Dawns bloggy blog

Fathers day in Sicksta Lori’s garden..

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:08:09 PDT

Sunday we took a drive to my Sickstas home in Connecticut for a Fathers Day Picnic.

Dad and brother John

Crab claws

The rest of the gang..

A male House Sparrow checks out these digs in my Sickstas Loris garden..

After in and out several times..

He sits on the home..

Was he waiting for a female?

Lori’s Succulent gardens

Love these truck gardens!

Aren't they cool?

I think I must have been having too much fun…there is much more to Loris gardens ..

..next visit I will take more..

Back in Massachusetts~Still awaiting baby!

Bit of there and here..

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:36:53 PDT

There..

a week or so ago..walking around the block with Dad I spy these beautiful Clematis growing up a mailbox post.

There…

As Dad and I walk the block we pass by a home with wildflowers growing in a heart shape.

This heart is in the lawn of a recently deceased neighbor..

Dad used to take this mans morning paper from the mailbox and put it in the front door every day.

I think it’s a thank you heart…

There..

Mom and Dads yard..a few posts back I took photos of the Peonies

My mom told me I needed to take a photo of the Mock Orange..

Here it is..

Have you ever had the pleasure of experiencing the scent of a Mock Orange?

Heavenly! ..

There..

A few more of Mom and Dads Peonies..

Mom wanted me to take photos of the dark pink ones..

These light single flowers are my favorites..

floppy delicate petals..

Here…

As some of you know we are now in Lexington, Ma. awaiting our first grandchild.

I also am taking Doxycycline for a deer tick bite…

Doxy can make you very sun-sensitive. You can get a burn in minutes even when wearing sunblock. Some people taking Doxy have even had their knuckles burned from the sun coming into the car. Also when you take Doxy and go into the heat, it can make your skin very uncomfortable. Please avoid the sun completely when on this med. The burns can be serious and painful.

I can not go out in the sun. I burn very very easily..

So….we walk early in the morning.

I took this photo on one of our morning walks here..

Is it a butterfly?

Humm…

Nope..not a butterfly..

I am pretty bummed I can not go out in the sun.

I burned my toes and nose the few times I was out. I now try to stay indoors. Just a few more days of the Doxy. I am not sure how long after the Doxy I will be sun sensitive.

I am yearning for a nice walk in the sunshine.

Alien invader or bird dropping?

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:14:20 PDT

I have a small decorative garden at Mom and Dads..a few flowers and one tomato plant given to me by my Sicksta Adele..

One day a week or so ago I looked at my tomato plant ..

There were a few dark blobs on the plant.

From a distance it looked like berry bird poop.

I might have ignored it but for some reason something made me look closer..

Humm..this doesn’t look quite like a bird poop.

I touched it..

Nope..

not bird poo

clavate tortoise beetle

What an odd looking creature.

It was snacking on my tomato plant.

I removed the little alien creatures from my plant whenever I saw them.

I hope they find something other than my tomato to chew on.

Jeff and I are now in Massachusetts, visiting with family and friends and awaiting our first Grandchild.

Here we are...waiting

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 04:56:59 PDT

Here we are settled in for a bit in Jeff's sisters driveway.

This is what we see out of the front window of Homey.
Mega-home...old homes are being torn down and these monsters spring up.

The houses on either side of us are still the original homes.

Large treed lots... Very desirable.
We feel small here.

Yesterday we went into Boston for the Gay Pride Parade.
It was a ton of fun!

We all left the parade bedazzled with beads, ribbons and stickers.

Now we hang out with family and friends and play the waiting game.
Last night we placed bets on date and weight of the baby.
Next stop
Grandma and Grandpa!

Passion for Peonies

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 07:28:46 PDT

The Peonies have started to bloom at Mom and Dads..

Lovely shades of pinks and white..

Some of the peonies in their gardens are transplants from both of my grandmothers gardens.

Symbolic of prosperity, peonies were also said to conceal mischievous nymphs within their petals, earning the meaning of Shame or Bashfulness in the Language of Flowers

I had fun with this Peony photo shoot and took many photos, especially of my favorite one..I think you might notice which one that is.

I found this lovely poem by Mary Oliver about peonies… I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Peonies
Mary Oliver

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
   to break my heart
      as the sun rises,
         as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open —
   pools of lace,
      white and pink —
         and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
   into the curls,
      craving the sweet sap,
         taking it away

to their dark, underground cities —
   and all day
      under the shifty wind,
         as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
   and tip their fragrance to the air,
      and rise,
         their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
   gladly and lightly,
      and there it is again —
         beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
   Do you love this world?
      Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
         Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
   and softly,
      and exclaiming of their dearness,
         fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
   their eagerness
      to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
         nothing, forever?

Sunset~Bluff Point State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Fri, 31 May 2013 13:48:06 PDT

Its been very hot the past few days here in Connecticut.

Jeff and I wait until early evening to walk.

Its always a bit cooler at Bluff Point than inland..

We finished our walk with a nice sunset..

Just a few low clouds..

The sun sets..

lighting up the low clouds..

The mountain cloud..

Jeff and I are in CT just a few more days…

We head to Massachusetts where we will await the birth of our

first Grandchild :)

We are very excited…

We plan to be nearby our daughter and her hubby, so that we can be of help when the baby comes.

This is new for all of us..

We cant wait to meet her!

Weeds no more..

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Wed, 29 May 2013 19:53:40 PDT

While parked at Mom and Dads we get into a few gardening projects.

I have been trimming shrubs. I planted the front bed with annuals and mulched it.

Our next project was to tackle the garden behind the house..

it was full of grass…

… impossible to weed..

The grass was growing in between the Primrose and Iris..

So…

Jeff dug out all the Iris and Primrose.

