of Aster flowers in the yard and it's easy to overlook their lovely detail.

I posted a Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar last time but it's interesting to see the differences in markings among individuals.

One of our (human) visitors this past weekend was a city slicker who enjoys late night walks to view our rural sky. He was quite excited to find glowing bugs in the gravel driveway. Sure enough, they would glow in shades of blue and green and then go dark.
I went out at midnight to see them, with a flashlight and the camera (hence, the poor photos).

I had no idea what they were but a little research revealed them to be the larvae of fireflies. Way cool.

And in the light of day,

Solomon Seal berries.

Happy Fall, All.

A Late Summer Walk

2011-09-11T07:44:00.009-04:00

The last wave of mosquitoes has been really, really bad. Horror-movie-bad. But yesterday was lovely and I was totally sick of having cabin fever so I slathered myself with toxic chemicals and went outside without my bug suit.

I washed windows, hung laundry, threw balls for dogs. Glorious! After a couple of hours, the biting began. I slapped on another layer of poison and took a walk.

It's a great year for Black Walnuts!

These look fat and healthy.

Sadly, the Butternuts hanging over the pond were nowhere to be seen...

until later on my walk. Red Squirrels had carried them across the yard and stashed them on tree limbs.

Wild Grapes

Tiny and tart, critters love these.

Jerusalem Artichoke flowers

White-faced Hornet

Actually a wasp, these are generally less aggressive than Yellow Jackets but will spring into defensive action if disturbed. This one was busy working some goldenrod and didn't appear to notice me.

Black Blister Beetle

Blister beetles feed on goldenrod nectar and pollen and produce a poisonous substance, cantharidin, similar to cyanide and strychnine in its toxicity. Just don't eat one and you should be fine.

Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar

Fuzzy and cute, it's best not to pet these. They have urticating hairs that may cause itching, stinging and burning sensations.

I hear these guys frequently but rarely see them.

Gray Tree Frog

But this one is green, you say? Clever beasts, they can switch from green to gray to camouflage themselves.

Tree frog toes are adorable.

The toes have glands that secrete a sticky substance, allowing them to cling to twigs and even windows.

Turkey Tail fungus growing on a fallen conifer

From the sublime to the ridiculous, a Stinkhorn, Mutinus elegans, aka Devil's Dipstick. Flies and other insects will feed upon the slime and disperse the spores.

Still in the U.P.

2011-09-04T15:19:00.030-04:00

Bird Update (see previous post): The Bird lives. Monitoring was cut back to primary predator hours, mornings and evenings, and he's taking care of himself. He's flying high and only needs to hook up with other shorebirds who will show him the way south. Fly soon, Bird!

I went to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on a break one afternoon. I saw a young man who had taken his date out for lunch.

I walked a trail where the ground was covered in Bracken Ferns.
It's a marvelous ground cover that makes grass look silly.

It wasn't a great year for blueberries

but it sure is fun to reach down and snatch a fresh one.

Sable (say SAW-bull) Falls falls 75 feet over sandstone on its way to Lake Superior.

My time was limited after watching the Bird, so I did a whirlwind tour of some favorite places.

The path to Wetmore Landing

Conifer and maple woods along the trail

Wetmore Landing to the west

The Lake was as calm as I've ever seen her.

Wetmore Landing to the east

Rocky shore

Through the trees

It pained me to skip the hike out to Little Presque Isle, and drive right past the entrance to Wetmore Pond, but I had to keep moving.

On to Marquette. Presque Isle Park is a 323-acre park that was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park in New York City. Presque Isle (French for "almost an island") is a peninsula that juts into Lake Superior just north of Marquette. Many different shoreline types edge the park: cobble, soft sand, steep cliffs, and volcanic rock. This trip, I only had time to visit my favorite Black Rocks.

Sugarloaf Mountain on the horizon

Northern Michigan University was just back in session and kids were jumping off of high cliffs into the water; a bit of fun before knuckling down with the books. But just a few meters away, sitting on barren rock in front of a calm sea, I could convincingly pretend I was alone.

Sailboat in the distance

Ahh, cool, clear water

Then, whoosh! I was off to Laughing Whitefish Falls.
The woods along the path to the falls is so pretty.

These ferns are Maidenhair. There were thousands of them.

The falls were trickling.

Along the trail were Mountain Maples.

The keys were lovely in the sunlight.

A few steps down the trail, the falls become more impressive.

The more you walk, the more you see.

The water eventually falls 100 feet into a clear, shallow pool, stained brown with tannin from fallen leaves and needles.

And before I knew it, my time was up
and I was making my way south over the Mackinac Bridge.

There were a hundred places I didn't get to this trip. I'll be back!

Thing on Leaf

2011-08-18T12:55:00.005-04:00

I wasn't sure what I was looking at. There was a little blob of a thing on the underside of an American Chestnut leaf.

When I got the photo uploaded, I still wasn't sure. I thought I might have to bother my newfound friends at bugguide.net again.

Then I saw the legs wrapped around the head and realized it was a spider, specifically one of the Marbled Orb Weavers. When enlarged, the film of webbing on the leaf comes into view.

I'm still not sure what is going on here, why a spider would hunker down on a leaf and remain there. Perhaps more observation will provide a clue.

But I won't be here to do it. I'm headed north on an adventure in the morning and may not have access to post for a couple of weeks. I hope to have some tales and a couple of presentable pictures when I return.

2011-08-14T18:32:00.008-04:00

August is typically pretty dry but a few monster storms with torrential downpours the last couple of weeks brought the river way up.

The rain has made the basil happy.

7+ quarts, cleaned and ready for pesto

It's finally tomato season!

The heirlooms didn't do well with last year's heat so I caved in and got some hybrid Early Girls and Better Boys this year. They're passable, as are the heirloom Golden Eggs. My favorites are the dark ones in the picture: heirloom Black Cherries. Their flavor is incredibly complex and I'll grow them again. There's are also an Old Time Tasty and an Abe Lincoln somewhere in the basket. I ate all the Amish Pastes that have ripened so far. The Cherokee Purples will be a couple more weeks. I love tomato season.

58 Species

2011-08-12T21:18:00.009-04:00

That's how many species of mosquitoes call Ohio home. Each species has its own life cycle and season. I believe I have identified 3 of them.

Coquillettidia dullardii: Spring into Early Summer. It takes the Dullards a full 10 minutes to discover there's fresh blood for the taking. Take advantage of this short window to enjoy the great outdoors.

Aedes efficientsis: Mid-Summer. The Efficients hover 'round the door in great numbers and attack as soon as one exits. Going outside at this point is pretty much out of the question.

