A cloudy morning is keeping the blue sky hidden but there is some blue and with pink tones in the Virginia Bluebells which are currently blooming in the woods giving nectar to the butterflies. The blossoms start out in pink but when it matures and ready for pollination, it increases its alkalinity to change the red pigmentation into blue pigmentation, a color that is much more attractive to pollinators.
The Blue of Virginia Bluebells
The little house wrens returned more than a week ago, but you didn’t hear their loud singing during the cold, rainy week. Now that the sun returned today, the yard is filled with their song again and soon they will start building their nests. The House Wren has one of the largest ranges of any songbird in the New World so many yards see the fierce little warrior.
Noisy Little Bird
Even though it is just barely above freezing this morning, the precipitation falling right now is snow so the white seen on the ground maybe snow or the little Wood Anemones. The plant tends to grow in thick mats, spreading via rhizomes and a single plant can take five years or longer to bloom. When the sun is out, the blossoms will open up wide like a rounded pointed star, but with the lack of sun, they close up tight.
Other White Besides Snow
April showers bring more than May flowers, as it will also bring May planting and the field by this barn will eventually be sown when the ground warms up. But with snow in the forecast tonight and tomorrow, the soil won’t warm much in the next few days. This old wooden barn has a nice paint job but it isn’t a hundred years old yet as it was built in 1931.
Red Sentinel
A walk in the woods might reveal more than just wildflowers, including some alien looking things. Some fern fronds have emerged but haven’t unfurled yet so they have a creepy look yet.
Aliens in the Woods
The thunderstorms yesterday and this morning probably have many steams and rivers surging with more water again. And the rivers cutting through river will become louder as the water rushes by.
Rushing Water
A rainy Sunday morning doesn’t lend itself for a walk in the woods to look at wildflowers as a majority of blossoms will be closed up with no sun shining, but there is some color to see, especially in the pond with some ducks playing and splashing in the water. My little pond has become a stopping place for eleven wood ducks and three mallards and at times it looks like water skiers when some of the males chase each other.
Male Wood Ducks
The sun doesn’t look as bright yellow this morning as this flower does. The Yellow Trout Lily emerges from the two basal leaves, which from seed to blooming takes 4-7 years. Until the corm reaches flowering size, it produces only a single, ground-level leaf per season. Most of the leaves in colonies I have in the woods are single leaves so it is nice to see a flower blossom.
The common name of trout lily is in reference to the mottled leaves and the appearance of the flowers during trout fishing season. It is also called Adder’s Tongue, due to the tongue-like shape of the flowering shoot and supposedly resembles an open mouth of a snake.
Yellow Trout Lily
Today is Earth Day, which started in 1970, and events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The main focus has changed throughout the years, with recycling efforts boosted in 1990 and in 2000, the push was on global warming and pushing for clean energy. The organizers behind Earth Day are hoping to use the 2016 celebration to plant 7.8 billion trees, divest from fossil fuels and make cities 100 per cent renewable.
Trees for Earth Day
There is no blue in the sky but there some blue on the ground. Although the Siberian Squill is now considered to be an invasive species after being brought to this country as an ornamental and it is hard to eradicate so the bulb has spread rapidly. It very hardy and cold tolerant, and is left untouched by critters from voles to deer.
Sea of Blue
