Rachel Carson's birthday

Picture from Sierra.Rise

Seed buffet and cardinal take-over

On this icy/rainy morning, I had time (school was two hours late) to put out seeds for my resident birds. When I looked out the window about 5 minutes later, I counted at least 15 cardinals! You can see two males and two females on this platform feeder Dan set up for them. Two others were inside the tunnel. I place black oil sunflower seed (their favorite) along the beams of the old  monkey bars and swing frame. All of the other pictures I took showed lots of blurring because birds are rarely still, so you only get a taste of my view here. Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, sparrows, juncos, and various woodpeckers are also regular visitors, but these beautiful cardinals are my favorite.

Ice Sculptures

After the polar vortex on Tuesday, today's temperatures felt nice-upper 20's to low 30's in my "backyard"- so I ventured out to see how the woods had fared. The creek was beautiful! Pictures just cannot capture the water sculptures nature created for me to see! I kept wanting to take another picture all along the valley. Even the moss up on the side of the embankment had icicles!

2013 was a good year for rainfall, so the creek has been running continuously, and with the rainfall over this past weekend, runoff downhill was plentiful. Alongside the creek it was crunchy ice under the leaves. This creek has always been one of my most favorite places to visit. The water sounds are soothing, calming, and relaxing. Even in the winter.

This picture I found on tumblr has quite an impact. It got ME thinking, "yeah, what if?" Think about it: bats are having issues with white-nose syndrome, people kill snakes all the time, and songbirds are on the decline due to habitat loss. What will be left to eat insects and spiders? Remember, pesticides are neurotoxins. I don't want those chemicals in my house. Sure, mice, fish, chickens all eat insects, but of those, only mice live near me.
Something to consider. Save rainforests, save frogs and birds. Use fewer chemicals, save frogs and birds.

My friend, Bryan Neuswanger, formerly a teacher
at Franklin County High School with me, is now an
excellent photographer. His work can be viewed
online, and purchased! I am continuously
amazed at his "keen eye" in capturing nature
and landscapes. Please take a look and enjoy,
and maybe purchase!
Keenai Photography

The first day of winter. Finally, the days can start getting longer again. Slowly, minute by minute, the Earth will work its tilt back toward the sun.

I like to lie on my back and look upward. It makes me feel like I'm spinning! Oh yeah, I am spinning! Ha!

wordless wednesday: fiddleheads

Where's spring?

These two playful red pandas are sure enjoying the snow. Of course, they are adapted to snowy climates. I am certainly glad there are creatures that enjoy the snow, but IT IS TIME FOR SPRING! Here in Virginia, it is about ten degrees cooler than normal for late March, and even my forsythias have frozen in time. Past years these bushes have given me early spring beauty that fills me with the hope of future warmth. This late March they have not bloomed out-there are hints of yellow, but the cold nights are putting the blooms on hold. Should be in the 50's to low 60's over the next couple of days. I need to soak up some sun! Please, please, Sun, send us some of your warmth soon!

P.S. This cute picture was found on tumblr.com with no reference. I assume it is from a zoo. I am sorry for giving no credit. If you own it, I'll be glad to credit you!

Lichens alive!

The boulder above, which is near the St. Patty's day moss, has developed layers of lichen now. Moss is beginning to encroach on the lichen. And then, there is the boulder shown left, which has ferns and mountain laurel growing on it along with the moss! I am continually amazed at nature, especially plants. The boulders are weathered granite, I believe, and they are arranged in an interesting rough-and-tumble disarray. So far, I cannot find any pattern to them, except that they are exposed along an embankment above the creek.

Greening the rock

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today was such a lovely day, with the sun shining and the temperatures in the mid 60's, I could not resist spending most of the day outside. On one of my walks, I discovered that the moss on this rock has increased so much it was beginning to curve over the edge! There were mountain laurel bushes growing up above this view. Anyway, I decided this would be a great "green" picture for St. Patty's,and since it will be raining on the 17th, this moss will be greening up the boulder even more!

Crocuses!

I am always excited when these lovelies work their way through the leaves and other debris to emerge and bloom. They are like a breath of fresh air after being in winter mode for two months or more. Now I am ready to plan my yard for spring. Time to head to the nursery and pick out new plantings for 2013! Tomorrow I will prune my forsythias and bring in many of the cut branches which will bloom inside before the weather warms up enough for the ones outdoors to bloom. Another touch of spring to help keep me positive. These short days are hard...but I've noticed the longer days, a few minutes each day,  giving me a little longer to be outside.

Hungry birds

This winter, hungry birds have kept me busy filling feeders every day. I fill them each morning, and must bring some in at night so as to not find them torn open and emptied by, I'm guessing, raccoons. We do have flying squirrels that come out at night, but in winter? I'm not an expert, so not sure. I have seen the raccoons. I do have grey squirrels during the day, but have a pretty good handle on most of them. Don't worry, they get fed too. This nuthatch was taking his/her turn at the suet. Woodpeckers enjoy it also, but they are harder for me to catch in a picture. This brand new suet block had been out only about 2 hours when the picture was taken. I put some mix seed out, but mostly black-oil sunflower. That is the favorite among my bird clientele. That and the suet. Might have to start making my own!

Flowing water

After the wind died down a bit today, my daughter and I went for a walk through the trails. I always gravitate toward the creek. Sounds are calming to me, especially moving water. I can be here, canoeing a river, or sitting on a beach, and tension drops into the ground where I am seated or standing. Since we've had a couple days of rain this past week, the water is again flowing nicely over the rocks and around the current obstacles. There was still a bit of frozen ice in the creek where it was shallow and slowly, intermittently, flowed over rock.

Early Summer Morning

My favorite time of the day is always in the morning, any time of the year. Summer mornings, though, are the best. It is cool, the birds are active and noisy, my horse greets me, and occasionally, I get fantastic views like this one. Now that the droning of the locusts has passed, my walks are relaxing and the solitude de-stresses me. And, now that school is out for a few weeks, I can enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the deck. Perfect.

Fall Trails

Fall leaves can make walking a trail or path a bit difficult. First off, they hide the trail, making it harder to locate if you're not so familiar with the pathway. But if it has rained recently, leaves also make the path slippery, especially going downhill. I have plenty of ups and downs along the trails around my home! Downed trees can also create a dilemma. Which path is best? Because the leaves hide the terrain, I am unsure which way to start a new path because I don't want to disturb areas where the lady slippers or trilliums tend to bloom, or the soft coating of mosses. Nevertheless, I continue, enjoying the shape of the land and long view of the mountain behind me.

Amazing plants

I am always amazed that plants, especially trees, can grow just about anywhere! This fairly good-sized maple has spread its roots around the boulder, then down into the soil. The mosses and ferns located around the tree base usually take hold first and help break down the rock into sediments, eventually into soil. This tree just couldn't wait for that to happen, so it adapted to its situation and grew!

shells

Another reason I love the beach is because of the sea shells. I really can't explain the obsession I have with collecting them. I have thousands, yet every time I go to the beach I must collect more. Maybe it's because each one is unique, maybe it's because they are free. For whatever reason, when I begin walking along the beach, I must stop and inspect shell colors and look for unusual shapes. This trip, I have decided that since I already have so many, I will take this year's collection back to school with me and share with my students. Some students have probably not been to a beach, and might be happy to have one of my beauties. I just hope I can share!