Psorophora surreptitiii: Late Summer. Our first cool day arrived this week, with low humidity and clean, [dare I say?] crisp air. Ahhh....

I blissfully worked in the garden in a t-shirt and jeans for a full half hour or more, amazed, astounded, and astonished that I wasn't being bitten. The next day, I discovered a dozen dime-sized, angry, swollen, itchy, red welts on my back.

So. Things seem to be getting worse as the season progresses. What will Early Autumn bring?

"Mosquito" by Abdulmajeed AlShatri under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial license.

64 days till the first frost.

Word of the Day: Osmeterium

2011-08-07T19:30:00.006-04:00

I thought all of the Butternuts were hanging over the pond but I didn't look up high enough. These fell on solid ground. They're curing now and I'll post photos later, when they're ready to open. You can see that they're a little hairy. They're also quite sticky. I don't know why but I'll read up on them.

Last week's post included the caterpillar death chamber of a Potter Wasp, so I thought I'd balance things out a bit with a happy caterpillar...

of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. I've been watching 5 of them all week and they're growing quickly, thanks to a ready supply of Hoptree leaves.

This is an early instar (a developmental stage between molts), disguised as bird poop. When they reach the fourth instar, they will be green.

Sharing a twig with Leafhoppers

Sorry this next photo is poor but I was under attack.

This guy got fed up with the photographer and displayed his osmeterium, a fleshy organ that deters predators by emitting a foul smell. I didn't get close enough for a whiff; he had made his point.

Nymphs are hard.

2011-07-31T17:38:00.008-04:00

I can usually get a general idea of a bug's family by consulting my field guides but nymphs are throwing me for a loop this season. They're out and about for a limited time and I don't have a "Guide to the Nymphs of Ohio."

Bugguide.net saved the day again. This is a nymph in the genus Acanalonia. The adult is familiar, it's a Planthopper.

It just happened to be hanging out on the nest of a Potter Wasp.
Potter Wasps build their nests of mud, paralyze small caterpillars with a sting, then load them into the nursery pot where eggs are laid which feed on the caterpillars when they hatch. Gruesome and complex! The wasps are considered beneficial since they keep caterpillar numbers in check.

Sadness & Hope

2011-07-28T14:42:00.009-04:00

A beautiful Garter Snake was basking in the driveway one recent afternoon. It seems there are fewer snakes here every year and I’m always pleased to see one. I looked at her from a distance and noticed baby snakes beneath and around her.

I was witnessing a birth.

I ran to the house to get my camera, hoping she wouldn’t get spooked into hiding before I got back.

When I returned, she was in the same place, and I noticed blood under her head and a laceration on her belly. She was dead, the victim of an attack. The three babies around her, and one half born, were dead, too. I palpated her midsection to see if there were any more live little ones inside but felt nothing.

Garters mate in Autumn or Spring and females give birth to live young, as I had seen, rather than eggs. Females can have up to 40 babies who are immediately independent. I’m going to trust that there are 36 wee snakes who made their way into the world before the accident, and are hiding in the grass and shrubbery around the yard.

I couldn't bring myself to photograph the sadness but I wanted to mark the event with a post. Mom looked much like this, with a lovely blue-ish cast, and the wee babes were perfectly formed.

A Smattering of Completely Unrelated Things

2011-07-19T20:35:00.023-04:00

A terrific storm came through last Monday. I was out during the lunch hour and the sky turned dark, nearly dark as night, with navy blue clouds racing and swirling over head. It occurred to me that it could have been the end of the world and yet I thought it was pretty fantastic. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, but I got it out later that evening when the sky went

all Maxfield Parrish on me.

Later that night, the moon was nearly full and shining through a field of hundreds of cotton ball clouds. It was a great day, and night, to be looking up.

It's been a good summer, as summers go, with not-too-offensive daytime highs and surprisingly low humidity. Downright enjoyable. But summer's kicking in this week, as summers eventually do, and the next few days will be dangerously hot and humid. In addition to the usual Heat Advisory, the National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Watch for Thursday, with a heat index predicted at 110F (43C). Yikes. Happily, temps should moderate next week.

Something different on the bark of a Red Oak at the pond caught my eye. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a cluster of bugs, ones I hadn't seen (or noticed) before.
I was stumped.

So I posted my first I.D. inquiry at BugGuide.net and had my answer a few minutes later. They're Bark Lice Nymphs of the family Psocidae! Who woulda thought? They're common and among the largest bark lice in eastern North America. They're not parasitic, as some lice are, and in fact are considered beneficial creatures, since they consume excess fungi, algae, and dead bark that accumulate on trees.

The native prairie plant, Royal Catchfly, is abloom.
Red is uncommon among prairie plants because many pollinators are insensitive to this range of the light spectrum. Some butterflies, though, are attracted to red and favor this flower. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, of course, flock to it.

The following cucumber was a victim of human error.
I left it on the kitchen counter unattended and Capo feasted upon it. Capo loves his veggies.

The First Tomato has ripened!
I'm partial to the more acid reds, myself, but The First Tomato is always a cause for celebration. This was served with pink Himalayan salt.

This spring, I brushed my hand across an herb in a plant nursery and was smitten by the scent. I hadn't had any experience with Lemon Verbena before but it's a wonderful plant. The aroma is lemony and fresh, and the plant has been pest-free. But what to do with it?

Lemon Verbena Mint Tea

20 mint leaves

15 lemon verbena leaves

2 cups water

Bring water to near-boiling and pour over leaves. Steep 10 minutes. Strain and serve hot or chilled.

Four Trees

2011-07-10T18:32:00.006-04:00

Hackberry, Black Walnut, and Ohio Buckeye

Sometimes the light catches these just right and the differences in the bark really stand out.

We have butternuts!

Alas, they're hanging 6 feet out over the pond. I'll have a net on a pole at the ready in a few weeks.

Food with Reptile

2011-07-06T20:08:00.013-04:00

Wild Black Raspberries are going gangbusters this summer. I pick a few at a time, when I find ones not protected by Poison Ivy.

The first cucumber took me by surprise. It was a flower just days ago! Super crunchy with no damn grocery store wax, the first bite was divine. Pickle orders will soon be filled.

I harvested some basil and made a dandy batch of pesto. Too good to dilute with common food, I ate most of it with a spoon.