I then took the grass out from around the plants..

and put them into piles..

After separating the grass from all of the plants..I spread pine bark mulch over the entire area and then replanted everything except one small section that needed no weeding.

I hope the plants recover from the transplanting.

All done!

The garden looks better without the black fencing, but my parents Doberman would be walking through the garden without it.

Things should fill in and hopefully the mulch will prevent the grass from taking over.

Arlington Great Meadows

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Tue, 28 May 2013 07:03:09 PDT

We went to Arlington, Ma this weekend to visit our daughter and her hubby, while there they took us to this little jewel in the middle of an urban area.

Arlington Great Meadows

Arlington's Great Meadows is a 183-acre parcel of land located in east Lexington. It is the largest piece of undeveloped land in the Arlington/Lexington area. It is part of the Mystic River watershed. Once a glacial lake, it is now a wet meadow surrounded by uplands created by glacial outwash. Great Meadows was purchased by Arlington in 1871 to serve as a supplementary water storage area, but was only briefly used for that purpose. However, it remains a valuable buffer against flooding in the area.

Here is a link to a nice walking tour of the meadows..I just read there is a Woodcock Peenting area!

Its so nice that these areas stay undeveloped.

………………………………………………………………..

We had a Jeep led tour of the park…

Jeep meets Pink Lady's Slipper

I did not expect to see Pink Lady's Slipper.

There were many clumps of them..

I have not seen them in clumps like this in many years..

We also saw lots of..

Wild Sarsaparilla

Wild sarsaparilla is a 1-2 foot tall shrub common to the forest understories of southern New England. It produces tiny white flowers in spherical clusters beneath the compound leaves, which ripen into blue-black berries in mid-summer. The rhizome of wild sarsaparilla has a sweet, aromatic taste, and sometimes has substituted for sassafras in the making of home-made root beer.

Have any of you tried making root beer with the roots of this plant?

Grasshopper..

Anyone good on grasshopper ID?

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

We had a lovely walk in this green oasis..

Our daughter, who is pregnant, and due in just a few weeks had to take breaks now and then.

A very small turtle..

ID?False Solomon’s seal

This Poor tattered Mourning Cloak butterfly landed in the path.

I shot of few photos to ID it..

It had no blue left..I assume from the markings it still had that it is a Mourning Cloak.

A Great place to grab a bit of nature in the city!

Thanks for the Jeep tour Jeff C.!

Gray Catbird at the Dining window..

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:44:27 PDT

Gray Catbird at the Dining window..

Not this window…

This is our bedroom window..

We are parked close to a large Rhododendron bush.

Because of our proximity and our reflective windows we tend to get birds tapping at our window and acting territorial.

This particular catbird has been hanging out ever since we arrived in my parents driveway.

It was probably here first.

It sits on the shrub right outside of my dining window and stares at its reflection..

It sometimes taps at its reflection.

I am not sure if its being territorial or if its trying to attract a mate.

It has been pecking at the Rhodo buds..

Notice below..no more flowers!

I like to think it was pecking one off to bring to its reflection..

Probably not.

Do any of you have ideas as to why it is pecking at the flowers?

I don’t even know if this is a male.

I do hope it doesn’t peck all of the flowers off the Rhodo bush..

My mother wouldn’t appreciate that..

As it is Homey covers the whole

Rhododendron bush and she cant see it unless she comes to visit.

Guess she needs to come over for tea soon to visit her flowers.

Watch the video below to see the Catbird pecking at the flowers…

What do you think its doing?

Oh.

Look who I found!

Poor Waldo was lost…I found him in the crack of the seat of our car.

He is happy to be back in Homey!

Blackpoll woods and Dewdrops…

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:19:13 PDT

It was supposed to be another good migration day in our area according to Tom Auer’s blog.

Jeff and I set out early for Bluff Point to see what migrants may have come thru.

We stopped at the first pull off as we did the week before when we experienced an amazing morning of warbler filled trees.
This time we did not see warblers decorating the trees…

Instead, the woods was full of Blackpoll Warbler song.

"seet-seet-seet-seet-seet-seet-seet-seet."

It was fun to catch these long distance warblers in migration!

It was a foggy morning..and spider webs were highlighted with dew..

There were many cap like web structures..

With these spiders inside..

Does anyone know what type of spider this is?

I love what foggy mornings bring..

Dew..

and drops..

We followed the path to the inlet..

So foggy I could barely see the opposite shore..

Jeff was chilly and ran back the quarter mile to the car to grab his sweatshirt..

In the meantime I walked a small path that the fisherman take ..

Water on either side..

And fog..

A great combination..

for

Dew Drops..

Dewdrop

by nexusnovel

Honey’d with clear, golden and lavender,

Spring’s blossom bringing forth new beginning,

Dawn awakens and glistens

In luminous flux; Oh artist of birth

Your Universal light of incandescent glow

Dances within my body, mind

Heart and Soul; Oh auspicious dewdrop,

Like a pendant of crystal chandelier,

Shaped like a tiny pear…

I see you at play upon flowers of spring,

I behold you everywhere, even in morning’s

Drop of dew

Oh artist Divine, absolute in purity and Perfection

Behold me in your infinitely vast

Creation

Hear my heart’s deepest desire,

And answer me with your

Song of Love

I turned and followed the path back to the parking lot..

Stopping for more Dew filled delights..

Dewdrops
John Clare [More Titles by Clare]

The dewdrops on every blade of grass are so much like silver drops that I am obliged to stoop down as I walk to see if they are pearls, and those sprinkled on the ivy-woven beds of primroses underneath the hazels, whitethorns and maples are so like gold beads that I stooped down to feel if they were hard, but they melted from my finger.

