I am noticing the marcescent (long-clinging) leaves of the Beech Tree turning color to a paper-thin (almost translucent) light tan.
It is spring and the old leaves have to drop before the new ones can come out. The time is near.
Last week I noticed a yellow blooming bush in the sunnier areas of the woods that were in the process of healing from select cutting from a few years ago.
Being from Ohio, it was not familiar to me. I knew it was not forsythia. My research was turning up candidates such as “witch hazel“. Friend, Pat, who was with me on another hike, suggested ”yellow honeysuckle”. Neither guess was ringing a bell yet as the blooms did not match. I decided to sleep on it.
I got a clue after reading about one shrub whose bark, when scratched, had a lemony scent. Bingo! This distinguishing feature made all the difference in the world in identifying it as the Northern Spice Bush.
I still have not learned to use all of my senses when observing new plants – touching, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting (usually never, out of fear of poisoning).
Life is an Adventure.
Apparantly, ’tis the season for Red-Eyed Vireo bird nests. Jim found the first of three this weekend while on a hike on our land. I’ve never seen a bird nest like this and I was excited about researching it. They are sweet little nests, barely suspended from a fork in a tree branch or rose bush, but alas, no eggs. They must have already flown the coop.
The photos I’ve included here are of two separate nests (three + three). Both of these nests were fairly close to the ground — 4 feet or so. The third nest (not pictured) was high up in a tree at perhaps 15 feet.
At the time, we had no idea what kind of bird made them. In my research online, it looked like they might perhaps be Boston Orioles, but something wasn’t quite right — the Orioles’ nests were much longer and hung more like a sack, than ours did.
I came across The Birders Report website that helps with egg and nest identification. They gave this email address (larry@thebirdersreport.com) if you needed help. “Larry” asks for the following information to facilitate the identification:
I immediately sent off an email with my photos and I had my answer later that evening. This is what he said:
I’m pretty sure this is a Red-eyed Vireo Nest.
Their nest is suspended in a horizontal fork of a shrub or low tree branch 5 to 10 feet up. It is constructed of vine-bark strips, thin grasses, rootlets and birch bark, bound with spider webs to twigs at the rim.
Yes, that definitely fit the description of our nest! It is amazing how education can open your eyes. I had not observed the spiders’ web nor the bark. Nor did I pay particular attention to the orientation on the branch. This is what thrills me about learning new things.
Life is an Adventure!
Turkey season started yesterday, Saturday, March 30, this year and goes through May 12. Jim and I were out in the woods almost all day yesterday either hiking/exploring or doing some forestry conservation on our own land (cutting wild roses, etc) and we were hearing turkeys gobbling every where we went. They were definitely on the move. I saw some turkey silhouettes up on the ridge late in the day but none, other than that until this morning when we hit the motherload.
I got up around 8 am this Easter morning. The first thing I always do, every day, is look out the windows for wildlife. I happened to see a big bird fly into our field from a tree. It was a Tom turkey, the first I’ve seen in a while. It still amazes me that these big birds can actually fly. Within a minute, more turkeys were coming out of the woods like ants — some flying in, others casually strolling in. All tolled, I counted 20+.
I took this photo with my iPhone camera – which is always handy; but a zoom lense would have made a big difference in getting detail at this distance.
It was a great Easter surprise. Happy Easter everyone. Life is an adventure!
On March 10, Jim and I were clearing wild rose bushes and cutting grape vines along one of our creeks near Dead Turtle Trail. We enjoy being outside and doing forest conservation to make our woods healthier.
Because we were off the beaten path, it gave us an opportunity to see some things we might not see normally.
These are photos of a fungus called Scarlet Cup. I have come to learn that they are quite common. They have a white edge and are as red as can be – very easy to spot. I could observe pollen coming off the stamen in the center periodically – like a puff of smoke. I don’t know if it was from the wind (which i did not notice) or of there was something else making it happen.
I was only 10-15 feet off of the trail. Veering off the beaten path has its rewards. Try it yourself sometime.
This website has photos of other Eastern Tennessee Fungi, Mushroom, Puff Balls and Slime Mold.
Life is an Adventure!