I was moved to write a poem:

Pesto
So green and garlicky
Pesto
So fresh and basil-y

Pesto
Tomatoes, pasta, ‘shroom
Pesto
I love your sweet perfume

Pesto
I’d request you on death row
Pesto
Along with a good Bordeaux

Pesto
I love you with all my heart
Pesto
My love, we’ll never part

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

O rescued another turtle from the road. The pictures are poor because I was battling mosquitoes and in a hurry to release him/her, but they were good enough for identification: a Midland Painted Turtle.

After I uploaded the photos, I noticed the leeches on the top of his plastron (lower shell) and wondered if I should have removed them. The turtle seemed strong and healthy, otherwise. When in doubt, I believe it's best to err on the side of letting Nature take her course.

I wanted to get shots from all angles for identification, but remembered hearing that turning a turtle upside down can be dangerous -- their organs can supposedly shift and cause damage or death -- so this one was tilted just a bit.

We would love to have resident turtles at the pond but many turtles have strong homing instincts and will end up going where they want to go, anyway. This one scurried into the water rather quickly and we haven't seen him since. Live long, turtle.

2011-06-25T21:38:00.017-04:00

We saw an oriole nest last time. High in the treetop, one of the parents brought dinner to the kids. There was much excitement and chirpage.

There's a new plant at the 'Possum Valley Arboretum. Rattlesnake Master is a member of the carrot family (oddly enough). It's a tallgrass prairie plant with a number of pollinators including bees, wasps, flies, butterflies and moths. Dried seed heads were used as rattles by Native Americans and the roots were erroneously thought to be an antidote to rattlesnake bites.

The leaves are stiff, clasping and have soft spines along the edges. The Latin species name, yuccifolium, refers to the yucca-like leaves.

Here's a unique yucca now. Spike the Wonder Dog passed away in 1987 and was buried in the yard with a rock and yucca to mark his grave. The yucca died over 5 years ago and left no trace. This spring, the plant somehow came back to life.

The garden got off to a very slow start this year due to the cold and ceaseless rains. A few early spring days in the 90s took their toll on the radishes, but the weather has moderated and things are starting to grow.
Clockwise from lower left are Early Girl and Big Boy tomatoes, edamames, cukes and zukes, zinnias and other cutting flowers, turnips on their last legs, carrots and green onions, lettuce, spinach, basil, 6 different heirloom tomatoes, snowpeas, and a variety of herbs.

Early Girls will ripen soon.

But not soon enough.

Golden Eggs

The first snowpea

started as this.

Cucumber flower

Zinnias

Nasturtium with bugs, the intricacy of the inner petals is pretty amazing.

2011-06-05T11:47:00.015-04:00

Daisy Fleabane is flowering.

There's a nest high in the Silver Maple tree.

It's a Baltimore Oriole nest, a wondrous hanging cradle woven from plant fibers. The parents visit the nest but they're camera-shy.

Nearby, one of the Wafer Ashes is in full bloom. The scent is sweet.

The flowers are intricate

and attract a variety of critters.

This is a typical daddy longlegs for these parts. Officially known as harvestmen, they are arachnids but not spiders. The two major body parts of spiders are joined in harvestmen, and, unlike spiders, harvestmen have no venom or silk glands. The elongated second pair of legs serve as antennae.

I've taken daddy longlegs for granted and was surprised to learn there may be 10,000 different species worldwide. This beauty was a delicate little thing whom I would not have noticed had I not stopped to look at the flowers.

I missed the short flowering season of Dutchman's Pipe last year so I'm keeping a close eye these days.

Evidence of a leafcutter

The culprit... possibly. This bug has the pincer-like butt of an earwig but I don't know if they're related.

The Kentucky Coffeetrees are in full leaf.

Looking up from the base of the trunk, the double-compound leaflets form a beautiful green lace.

Is it just me
or is there a distinct human face on the backside of the leftmost gosling? And what evolutionary purpose would such an image serve? ;o)

Wet Woods

2011-05-29T18:26:00.013-04:00

No, I haven't traveled to a distant lake, this is the field across the road.

The front yard, under water

(no threat to the house, though)

The path to the Point and Little Frog Creek, impassable

It will be scorching hot in the coming days and the river should finally recede.

We've found more ticks this spring than the last 5 years combined, and some nearby suburbs are talking about spraying for mosquitoes 2 months earlier than usual. Yeesh, at least it's a good year for bugs.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

We transplanted a few Green Dragons (Arisaema dracontium) from the Woods to the yard a few years ago. A fine pioneer has seeded itself in the yard far from the original transplants.

The plant is related to Jack-in-the-Pulpit and has a unusual solitary leaf divided into 5 to 21 leaflets, arranged in a C-shape. Populations extend over most of eastern North America, in wet woods and along stream banks. The plant is threatened and endangered in the northeastern U.S.

The Dragon gets its name from the long spadix that extends far beyond the spathe. Click to enlarge to see the flowers at the base of the main stem.

2011-05-26T17:53:00.014-04:00

There are hundreds of Paw paw flowers on the trees this year.

Some years a few of them make it, but most years, the flowers just drop; or they start to fruit, then inexplicably disappear. I'll be anxious to see what happens this summer.

Mama 'coon lounging in one of the nest boxes

(photo by O)

O also photographed these tree trunks.

But wait. There's more.

Swarming honeybees! NPR's science correspondent, Robert Krulwich, did a marvelous piece on bee beards, dancing, and politics. Give it a listen.

Black Locust flowers, the sweet scent wafts about the yard... mmm.

Nannyberry flowers

Blue Dogwood flowers, another lovely scent--my favorite--smells fresh, sweet, and a bit lemony.

I've photographed these Treehoppers before, but never so early and so tiny. Here they're settling in on a Wafer Ash for the summer.

There's been a good bit of goose action across the river.

We finally got a peek at the goslings. We were quite surprised to see 3 broods last weekend, two with 2 goslings and this one, with 4. Canada Geese have been territorial in the past and three families sharing the riverbend is unusual.

There's a lot of frog action at the pond.

Tadpoles

Just hangin'.

Frog toes

Lily is obsessed with prowling the pond's edge and stalking frogs. She doesn't stand a chance of catching them, though, they're very wary.

We see Snapping, Painted, Soft-shelled, and Red-eared Slider Turtles on the river throughout the summer, but haven't observed any residents or reproduction at the pond, until this Spring.

A Red-eared Slider, I think (correct me if I'm wrong), barely bigger than an American quarter.

Live long and prosper, kiddo.

2011-05-14T22:33:00.013-04:00

This Spring's rain was good for something.

It was an outstanding year for Morels. This crop was exceptionally sandy due to the flood, but after several rinses, they were delectable sautéed in olive oil with fresh garlic.