And where the dew lies on the primrose, the violet and whitethorn leaves they are emerald and beryl, yet nothing more than the dews of the morning on the budding leaves; nay, the road grasses are covered with gold and silver beads, and the further we go the brighter they seem to shine, like solid gold and silver.

It is nothing more than the sun's light and shade upon them in the dewy morning; every thorn-point and every bramble-spear has its trembling ornament: till the wind gets a little brisker, and then all is shaken off, and all the shining jewelry passes away into a common spring morning full of budding leaves, primroses, violets, vernal speedwell, bluebell and orchis, and commonplace objects.

A beautiful Gem filled morning.

Here we are…..

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:02:40 PDT

Here we are…

Parked in Mom and Dads driveway for a few weeks..

We will be back and forth between family in MA and here in CT most of the summer.

That’s Dad taking down the flag for the evening..

Our little side yard..

View from doorway of Homey..

My brother-in-law made the planter box for me last year.

I have started to plant it up for the summer.

My little Balliecat is *planted* under the Angel statue.

View out of our living room window onto our patio..

Our dining window looks out into a Rhododendron.

A Gray Catbird has claimed this space….and guards what looks like an old nest.

While the Catbird is away a Baltimore Oriole comes in to steal some nesting material..

The Catbird didn’t appreciate this very much..

So..here we are settled in for a bit.

A few days ago I read Tom Auer’s Migration forecast for the area.

I know when you hit it just right Bluff Point State Park can be a great place for migrants..

We arrived around 6:30am

A beautiful start to the morning..

We parked our car at the first pull off after going under the train tracks..

Walked up into an open area near the gated area for the trains..

We hit the jackpot..

Warblers everywhere!

We didn’t know where to look first.

We birded the area for six hours!

First doing the short walk near the first pull off..

Then the three mile loop.

Most variety of warblers was at the first pull off.

It was amazing!

Ovenbird

Most birds were up high in the canopy and my little point and shoot camera couldn’t reach them..

Black and White Warbler butt

We saw a Baltimore Oriole making its nest..

Black-throated Blue Warbler

It was a most wonderful time! It really pays to watch migration radar!

We went birding the same spots the following day and it was very different.. A few migrants left..most had moved on.

May 16

Bluff Point SP
Traveling
4 miles
360 Minutes
Observers: 2
All birds reported? Yes
Comments:
Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.5.3
Canada Goose
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Willet
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Canada Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Not without a hitch…

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:23:05 PDT

We left Cape May this morning..with a slight glitch.

Our tow hitch was damaged when Jeff tried to repair it.

We couldn’t hook the car to the Homey. We drove 130 separately to Camping World in hopes they would have the part we needed. They didn’t and were totally booked.

Jeff called Blue Ox, the dealer that made the tow hitch…luckily they found a tow hitch for us about ten miles away. We got lost and it was about 17 miles for us to find the service center.
We purchased the part..Jeff installed it and we are on our way again…

Ha..things didn’t go without a hitch~but now that we have a hitch we are going! Delayed about five hours.

So..now, as I sit in the passenger seat as we drive to CT ~

I have few water droplet photos to share.

All taken in Sicksta Adele's Garden.

Flower hanging by a spider thread..

This will relax me after a bit of a stressful morning.

Liquid diamonds..

Trees reflected in these droplets..

Spring brought buckets of rain to Sickstas garden..

She said this will be a banner year for her flowers..

She has never seen her garden as lush.

Iris tongue lapping water droplet.

It will be a spring she will always remember.

It was also a much colder spring..

I will remember the spring because the bird migrants were over a week late..

These macros are taken with my point and shoot camera.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20

Not bad for a little camera..

I am sure I could get better detail with a DSLR

I am just too lazy of a photographer to carry around a big camera..

This works for me for now..

Though I am very tempted to buy the point and shoot Canon with the 50x zoom..I would use it primarily for bird photography…Lillian Stokes and Stephen Ingraham have been taking some awesome photos with it!

The price is under 400..not bad, I just find it hard to justify when I have another Canon with a 20x zoom that I hardly use now that my small camera has the same 20x.

Anyway..still very tempting.

I have a post or two from our birding trip to coastal Delaware and Cape May…Stay tuned!

Happy Gardening and Happy Birding to you all!

Its addictive..….

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:09:08 PDT

I have been having a blast with my ToonCamera app.

Only 1.99 download from Itunes.

Everything seems to look better tooned..

Be careful..if you download this app..

Its very addictive..

I have tooned just about everything..

Sickstas home and Gardens..

Homey..Tooned..

Cars and trucks look very cool tooned..

Jack~tooned

My shadow..Tooned

Garden flowers…tooned

A walk down the street..

Abandoned house..Tooned

Crooked outhouse

Mountain laurel ..tooned

Its fun to toon people

Myself…tooned

Jeff..tooned

Sicksta and Ghetto Boy

tooned..

I know..

I have gotten carried away..

Did you know orchids look cool tooned

Jack loves being tooned..

What do you think?

Are you going to try the app?

Be careful..as you can tell…

its addictive!

Jeff and I are now in Cape May, NJ. Here for a few days of birding before heading to Ct and MA for the summer.

We will be grandparents soon and are very excited!

What are your summer plans?

On the Road…just as things get exciting

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:52:40 PDT

We have left our cozy little space in Sicksta and Ghetto boys side yard..

We head north

Just as things were getting exciting here..

We had a lovely visit…

As we always do here…

I watched and waited patiently for birds that should have migrated into the area sooner..

They arrived in drips and drabs..

Finally the last few days the Indigo buntings joined the Blue Grosbeak.

I saw various warblers including a first time Magnolia warbler in the yard.

This morning as we were packing up to leave, I heard the melodic call of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak….this bird is over a week late..compared to previous years.

Its getting exciting around here..

Female Indigo bunting

Indigo Bunting males..