The river receded enough to get a look at the fallen Buckeye tree.It pulled down two other trees,

tore up the bank,

and snapped another tree like a toothpick.

It is still well-anchored and continues to leaf out. The horizontal trunk might be a basking place for turtles this summer.

I'm sorry that it fell, really I am, but it is what it is and it did what it had to do.

I don't know that I would feel the same if one of the majestic Sycamores fell.

Someone else inspected the new fallen tree as I was photographing.

A Muskrat swam back and forth and 'round in circles, evidently so curious about the new landscape that she didn't notice me.

I'm re-reading Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, one of my all-time favorites. She writes,

"The great hurrah about wild animals is that they exist at all, and the greater hurrah is the actual moment of seeing them. Because they have a nice dignity, and prefer to have nothing to do with me, not even as the simple objects of my vision.

They show me by their very wariness what a prize it is simply to open my eyes and behold."

2011-05-07T10:48:00.028-04:00

The Sun was such a glorious sight on Wednesday, I ran outside with the camera to capture a bit of it.

I noticed the large buckeye tree was leaning but never imagined that, two days later,

it would fall.

The water wasn't higher or faster than before. The ground was just too saturated to hold it.

Good grief.

We lost an empty nest box on that tree but there are other boxes around the yard that are still well anchored.

Babies!

There are at least three in the litter, high and dry and safe.

Two weeks ago, grandnephew Jacob and I went birding at Highbanks Metropark. Jennifer and Steve of the common milkweed, naturalists extraordinaire, came along and made it a special afternoon.

We didn't see many birds, it being a storm-threatened afternoon, but saw some flowers,
like this Goldenseal,

and Jacob was excited about fungi

which he enjoyed examining and squishing.

Last weekend, there was a break in the weather and trip to the Woods was in order.

Brown was giving way to green

and vernal pools were around every bend.

Spring Beauty

A patch of Wild Leeks had been munched on by... rabbits? squirrels? deer?

Virginia Creeper

Wild Geranium

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

More 'shrooms

The Swamp, at the back of the property, is filling in with fallen trees.

Back in the yard, a few flowers managed to fight their way up through the mud.

Celandine Poppies

Trilliums

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks stopped by for a nibble;
two males and a female were here for much of the week.

Wild Columbines are so beautifully intricate.

Columbine with Ants

2011-04-24T12:54:00.001-04:00

More rain

Virginia Bluebells

Large-flowered Bellwort

2011-04-17T17:14:00.012-04:00

Can you find the bird in this picture?

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Bloodroot on Wednesday

I never did see the Bloodroot open, in all its glory. The wind howled all day today, and it was ridiculously cold. By the time I bundled up and made it outside with the camera, petals were on the ground and some had already gone to seed.

Mayapples shot out of the ground mid-week.

The umbrellas fought against the wind today.

Dutchman's Breeches

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

The bird in the first photo is a Canada Goose and she's nesting atop the Locust snag. Last year (assuming this is the same pair), the goslings' mortality rate was high so this may be a safer spot.

2011-04-10T20:40:00.011-04:00

Female Downy Woodpecker

We watched this Downy for a while and speculated that the Red Squirrels had hired her to peck at the peanuts so they'd fall on the ground for easier access. Red Squirrels are wily that way.

The flowers are coming on slowly. Today was quite warm and a lone Spring Beauty was abloom in the yard.

The Virginia Bluebells should open any day now. I adore the color changes they go through in their brief time out.

Dutchman's Breeches, one of my favorites.

(Okay, okay, they're all my favorites.)

Leatherwood flowers

Black Gold

This represents our food scraps from two years ago. We're lazy composters, no bins or turning for us. Everything goes in a pile, we add some leaves when they're available, and let it all rot. It all comes out the same in the end: great nutrients for the garden.

The tomatoes are growing, and behind them are two kinds of basil, jalapeños, zinnias, snow-on-the-mountain, and globe amaranth.

The outdoor garden holds new seeds, too: lettuce, macha, spinach, hakurei turnips, and red and black radishes.

Wondrous Wednesday

2011-04-06T21:07:00.013-04:00

Finally!

The Bloodroot is up!

The river is up, too. Bare trees were beautifully sunlit against a stormy sky.

Turn your speakers on for this.

The babies are hungry! I've mothered orphaned Raccoons over the years and this sound really brings out latent maternal instincts. The only thing better than rearing Raccoons is knowing their mom is taking care of them and they'll grow up healthy, strong, and well-equipped to make their way in the world.

Fat Boy, High Goose, and Signs of Spring

2011-04-03T13:06:00.007-04:00

The bench has moved from the riverbank to the pond

but that's the most dramatic change so far this Spring.

The Virginia Bluebells are still hangin' out, waiting for a little more warmth.

Paw paw flower buds are right where we left them two weeks ago, though the leaf buds have peeked out.

Jacob's Ladder leaves are a rare bit of green in the yard.

Spring Beauty and Dutchman's Breeches leaves are up.

It's unusual to look up, rather than down, on a goose, unless she's flying high in the sky.
It's unclear if this ol' Locust snag is hollow or not but a Canada Goose is being protective of the area. Could it be a nest site?

During an early morning walk along the riverbank, a large, dark form caught my eye.
It was the biggest Beaver I've seen, having breakfast on the Corn-er. If I'd known he was dining, I'd have taken an extra mug of coffee with me.

The End.

Stupendously Fabulous Nature Photographs!!! (not)

2011-03-27T21:24:00.007-04:00

I've been thinking of changing the name of this blog to The Hapless Photographer. I can't win for losing.

This is the river, shortly after two dozen incredibly handsome Wood Ducks took flight.

I tried to capture them all weekend, but they were equally spooked by slooowly opening doors and siiiilently sliding windows. Forget about getting out of the house and over to the bank to photograph them. Skittish critters, they are. Honestly, I don't know how anyone ever photographs a Wood Duck.

Mid-week, I took Lily for a 3:00 a.m. walk (her idea, not mine). A good-sized pack of Coyotes was howling in the field behind the house. They certainly caught Lily's attention and I wondered if she knew what they were saying.

Even if they had been in the mood to be photographed, it was pitch black outside.

This is a crummy picture of a Wild Leek.

At least it's out of the ground.

Friday, on my way to work, I was a little too early and pulled into a riverside park to see if any migrating ducks were around. There were none. But within two minutes, a Bald Eagle swooped in front of me, a Great Blue Heron flapped down the middle of the river, and a migrating Common (!) Loon popped to the surface after diving for breakfast. My camera was at home.

This photo isn't particularly bad, it's just boring, unless
you live here. The river has dropped from 13.99' to 3.03'... but the pond isn't returning to its usual level, as it always has in the past. The path is still flooded and we can't walk around the pond. Our underground water must be in pretty good shape.

What is this thing?

2011-03-20T18:29:00.016-04:00

Two of these appeared in our little woods. The larger of the two is about 2" x 2" (~5 cm); the other is half the size.

When I wiggled it, it wasn't anchored at all. There was no evidence of roots on the underside; just the nubbins that appear on the sides.

Underside

There are no cultivated plants in the area but it could have floated in from anywhere. What in the heck is it? I may have to pot it to find out.

Identification of the following objects is easier. A handful of bottles and piles of hickory nuts landed in the front yard,

along with many branches and limbs.
Fortunately, we're not the manicured lawn sort.

Today is the first day of Spring so we toured the yard looking for signs.

Paw paw bud

Buckeye bud

Prickly Ash bud

Butternut bud

Virginia Bluebell leaf sprouts!

We hadn't done any Flying Squirrel spotting all Winter so it was well past time to put some nuts on the nut shelf, fire up the outdoor spot light, and do some viewing. When we turned the light on, we found a half-dozen Raccoons chowing down on nuts. We watched them for a few minutes and did, indeed, see some Flyers land on the back side of the tree. Light was adequate for viewing so I thought I'd take a chance with the camera. I slowly, silently eased the window open and snapped this shot:

Raccoon eyes

While touring the yard today, we heard the chortling of newborn Raccoonlets high up in a nest box.

I wondered if Mom had birthed them during the flood. And I thought we had it rough.

Happy Spring to newborn babies, awakening wildflowers, and you.

This post brought to you by the color Brown

2011-03-13T19:43:00.006-04:00

Not really Winter anymore, but neither is it Spring,

it's the brown time of year.

While retrieving a ball that Lily left behind, something caught my eye. It was a dead branch resting at an odd angle against a young Wild Black Cherry tree.
I noticed something holding it in place and tugged on the dead branch. It held fast, as if it had been glued to the tree.

I suppose it's a fungus holding it in place, but I wouldn't know how to start keying it out. If anyone can offer i.d. help, I'm all ears.

Preoccupied with the recent high water, I haven't spent much time looking for signs of Spring. Blue Jay Barrens reminded me that it's time for maples to flower so I made a point of looking at one of our trees.

Color!

13.99'

2011-03-10T11:53:00.016-05:00

I was unable to snap the weekly picture last weekend so I present it now.

This is what happened. The last week in February, we knew a big flood was coming but we've been through them before and weren't particularly worried. Monday morning, the 28th, NOAA reported it would crest at 19' (5.8 m) that very night. 14' (4.3 m), give or take, is as high as it's ever been here so 19' sounded seriously catastrophic. We threw clean underwear and prescriptions in the car, moved everything in the house as high up as we could, drove through floodwater to board the dogs, and hightailed it to a motel room in town.

As it turned out, the 19' prediction was erroneous and none of this was necessary, but by the time we learned of the mistake, all roads were flooded and closed and we were stuck in town.

It pained me that I wasn't here to watch the action and take pictures but it probably looked very much like the Flood of '08. Our low, back room flooded but it can be fixed. Books, music, and clothes survived.

This is what's left, as of yesterday.

The field across the road

The pond is under all this, somewhere. It's okay, the level was low anyway.

This stretch of road in front of the house is dry now but the road is still flooded to the south and we have to detour to get out.

And all that's left is the mud! Imagine, if you will, 12 dog feet galloping and cavorting through this. There will be some continuing cleanup until we get a good, long blast of sunshine.

Home again

2011-03-09T07:36:00.004-05:00

It was quite a storm, quite a week. The water has been higher before but never over such a long stretch of time as one front followed another and another.

I was out of the house for 9 days, having responsibilities at work, and then there were the closed roads, which are still closed. I checked NOAA, USGS, weather.com, and wunderground.com obsessively. O was able to make it back in, and out, and in, and took the following pictures during the low water times.

Driveway to the road

Rare sunshine, taken through the kitchen window

Another refugee

More pics to follow.

Silent Sunday

2011-03-06T09:24:00.002-05:00

Skunk Cabbage

Fast and deep

Splitback (disturbing photo)

2011-02-27T12:58:00.009-05:00

American Beech icicle dangle

White Pinecicle

(I wonder about the brown bits on the needles. Is this a nutrient deficiency?)

I intentionally placed this photo down the page a bit so you may bug out now if you're squeamish.

This is Splitback the Red Squirrel. I noticed him for the first time today. What you see isn't just a parting of fur, it's either a wound along his spine or a congenital disorder. Happily, he was flying around the feeder and branches like any ol' healthy squirrel, but, having an achy back the last few days, I feel for him.

Some creatures go through things we seldom see and cannot imagine.

Late, late, late, Winter

2011-02-23T20:13:00.004-05:00

Last week, I saw the first 2011 Turkey Vultures north of Columbus and south of the Arboretum. Glorious! I always roll down my car window and yell, “Welcome baaaaaaack!!!” when I see the first ones.

Yesterday, while I was at work, O reported that Red-winged Blackbirds, Common (indeed!) Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and an American Robin had invaded the yard.

He was excited about American Beaver sign, too. We no longer have to make the arduous 8-minute trek to the beaver tree; they’re here in the yard! The footprints were gone by the time I got home but I saw freshly-gnawed trees

and a veritable herd of Wild Turkey footprints in the snow, this one by my (dainty) boot for size comparison.

Turkey Highway

Spring will come, Spring will come, I'm pretty sure of it.

What next?

2011-02-21T09:08:00.009-05:00

This is some of the ice we chipped off of the back door patio on Tuesday. It was 2" (5 cm) thick.

The driveway ice, made of freezing rain and compacted snow, was 3" (7.5 cm) thick and took all week to melt. I tried to get a clean break with a shovel to show the thickness but the shovel only glanced off and wouldn't penetrate. It was dense, more like concrete than frozen water. Several mornings, I put the car in low gear, engaged the brake, slid out the driveway, and hoped, with all my might, that I would not slide into cars coming down the road.

All was clear by the weekend. This is moonset on Saturday morning.

It was bliss to put my feet on solid ground (well, mud, actually) instead of ice. Oh, the things we take for granted.

The river rose with the melting. The bridge over Little Frog Creek is under here, somewhere, as water creeps into the yard.

Big river

More freezing rain, sleet, and snow is predicted this coming week. I would prefer a plague of raining frogs or locusts.

Then again, the forecasters are always, always wrong, so wildflowers could appear just as easily.