Its starting to warm up so the pool cover was removed yesterday..

revealing Gray Tree frogs..

Sicksta saved this one from getting squished in the pool cover..

I hear these critters all day..

Its getting exciting around here..

I hear the little chickadees calling for food in the nest box..

should be fledging soon

Its getting exciting around here..

The Black Vultures eggs have hatched..

Adorable..

Its getting exciting around here..

The Great-crested flycatcher…

a constant in the yard this time of year....

The Bluebirds are in and out of the nest box..

The Chipping sparrow and Tufted titmouse are still sitting on their eggs …

Its getting exciting around here..

I will miss all the grand exits and first flights.

Brown-headed nuthatch delight as they squeak in nearby trees..

The Mountain laurel is just starting to open..

Its getting exciting around here..

The pansies are still lush..

Sicksta says they will start to fade as it gets warmer..

Rain has been kind to Sickstas garden this spring..

This Iris looks to be lapping up a raindrop.

Its hard to leave when things are just starting to get so exciting!

See you Jack

See you Kali..

Goodbye Sicksta, Ghetto boy and Closet boy

Enjoy these exciting times in your garden for me!

You know how I hate to miss out on anything!

Take a photo of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak!

If you see the birds fledging take photos for me..

Garden photos..I want those also.

Oh better yet..

How about Skype..yeah..that’s it..Leave your house and yard and pups and you on a full time Skype with me!

goodbye for now..

Slow Migration~ Carthage, NC

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Sun, 05 May 2013 10:54:53 PDT

I hope you are all having a wonderful spring.

Seems like places up north are still buried in snow.

Its been an odd spring here as well…much cooler than normal. More rain.

Less migrants..

This is what it looked like last year..

Check out my blog posts here from last year and you will see what I mean.

Blue, Indigo and Rose Visitors

1~2~3~4~5~ WOW

Red, White and Blue

Not that we don’t have a good amount of colorful birds here..

Local Bluebirds nest in the yard..

Chickadees are nesting here also..

Scarlet and Summer Tanagers are here..

Though, I see no females..

The Local Chipping sparrows are nesting in a Cedar in the yard.

The first Blue at the feeder was this Male Blue Grosbeak..

He arrived over a week ago.

No females seen.

A few days ago this male Indigo Bunting arrived.

We usually have a handful..

We now have two, no females seen.

No Rose-breasted Grosbeak ..Yet..

I hope they arrive..No Thrush ..Yet..I hope they arrive.

Where are they?

Its an odd spring..

I really miss the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and hope to see them before we leave NC on Friday.

I will check up on the Black Vulture a few more times before we leave to see if her eggs have hatched.

Its been a lovely visit..

An odd spring..

If you know where the birds are ..

Please send them along!

How is migration in your neck of the woods?

Red-spotted Purple

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:47:15 PDT

A new butterfly for me.

Red-spotted Purple

Carthage, NC

I can not imagine I have gone my whole life and not seen this butterfly.. I am guessing I have seen it but not really noticed it before or taken the time to find out more about it.

From Butterflies and Moths of North America

RED-SPOTTED PURPLE: Upperside is blue to blue-green with much iridescence on the outer part of the hindwing. Underside is dark brown. Forewing has 2 red-orange bars near the base of the leading edge; hindwing has 3 red-orange spots near the base and a submarginal row of red-orange spots

Wing Span: 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm).

Life History: Males perch 3 feet or more above the ground on trees and tall bushes and rarely patrol for females. Eggs are laid singly on tips of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate.

Flight: Two broods from April-October.

Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry (Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), birch (Betula), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and shadbush (Amelanchier).

Adult Food: Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, and occasionally nectar from small white flowers including spiraea, privet, and viburnum. White Admirals also sip aphid honeydew

Habitat: The White Admiral form is usually found in the north in deciduous broad-leaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. The Red-Spotted Purple form is usually found further south than the White Admiral, in deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms, and coastal plains.

If you need information or ID help use the online site Butterflies and Moths of North America

You can either submit a photo for ID help or use the online guide.

On this same website is a sightings map..via the website you can create an account and submit your sightings to the database.

Here are a few samples from their frequently asked questions..

How can I report a sighting of a butterfly, moth, or caterpillar?
How soon will my sighting be verified?
Can you identify my butterfly, moth, or caterpillar?
I saw a moth that looks like a hummingbird. What is it?
How can I submit photographs for display on a species page?
Can you tell me how to crop and watermark a digital photograph?
Who are the regional coordinators, and what do they do?
How long do butterflies and moths live?

Another great site

The Children's Butterfly Site

For adults and children!

Some sample Frequently asked questions that are answered

such as

How do butterflies go to the bathroom?

Adult butterflies do not go to the bathroom. Caterpillars do all of the eating and almost continually defecate. Occasionally adult butterflies drink so much they must emit a fine liquid spray from the tip of their abdomen but it is almost pure water.

other Questions About Butterfly and Moth Behavior ~ answered on this website….

Do butterflies eat bugs?
What do butterflies eat?
How do butterflies mate?
How do butterflies communicate?
How do butterflies fly?
How high and fast do butterflies fly?
Do caterpillars drink water?
Do butterflies sleep or take brief naps?
Where do butterflies go when it rains?
Do caterpillars hide somewhere at night?
How do butterflies stay warm?
How do butterflies bathe?

Two great resources..I hope you like them.

Do you have any favorite sites for Butterfly and Moth or insect ID?

Clouds in Carthage

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:16:32 PDT

Last nights Clouds

1820 poem

"The Cloud"

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers
From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their Mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.

I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under;

And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.

This was a wonderful cloud and Jeff and I watched it until the sun set..

The cloud and storm front brought rain soon after…

The rest of The Cloud poem here…

Aimless wanderings ….