Warming, slowly

2011-02-13T17:42:00.009-05:00

Just a quick check-in today. Temps rose above freezing yesterday and hit the low 40s F (5-ish C) this afternoon. O and I have taken turns chipping away at the thick ice sheet at the back door. We'll break through to the driveway eventually.

It's hard to walk through the yard, punching through ice with every fifth step. But it's not consistently every fifth step, so one never knows when it's going to happen. The dogs didn't even enjoy playing outside... and that's saying a lot.

I soldiered out to the riverbank this morning for the weekly picture and caught some geese.

Melt on.

Then, snow fell

2011-02-06T19:42:00.009-05:00

Snow fell Saturday, not a lot, but enough to provide some traction on the sheet of ice that blankets the yard.

Snow on Balsam Fir

The birds in the yard were atwitter to find some food that wasn't encrusted in ice.

The Fox Squirrel dropped by for a bite to eat.

Movement caught my eye at the kitchen window and a White-tailed Deer posed for me.
A few minutes later, Lily barked and barked. When I went to investigate, 11 more were walking through the woods with this one. The barking spooked them before I could grab my camera.

The next day, I went for a ski around the pond and saw that part of the herd had made its way through the yard.

Groundhog Day Storm

2011-02-02T20:35:00.007-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, freezing rain and sleet fell again, doubling the icing on the trees. I took the dogs out at 11:30 p.m. and it had warmed. In the dark, I could hear slushcicles falling to the ground around me.

I was awakened at 1:30 a.m.: the wind had picked up and it was blowing all the ice off the branches. It sounded as if pieces of glass were hitting the windows and it seemed to come from all four directions at once. What a racket!

When daybreak came, every branch, limb, and twig was free of ice. No more crunching underfoot, another inch had fallen and the ground was a sheet of solid ice. Too slippery to venture out, these pictures were taken through windows.

There were fallen limbs all over the yard but we didn't lose any big ones. We never lost power, either, though friends and co-workers and my office were without. We were very lucky and very grateful.

Wind blew the leaves off the Sweetbay Magnolia.

(Gratuitous cute Red Squirrel picture)

One of the Fox Squirrels finally found his way across the river.

He was kind enough to do a woodchuck impersonation,
which gives me the opportunity to wish you a Happy Groundhog Day!

Crunch

2011-02-01T15:42:00.011-05:00

Last night's epic snowstorm never materialized. Instead, we got sleet. All night long.

Sleet on Norway Spruce

I looked forward to daybreak, a magical morning of sunshine gleaming through millions of glistening twigs enshrouded in crystalline ice... but the sun was in hiding all day, and so, no knockout photos.

Sleet on Shingle Oak

Sleet on road

The lines on the road were nearly obliterated.

Sleet underfoot

A Cold Walk

2011-01-31T20:09:00.011-05:00

It was a bit warmer this weekend--the icicles dripped at high noon--but the wind was brisk and the air raw. It felt cold. I contented myself with shooting birds through the kitchen window.

Female Northern Cardinal and Dark-eyed Junco

Cardinal

O has a new, less shabby platform feeder, but we've yet to replace the flimsy string with durable, squirrel-proof chain.

Blue Jay

Dark-eyed Junco and Carolina Chicakadee

It was cold, awright, but then I remembered what a friend told me years ago: You only have so many weekends in your life. So I put on boots, insulated coveralls, extra sweatshirt, gloves, scarf, hat, and ventured outside.

The Poison Ivy patch along the North End doesn't get much respect, especially when the leaves have fallen, but it keeps the riff-raff out so I'm okay with it.

In Winter, it supplies birds with berries; not a first food choice, but evidently edible when nothing else is available.

I wondered, a few weeks back, if Beavers have a taste for Poison Ivy. They came back to munch on the Hackberry tree, and avoided the thick ivy stem.

I walked up the road past the great old barn, just north of the house. Wind had blown the snow off the field and it felt desolate.

I came home to see the sun set through the icicles.

Sleet is falling Monday night. We might be in for quite a storm.

A bad week for photos

2011-01-23T17:11:00.009-05:00

It was a good week for sightings, though.

A flurry of flapping feathers caught my eye at the bird feeder yesterday. An explosion of Blue Jay, Goldfinch, Chickadee, and House Finches was followed by the striped tail of a Cooper's Hawk bringing up the rear.

Opossum saw a Bald Eagle fly by the kitchen window mid-week. We're seeing eagles pretty regularly now; I hope a couple stay.

We drove to Big Island today and saw 4 Northern Harriers working the prairies.

8 seconds before I took this picture,

there were a dozen or more Wild Turkeys on the far bank.

This is zoomed way in, and two are visible. It's remarkable how quickly such large birds can vanish into the landscape -- great camo, guys!

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

I worship Winter but Dang! it's been cold. Single digits(F) this weekend, and when it does climb into the teens, brisk winds seem to accompany the temps. Stuck inside, my thoughts naturally turn to Spring. The first seeds arrived on Wednesday, mere days after my order last Sunday.

Unsolicited plug: Tomato Bob got them to me with lightning speed, in packets small enough for the home gardener, along with a handwritten thank you note and a free sample of Golden Egg heirloom tomatoes. It was a small order, my first from the local company, but it won't be my last.

Big Island

2011-01-17T03:32:00.017-05:00

Whew! Saturday was one of the grayest days on record; there was really no reason to go outside, or look through the window for that matter. So when the sun shone Sunday, we had to get out.

We took a driving tour of the Big Island Wildlife Area.

Flatter than a tabletop
makes you wonder why they stopped here
Wagon must have lost a wheel
or they lacked ambition one. . .

Levelland by James McMurtry
(well worth suffering the ad to hear the song in its entirety)

Big Island is a 5,722-acre state-owned wildlife area situated within a former wetland prairie, one of the largest in Ohio. “Wildlife area” is a misleading euphemism for a place that is managed for hunters to kill animals -- but folks who hunt with binoculars benefit, too, outside of hunting season.

A series of manmade ponds dot the area, including a 382-acre marsh. Blue- and Green-Winged Teal, Canada Geese, Mallards, Wood Ducks, Northern Harriers, Bobolink, Upland Sandpipers, herons, grebes, and shorebirds frequent the area.

Mid-day sunlight sabotaged my photos but here are a couple.

A classic "trust me" photo, a female Northern Harrier was working the fields and briefly perched in a treetop. I've driven a lot of miles over the years to view harriers and it's great to know they have winter territory nearby.

An almost-identifiable American Kestrel

Big Island is practically spitting distance from the house and it’s stupid that we don’t go more often. We vowed to go back soon.

~~~ ~~~

Back at home, Fox Squirrels frolic across the river but haven’t crossed over into the yard yet this season.

Sunrise

2011-01-09T10:10:00.005-05:00

Frosty twigs

Barn across the road

Waiting for takers

Year Changing

2011-01-02T13:36:00.003-05:00

Ice breaking

Creek falling

Creek rising

Ice floating

Pond (re)freezing

Buttonbushballs dangling

Geese arriving

2011 beginning

A Nippy Year-End

2010-12-27T19:39:00.022-05:00

It's been cold. Not brutally, frigidly, sub-zero cold, but uncomfortably, wind-chilly, numb photo-fingers cold. I spent most of the weekend inside baking bread, more sourdough loaves and

7-grain sourdough rolls. Yum!

North central Ohio was spared (or denied) stormy weather that hit much of the eastern U.S., but it's been cloudy since the Solstice. The sun finally, blessedly, mercifully came out this afternoon and I crept outside.

Beaver has been back.

S/He took a few more nibbles and appears to have been thwarted by a good-sized Poison Ivy vine. Do you suppose they're susceptible to ivy's urushiol?

It appears that someone has been camping in a nest box. I stood on tippy toes to try to get a look inside, but couldn't get close enough for an i.d. It's most likely a Screech Owl.

Bald Cypress knees

Experts are unsure of the reason the trees form these knees; it may be to help provide oxygen, or maybe to help in anchoring the trees in typically swampy soil.

Persimmons persist.

The sun brought long shadows to the river.

And this marks the final weekly picture for 2010 (see sidebar for a year of photos on the Scioto River). The year was both greener and snowier than 2009. I'm unsure where 2011 shots will be taken but it's a habit now so I'll figure something out.

Best wishes for a happy new year!

A Short Series of Completely Unrelated Photos

2010-12-20T20:24:00.014-05:00

Bah! After several weeks of brutally cold temps under crystalline skies, the clouds would decide to move in tonight, the night of a rare winter solstice lunar eclipse.

Full moon shortly after sunset

Ah well, I’m old and do the daily grind in cubicleville, so it’s unlikely I’d be up at 3 a.m. anyway. I’ll look forward to seeing some photographs by real photographers online tomorrow.

So when is the next winter solstice eclipse? That depends on how you come back. As a human, it would be 4.8 lifetimes. As a Galapagos Tortoise, 1.9; Monarch Butterflies live 2 weeks to 8 months but for fun, let’s just take the shortest-lived which would shake out to 9,789 lifetimes, and a Giant Sequoia, 0.12 lives.

I grinned at these swishes on the ice, thinking it might be the dragging tail of a Beaver, but upon closer inspection, it may have been a tipsy Goose. The river is quite a busy highway as soon as it ices.

I've been through too much to not post this photo.
It's my third attempt at homemade sourdough bread, made with starter purportedly nurtured since the 1700s--several lifetimes most ways you look at it. It was crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, not burned on the bottom, and delightfully sour throughout.

Happy Solstice, Friends!

Wonderland

2010-12-12T20:39:00.013-05:00

O took a walk Saturday and came back excited.

A Beaver has been frequenting the North End.

S/He methodically chewed through the bark and cambium of a large Hackberry tree. But no deeper, which suggests this is a food source instead of the beginning of a construction project.

A smaller tree nearby, with older chews, has the same pattern as this one: the trunk is stripped halfway around, on the uphill side.

I wonder if they know exactly how much chewing they can get away with without killing the tree. We'll keep a close eye on this one!

Rain fell the first part of the weekend,
then turned to snow.

Capo and Lily watched it fall.

It was wet and heavy and clung to every twig.

Buttonbush around the Pond looks lacy.

The river is trying to freeze.

Downstream

Through the kitchen window

Mysteries

2010-12-05T11:06:00.006-05:00

We walked under a Bald-faced Hornet's nest 100 times this summer and didn't know it. It's on the ground now, shredded by... Raccoons?

The papery nest was made with wasp spit and chewed tree bark -- and it's beautiful!

There's a nest in the aging Weeping Willow out front. It's large and twiggy. We saw hawks in the area in the spring, 'though I don't recall the species. Zooming on the photo, there are many curly willow leaves woven into the structure.

Canada Geese arrived this morning. These are either southbound migrants or northbound residents; time will tell.

O snapped some flying Mallards through the window this week. Off in the woods across the river, Wild Turkeys scratch the soil ('though they're hard to make out here).

Mysterious lights appeared on the river. Undercover military SCUBA divers? Bioluminescent carp? I just don't know. Do you? (Click twice to enlarge.)

Rain and Frost

2010-11-28T11:55:00.006-05:00

Rain fell Wednesday and Thursday. We needed it badly.

The river is up. It looks big and new to us.

We never know what high water will bring.

We have a new log to admire.

The first cold snap of the season feels so bitter. Umm, I mean invigorating! It was 19F (-7C) this morning.

Frost on a log

Morning light slays me.

Third quarter Moon with Ashleaf Maple keys

I didn't know my point-n-shoot could capture the Moon's craters.

Cool!

Bark

2010-11-22T17:45:00.013-05:00

The bark of the Butternut tree at the pond is showing some character, with distinctive cracks, moss and lichen.

A poor Blue Dogwood has sustained some damage from a poor deer with itchy antlers. The stem will probably be okay and there are plenty of others he can't get to.

Old woodpecker holes in a decrepit peach snag catch my eye whenever I walk past the living room window.

Reflective bark

Both of our massive Sycamores are schoolmarms, defined by the Society of American Foresters as trees that initially had a single trunk that later divided into two.

Witch Hazel bark with flowers and one of last year's pods. This isn't the witch just outside the kitchen window, which hasn't begun to flower yet, but one down the path that I'd completely forgotten about.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Continuing on the theme of bark, Bankside has had a request for more dog pictures.

After the initial excitement of new! puppies! wore off, we decided it probably wasn't a good idea to let them into bed. Hazel is fine sleeping on a rug and Lily learned quickly that the floor was for sleeping, but Capo's a little slower catching on. No, not slow. Stubborn.

But we kind of missed sleeping with them so decided to have a dog slumber party. An air mattress on the living room floor, an old quilt, and we were ready.

That's Hazel on the floor, Lily on the pillow, and Capo, who burrowed under the covers from the head to the foot and sleeps with his snout sticking out. Oh, and a rare photo of your blogger. We spent most of the night laughing at Capo and needed naps the next day.

Goodbye, Indian Summer

2010-11-14T15:00:00.016-05:00

What a great weekend! The weather went from sunshine and t-shirts to blustery and jackets over 48 hours but I made the most of the last warm day.

Before 9 a.m. Saturday, I'd made a pot of Black Bean Soup, a pot of Bean Without Bacon Soup, a vat of spaghetti sauce, and a batch of vegan parmesan cheese. Two loaves of whole wheat bread are baking in the oven now. I wish you could smell them.

I cleaned out the garden, hand-tilled the beds and put down a layer of leaves, and tucked it in for the Winter.

4 quarts of curly parsley
yielded a pint of dried parsley (cleaned in shirtsleeves to the tunes of Mumford & Sons,

while the farmer harvested wheat across the road in front of the abandoned barn, and an immature Bald Eagle circled over the house).

It seems there's a Red Squirrel invasion but we're just noticing them more with the leaves off the trees. When they're not chowing down on sunflower seeds,

they're feasting on Honey Locust pods.

It's time for the little birds to fatten up:

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Tufted Titmouse.

The IOCG (International Order of Common Grackles) convened this weekend.

What a racket they made!

The flock of thousands was lovely, wheeling and gliding in unison above the treetops.

Open

2010-11-08T19:11:00.007-05:00

It's lovely to live amongst the trees, but the shade becomes a bit oppressive after a few months and I'm always thrilled to see through the trees and into the sky.

Things hidden become visible when leaves fall, like this Fox Squirrel dray.
The golden spangles to the right are Ashleaf Maple keys, a staple of our squirrels.

Last week brought frosts and a couple of hard freezes. The greenhouse is working.

The photo was taken after harvesting much of the oak leaf and new fire red lettuce, right before a forecast of 27F (-3C). It will be interesting to see if there's any new growth in cold temps and diminishing daylight.

2010-11-01T19:32:00.013-04:00

I was too quick with my cropping yesterday. Intent on seeing the face, eyes, and palps of my Halloween Spider, I completely missed...

the pale orange egg sack to the upper left of the spider.

She laid her eggs in the door frame at the back door. A hard freeze is in the forecast tonight. Will the heat emanating from the house keep them all from freezing? Will Mom make it through the night? Will the infants? When are they due to hatch? Later this Fall? In the Spring?

The nurturer in me wants to place a fuzzy blanket over the whole family to keep them warm and safe... but that would prevent Mom from capturing food, from eating dinner. If there's one thing I've learned in many decades, it's to let Mother Nature take Her course without interference from well-intentioned but not-too-bright humans. I'll keep an eye on the doorframe and keep you posted.

Halloween at the Arboretum

2010-10-31T13:18:00.020-04:00

I hadn't planned to do a Halloween post

but this orange and black beauty was at the back door and I had no choice.

I wasn't able to identify her but surely taxonomists named her "Halloween Spider."

[Later that week... I searched again at bugguide.net and learned this really is the Halloween Spider, Araneus marmoreus!]

This is probably a female or an immature male. Adult males have enlarged pedipalps (front appendages) that look like boxing gloves.