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:24:03 PDT

Here we are…

Settled in on Sicksta and Ghetto boys side yard in

Carthage, North Carolina

We have been here a few weeks…

And I have a question…

What's going on with migration?

The Pine Siskins are staying much to long this spring and eating me out of house and homey..

Look at them..

down there on the ground!

Little brown piglets..all 100 plus of them..

They should go north…

They seem to enjoy eating while viewing the back of this naked lady..

Maybe that is why they are staying…

I am providing too much food and entertainment for them.

Again…I say…

What's up with migration?

One lone Blue Grosbeak when we normally have a few more spring visitors…( see the post here from last year) along with Indigo Buntings, Rose-breasted Grosbeak…

We have seen a few warblers, vireos, Summer and Scarlet Tanager…

I am missing a few birds here and hoping they arrive soon.

Besides looking for migrants..

Jeff and I have been doing some yard work around Sickstas and Craigys..

We took out a few Holly trees…(she has plenty more)

We have had a few peeping toms here…..

Most days I just wander around…

Jeff says “aimlessly”…

I suppose he is right…

I take a few photos..

Notice the new gate and front fence?..

Craigy had to redo them..termites ate the old fence..

I stop and pull a few weeds..

Take a few more photos..

I wander into the woods to see if any more Morels are popping up..

I did find over 80 this year here in the back yard..

Banner year!!!

I check on the Black Vulture nesting in the abandoned shed in the nearby property..

I discovered her when searching for Morels..

She flew the first few times she saw me....

She had two eggs..

The last few days I have been to check up on her..

she stayed..

Either she is used to me, or she needs to stay on them..

I keep my distance..

I come out of the woods and wander around again..

I take more photos..

I check the bird houses to see who is where..

The bluebirds have nested here the past few years..

something has enlarged the hole and they have chosen a new home..

This carpenter bee is making a hole in the bottom of the bird house above..

I wonder…

Why?

I take a few more photos of Sickstas flowers..

I walk around to the other side of the house to

check out the Bluebirds new home….

Much nicer..

The chickadees have a new home as well…

For years they had a home in the moon..

the moon fell and broke over the winter..we found most of the pieces..a few were still missing on the top

I repaired the pieces we found with glue and patched the rest with trusty duct tape..

Guess the Chickadees didn’t like my repair job..

They decided this home was better..

I take more flower photos …

Then decide the cedars that we sculpted a few years earlier..

needed shaping..

I couldn’t finish this one…

a chipping sparrow has made a nest in the top ball..

She flew when she saw me..

these are her Lovely blue eggs..

I was going to take this old bird house down..

The side door hanging by a few threads..

I opened the door to check inside..

A titmouse is nesting here..

it will stay up and I will try and repair it in the fall if we are here.

I take a few more flower photos..

In case you didn’t know …

My Sicksta loves flowers and gardening..

every day she toils in the soil…

And beautiful things pop out of the ground..

Sweet little things..with different colors and textures..

A shrub gives birth to delicate papery flowers

Pansies fill pots in Sickstas winter garden…she is slowly replacing them with hardy summer annuals.

I wander again…

I fill up this basket with seed.

This is for my evening visitors..

Flying squirrels.

right outside my bedroom window..

Photo from a few years ago..

I have not been able to get a photo this year..

yet..

Soooo…….

That’s my life here in Carthage NC….

I wander ..

aimlessly..

in The Bird and Garden Capital

Of here!

Stay tuned for more Aimless wanderings..

Clingmans Dome

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 06:45:10 PDT

Clingmans Dome

Our last day on the Gatlinburg side of the Smokies we took a drive up to Clingmans Dome..stopping at Cove Hardwood trail on our way up.

When we arrived in the parking area I took out my camera to grab this Panorama of the area.

Wonderful clear views.

At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. Only Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet) and Mt. Craig (6,647), both located in Mt. Mitchell State Park in western North Carolina, rise higher. The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top.

I took a few photos while in the parking area..

We then walked the steep half mile up to the observation tower.

Do you see a bird cloud or is it just me?

Here we are..

The tower…

Pathway to the tower..

Records show that during the last half of the 20th century the average distance it is possible to see decreased by 40 percent in winter and 80 percent in summer.

On clear days views expand over a 100 miles. Unfortunately, air pollution often limits viewing distances to under 20 miles.

We were lucky to be here on a day with wonderful views.

I think we could see at least 100 miles away.

I took this photo of the Appalachian trail thru hikers taking a break and catching cell signals to call home.

Little did we know at the time…we would be driving two of the hikers to Gatlinburg.

After a week on the trail these hikers were going into town to get a motel room, clean up, have a nice dinner and stock up on food supplies before heading out on the trail again.

I found this interesting…

This park receives the highest sulfur and nitrogen deposits~from acid precipitation~found in any national park. It is most severe in higher elevations. The average acidity of rain and snow here is 5 to 10 times greater than natural precipitation.

Panorama taken from the tower.

We walked the half mile back to the car..

If you want great views with little hiking effort this is a great take.

Hopefully you will get a clear day like we did.

Check out this Panorama I created with my 360 Ipod app

Cove Hardwood nature trail~ The Smokies

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:34:51 PDT

Our last wildflower hike in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park…

Cove Hardwood nature trail

The Cove Hardwood trail starts from the Chimneys picnic area. It is a short .7 mile hike with an elevation gain of 235 feet.

Easy walk thru the woods.

The Cove Hardwoods Nature Trail tours a pristine swath of old growth hardwoods, and features a spring wildflower display considered tops in the Park. In April the forest floor comes alive with phacelia, trillium, bishops cap, spring beauty, toothwort, bleeding heart, and many more

One of my favorite wildflowers from our trip to the Smokies..

White Fringed Phacelia- Phacelia fimbriata

White Erect Trillium Trillium erectum albiflorum

White Erect Trilliums bloom in April and May, reach a height of up to 12", and grow in large colonies from the foothills to elevations up to 5000'. The blossom generally has a dark center which helps to distinguish it from the Large-Flowered Trillium.

The predominant flower on this trail was Trillium

Large-flower Trillium

Huge sections of Trillium..

In large clumps..

Rue Anemone
Thalictrum thalictroides / Buttercup Family
Height: 4" - 12"

Small water crossing..

Miterwort; Bishop's Cap
Mitella breweri

Sweet little red squirrel posing nicely…

The path crossed water several times…easy crossings when we were there.

It might be different after a hard rain.

Does anyone know what this is?

Mystery solved that’s to naturalist extraordinaire

Jim McCormac
"Your mystery plant is a cool liitle fern called Walking Fern, Asplenium rhizophyllum. The long tips of the fronds root where they touch ground, and form another shoot which then does the same. Thus, the plants "walk" about, and spread themselves in this curious manner."

..check out Jim’s blog here.

Arrow shaped leaves.

Solomon Seal

Yellow Trout Lily Erythronium americanum

Sharp-leaved Hepatica; Liverleaf
Hepatica acutiloba /Buttercup Family

Flower sepals may be blue, purple, pink, or white depending on the pH of the soil --- a "natural litmus test." Alkaline soils produce blue flowers, acidic soils produce pink, and neutral soils produce white.

Fern fronds..

Another one of my favorites of this trip.

Squirrel Corn Dicentra canadensis / Bleeding Heart

Close up of the flower..looks much like bleeding heart.

A carpet of Phacelia

Carolina Spring Beauty Claytonia caroliniana

Fringed Phacelia….

from what I have read..as the flowers get older they get a purple tinge to them.

Rue Anemone
Thalictrum thalictroides / Buttercup Family
Height: 4" - 12"

This was a super walk in an old growth hardwood forest with beautiful spring wildflowers.

I hope you all are able to experience spring wildflowers in

The Great Smoky Mountains!

Here we are- look what I found!

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:50:18 PDT

Here we are...nestled in Sicksta and Ghetto boys side yard.

I put up a few feeders next to the ones Sicksta had out. I added a few dishes of water. Also put a feeder on the tree near our bedroom window in hopes of late night visits from the flying squirrels.

Sickstas flowers are blooming all around us.

Viburnum

Camilla

Sweet little violets.

One of Sickstas many plant obsessions- potted maples.

Dogwood on display.

Choke berry

Honeysuckle vine

I thought I would check the woods behind Sickstas yard for Morels.. I usually find a half dozen or so in the same area every spring.
I found one.. Then two ..wow!

The woods were kind to me! Over a dozen and I left some small ones behind and will pick them later.
I am a happy gal!

All photos taken with my iPod.

Wildflower walks~Chestnut top trail

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:31:09 PDT

A few days ago Jeff and I joined a ranger lead group for a wildflower walk opposite the Sugarbush visitor center.

We found a few wildflowers we had not seen previously on our trip.

Long-spurred Violet Viola rostrata

Large-flower Bellwort Uvularia grandiflora

Eastern Swallowtail sipping nectar from a Long-spurred violet

Look what I found!

I found two other Morel Mushrooms this trip. Already cooked and eaten.:)

We met a nice couple on our ranger led walk and they joined us for a short hike up..

Chestnut top trail

to see more wildflowers..

The walk is a steady uphill climb..

but, with so many wildflowers to stop and admire,it was an easy uphill walk..

If you see a flower I have not Identified correctly please let me know. I am always learning.

We were very excited to see another new flower.

Purple Phacelia Phacelia bipinnatifida

The phacelia blanketed many areas around the path.

Any Ideas what this critter is?

Mite?

The Rue Anemone was in bloom here..

Rue Anemone Thalictrum thalictroides

False Solomon's Seal; Solomon's Plume Smilacina racemosa

Showing off its plume..not fully open yet.

Lemon Trillium; Yellow Trillium Trillium luteum

A gorgeous clump of

Star Chickweed Stellaria pubera

I have not ID this yet…what do you think?

Buttercup of some sort?

Another new flower for us on the trail.

Hairyjoint Meadow Parsnip ~Thaspium barbinode

Stonecrop Sedum ternatum

These leaves look like Hepatica

Are these the seed heads of the Hepatica?

Wildflower mix

Yellow Trillium, Star Chickweed and Bloodroot leaves.

More new flowers!

Yellow Mandarin Disporum lanuginosum

Isn't this the sweetest little Iris?

Dwarf Crested Iris Iris cristata

Yeah..I need a polish change..

Look how tiny these are.

Oh..wow..another new one for us!

Fire Pink Silene virginica

Gorgeous!

Smooth Solomon's Seal
Polygonatum biflorum

Squawroot Conopholis americana

Alum Root (Heuchera)

I now know what this beautiful sculptural plant turns into.

Northern Maidenhair, Five-Fingered Maidenhair Fern~Adiantum pedatum

Thanks Lorraine for pointing that out.

Maidenhair fern

Unidentified fern unfolding.

Wood Betony; Canadian Lousewort ~Pedicularis canadensis

Solitary Pussytoes Antennaria solitaria

We walked until the wildflowers became less and less..

Took in the view and headed back down..

Past the phacelia..

Past the..

Miterwort; Bishop's Cap Mitella diphylla

Such lovely little caps..

Another awesome Wildflower walk in

The Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Migration Magic ~~~~~~

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 06:07:19 PDT

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Northwest Ohio

MAY 3 – 12, 2013

Will you be there? Have you ever been?