~~~~~~~~~~

Autumn marches on here, with light frosts the past week, and hard freezes in the forecast.
The bend in the river has a fish-eye lens appearance.

The low water is barely moving and leaves come to rest along the far bank.

The 2-month drought spoiled much of the bright fall color so Blackgum reds are especially appreciated.

The highlight of my week was seeing the first Harbinger of Winter yesterday,

a Dark-Eyed Junco.

2010-10-27T21:08:00.006-04:00

No stories to tell nor exceptional photos but this blogging thing has become a habit so here are a few snaps from the past week.

Morning sky

Bright green greenbriar climbs hot pink Eastern Wahoo, so colorful against the browns and grays.

Blackgum leaf after the rain

Fierce storms in the Midwest this week raced through our area without much fuss, dropping 3/4" of much needed rain.

As wind blows and leaves fall, the view opens.

Dry

2010-10-19T21:18:00.008-04:00

This is Twin Lakes, just north of Columbus in October, 2009,

and October, 2010.

This is our river, looking downstream after a light rain this weekend.
The gravel bar is underwater most of the year.

Looking upstream, you can see the house on the river's bend.
It's hard to fathom the riverbed filling to the point of flooding, but it has, and it will again.

Sycamore roots criss and cross and grow into one another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am occasionally moved to write bad haiku. This came to me while sitting by an open window.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Skittering through leaves

Squirrel feet

Please feel free to get your revenge by posting your own seasonal haiku in Comments.

30 Dollar 30 Minute Greenhouse

2010-10-16T19:16:00.011-04:00

I've been looking at greenhouse/coldframe plans all summer. All require a degree of handymanness that I lack so I tried to simplify some plans I'd seen.

This came together very fast and might work for a first attempt at extending the gardening season.
The beds are 4' x 4' and two are covered here.

1/2" PVC pipes in standard 10' lengths (no cutting) were pushed into the corners of the beds (no hardware) diagonally. The intersections on top were tied with twine left over from staked tomatoes.

The plastic was stapled to two 8' tomato stakes which run the length of the two beds and straddle the outside edges. The stakes will hold the plastic down and can easily be lifted to the "roof" to access veggies. Extra plastic on the ends is tucked in to keep the cold out.

Although plastic and pipe were just under $30, I only used half the plastic so could cover two more beds for a total of about $35. Pipes, stakes, and plastic can be rolled up in the spring and won't require much storage space.

I'll be outside with a thermometer the first cold day, to see how much warmer it is in the greenhouse.

2010-10-12T17:05:00.018-04:00

Golden bankside

Sycamore crown

Newcomb's has 43 aster entries in its index. I failed to capture identifying features such as basal leaves, bracts, and stems, so I won't try to identify them, but the diversity is amazing.

Last week's persimmon bounty was carried off by Raccoons, Red Squirrels, Opossums, and who-knows-who-else. May they poop seeds that sprout and grow throughout the valley.

Quite a crop remains in the treetops, the most they've ever produced, by far.

Falling

2010-10-03T14:49:00.009-04:00

There are plenty of green leaves still on the trees but there's gold on the ground, too.

I always stop by my favorite American Hornbeam to admire its sinewy bark and could easily have missed this superbly camouflaged spider.

It's a bumper crop of Persimmons! Most fell to drought rather than ripeness, but they're alllllmost ready, and a few cool nights should make them palatable to Raccoons and Opossums.

My October garden looks better than my summer garden ever did. Cukes are an inch long and still a gamble in these ever-shortening days, but there will be enough basil for another batch of pesto, and greens for a few more salads.