Jeff and I attended the last two years. We were so excited after our first year there that we had to attend again.

If you go…(I highly recommend that you do)

try to catch the sunrise over Lake Erie.

Drive over to Magee Marsh before sun rise..

park your car,

walk over to the lake to see what birds might be migrating in.

Its not just Magee Marsh that has beauty…

Just a short drive from Magee Marsh

Sportsman’s Migratory Bird Center

Where I took this photo below~walk the trails and bird.

Check out this map of Magee and the surrounding area so that you can see how it all connects.

Don’t forget to stop into the

Black Swamp Bird Observatory and Gift shop!

The Biggest Week is organized by Black Swamp Bird Observatory and they do a terrific job!

There is now a partnership trail that links Magee and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge

another great birding spot!

There are many areas a short drive from Magee Marsh that are well worth visiting.

Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve

You may want to head over to

Oak Openings Preserve..Walk a trail

look for some Lark Sparrows

Red-headed Woodpecker and other birds..

Plenty of Lupines blooming at Oak Openings in May

Some of these areas are included in the Bus Tours for

The Biggest Week ~Check out the Schedule here

Check out the Biggest Week website for all the classes and workshops offered during the festival.

So here we are..

Back when Migration Magic happens.

One of my most favorite places!

Park your car..

Join Waldo and me..

And a few other birders who come to see this Magic happen..

Rain doesn’t stop any serious birder!

If you are crowd phobic and still want to see the Magic....

There are plenty of places on the boardwalk for everyone..

Sometimes you might have a stretch all to yourself..

You have to share with the Warblers and other birds of course..

If you are tired and still want some Magic…

PULL out your lawn chair, RELAX…

the birds will come to you!

Don’t forget to look for Bird Celebrities here..

Kenn Kaufman

Greg Miller

Lillian Stokes

And

The reason why you visited in the first place..

The Magic..

The birds..

So close that even my baby point and shoot can get a photo or two..

Blackburnian Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Northern Parula

Bay-breasted Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Black and White Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Palm Warbler

Those are just a few of the warblers you might see....

Remember..

Its not just about the Warblers..

There are fly catchers, Thrush, Owls, Woodcock..and more.

Grey-cheeked Thrush

Don’t forget the

Shorebirds

If you don’t want to miss out on the special birds being seen.

Read this great tutorial by Melissa Penta on setting up alerts to your phone.

Do it so that you wont miss any of the action..

Also bookmark this link..Kenn Kaufman predicts week by week and sometimes daily the migration forecast for the area.

Crane Creek~Magee Birding

You wouldn’t want to miss a preening Kirtland’s Warbler would you?

I didn’t think so..

Beep Beep~phone alert

Chestnut sided Warbler between makers 12 and 13 ..on the boardwalk

YOU need to see that!

Please remember to..

~ Share the boardwalk~

Let the Magic Begin!

It’s a Magical time of year to be in Ohio!

The Biggest Week in American Birding Visitor Guide goes digital!

Cucumber Gap Loop ~ Spring Wildflowers

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:15:39 PDT

Yesterday Jeff and I took another wonderful wildflower walk.

This loop is very close to where we are camped~Elkmont Campground.

Cucumber Gap Loop

The Great Smoky Mountain National park

The trail starts at The Little River Trailhead

At the beginning of the trail you'll pass by a few of the old resort cottages of Elkmont. The cottages were built in the 1920s, and were used as summer homes by the affluent from Knoxville. As of this writing the homes are in disrepair and are off limits to the public. However, in the fall of 2008, National Park crews completed emergency stabilization to 18 of the historic cabins, as well as the Appalachian Clubhouse. The park plans to fully restore all 19 structures so that they can be opened and viewed by the public. As part of the first phase of the Elkmont restoration project, the Park Service reopened the old Appalachian Clubhouse for public day use rental in June of 2011.

It must have been a wonderful retreat area

Some of the homes are being maintained while others are left to nature to break down..

The trail parallels the Little River and is easy with a gradual climb.

A lovely hike for families…

We saw many Fraser's Sedge on this hike, compared to yesterdays hike at Porter Creek.

White Erect Trillium Trillium erectum albiflorum

Yellow Trillium

just about to bloom

Little River..

Jeff was eyeing the water and thinking fish :)

Rue Anemone Thalictrum thalictroides

Yellow Trillum all over the woodlands

Awesome!

Fly fisherman

at about 2.5 miles we reached the

Cucumber Gap trail

The path is narrower here and the hike a bit more difficult a 400 foot steady climb within the next mile. Watch out for the many roots in the path.

Yellow Trout Lily Erythronium americanum

I wonder why some of the Trout Lily have brown spotting and others do not.

Different variety?

One of the stream crossings..

We took a shorter crossing over some logs just a bit downstream of this crossing.

Wildflower mix..

What have we here?

This flower has me stumped so far..

I think these are all Hepatica of some sort

Below the flower with the leaves..

just the flower..

just the leaves..

More Hepatica?

When I first saw this I thought it was Dutchman's Britches..Sicksta Lori sent me this great website for Tennessee Wildflowers..

Squirrel Corn Dicentra canadensis / Bleeding Heart

More Yellow Trout Lily

Trout Lily was everywhere on this hike.

Rue Anemone

Wood vine sculpture..

Unknown small snake

Star Chickweed

The views from this trail are all wooded views.

I would imagine in the summer there would not be much of a view with the leaves on the trees.

Emerging fern..

Walking amongst the wildflower fairyland..

Yellow Trout Lily up and down the hillside.

Carolina Spring Beauty Claytonia caroliniana

Frasier's Sedge

I like the fuzzy flower heads..

The trail has a few smallish creek crossings..

Waldo came out of hiding to hike with us..

Yellow Trillium..

This hike featured this Trillum, Trout Lily and Large-flower Trillium, the large flower Trillum was just about to bloom here, unlike yesterdays trip where they were in full bloom.

At around 4.8 miles, you'll reach the Jakes Creek Trail junction

You would take a right to continue back to the car..

Jeff and I took a .7 mile trip to the left up Jays Creek to see an old cabin.

I was tired and didn’t want to hike up to the Cabin..

Jeff took these photos.

This was an artists cabin in the early 1900s

We continued our trip backtracking on Jakes trail to the parking area.

We passed through the old town of Elkmont..

The first of the homes were spaced..

With land between..

As we walked on the homes were closer together..

Then onto the main street..where they are very close together.

I loved this little log home.

Another lovely hike in Wildflower Paradise!

    Trail Location:         Elkmont
    Roundtrip Length:         5.6 Miles
    Total Elevation Gain:         830 Feet
    Avg. Elev Gain / Mile:         296 Feet
    Highest Elevation:         3055 Feet
    Trail Difficulty Rating:         7.26 (moderate)
    Parking Lot Latitude         35.65365
    Parking Lot Longitude         -83.58018

Wildflowers~Porters Creek Trail

noreply@blogger.com (Dawn Fine) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:32:57 PDT

We arrived in

The Great Smoky National Park on Monday.

We stopped here to catch the view and so that Jeff could disconnect the car and drive back into Gatlinburg to pick up our mail that was sent general delivery.

This pull off is a few miles from Gatlinburg and three miles from our campground. This is the closest spot from our campground to pick up a cell signal.

We will be taking the drive several times to make calls and hook up to the internet.

Yesterday we took Porters Creek Trail to Campsite 31~a 7.5 mile round trip hike.

We were told it would be a good trail to see wildflowers.

The trail starts off wide and graveled.

Eastern Comma

We start seeing a few wildflowers

Bloodroot

The trail meanders..following Porters Creek and crosses the creek several times.

Waldo came out to play…he liked sticking his feet in the icy water.

I will label the flowers I have identified.

If any of the labels are wrong or you know what the question marked flowers are, just leave me a comment. Thanks!

Thanks so much for the ID Help everyone!

Robin's Plantain - Erigeron pulchellus ?

Fleabane Thanks Sara

Plenty of ferns of different varieties unfolding..

Sweet White Violet ?

Large-flower Trillium

1~?

Rue Anemone Thalictrum thalictroides

Thanks Sara and Sicksta Lori

2~?

Star Chickweed

Thanks Sara and Sicksta Lori

There were the remains of several homes on the trail..

This flower was around the foundation of one of the old homesteads.

3~?

Wood Betony~Lousewart

Thanks Sara and Sicksta Lori

This stairway leads to graveyard.

The graves that were labeled were from the late 1800s early 1900s.

Porters Creek is full of human history too. Settled in the 1800s, it was once a small, but thriving community of family farms, a school, a hotel, stores, churches, and grist mills. Old stone walls, house foundations, and nonnative daylilies are remnants of this life. A reconstructed cantilevered barn, spring house, and cabin are near the start of the Brushy Mountain Trail. Two old mill stones were used in the cabin’s “patio.” The most touching part of this history may be seen in the Ownby cemetery (on the right just past a small foot bridge). Some adults are buried there, but most appear to be children – some were born and died on the same day, others just a few weeks old, some at age 1 or 2. This little mossy cemetery is a testament to the hard life lived in these mountains at the turn of the last century. It is still cared for and kept meticulously clean. Nearly every grave is graced with a bouquet of colorful plastic flowers even though most of the souls resting peacefully in this lovely spot have lain here 100 years or more. via Smokies Blog

Large-white Trillium

The trail leaves the homestead area and narrows..

Yellow Trout Lily Erythronium americanum

The (American) Five-lined Skink

I believe this is a young one as it has the blue tail ~Blue-tailed Skink

the adult is called a Red-headed Skink

There are two of these narrow bridges crossing the creek

This one leans at an angle over the creek..

Jeff thought the water looked very fishable..

Looking for fish..

Carolina Spring Beauty Claytonia caroliniana

A close up of

Yellow Trout Lily Erythronium americanum

The Path meanders through a forest full of…

White Fringed Phacelia- Phacelia fimbriata

Fringed Phacelia

Wild Geranium

A few miles in are some waterfalls.

We cross the lower section of the falls and continue our hike

A yellow Violet of some sort..The closest I could come up with was Redwood Violet which doesn’t grow in this area.

4~?

Smooth Yellow Violet

Thanks Sara

Fraser’s Sedge

We only saw one section on the trail with this flower..

5~?

Yellowroot

thanks Sara

Flowering trio…

6~?

Rue Anemone Thalictrum thalictroides

We made it!

Campsite 31..I still have the leftover of a cold and found it difficult getting air the first part of the hike..

The second half was much easier..

besides it was mostly all downhill.

A hillside of Trout Lily

I see a heart

7~? Phlox?

Blue Phlox- Phlox divaricate

Dutchman's Britches - Dicentra cucullaria

Two different White Trillium

The top flower according to this online website.

White Erect Trillium Trillium erectum albiflorum

The one below looks to be

Large-flower Trillium

White Erect Trillium Trillium erectum albiflorum

I loved this delicate plant that was unfolding..

If you look closely you will see tiny little hairs..

Here we go again..

Another walk thru the forest of

White Fringed Phacelia- Phacelia fimbriata

This trillium was not opened when we started our hike..

On the way down I noticed several starting to open.. I never expected to see a yellow flower. I thought for sure it would be purple.

Yellow Trillium- Trillium luteum

This was a wonderful walk…there are still many wildflowers that should be popping up in the next week or two.

Off today for another wildflower walk.

Stay tuned!