I noticed the first Jack-in-the-Pulpit blooming this spring, but with all the new plants sprouting up, the plant might have been a Jill-in-the-Pulpit last year instead as plant has both male or female parts and they change gender from year to year depending the success of the previous year.
Little Jack-in-the-Pulpits
When I was mowing my lawn this afternoon, I noticed the dandelions near my south house wall have already gone to seed, and although I rather see the yellow stage, at least this white isn’t as bad as snowflakes blowing around.
Gone to Seed
Last year on Mother’s Day, I could not find three dandelions that were open that I needed for my tradition of giving them to my mom on the special day. This year, even with a late spring but with Mother’s Day almost a week later, it was much easier to find three dandelions as it was hard not to step on them.
Plenty of Yellow
The poor little Spring Beauties haven’t open much as they keep closing up on the cloudy and rainy days. Their small size doesn’t flash a lot of color and even less when they are not fully open. Next week it is supposed to be sunny so maybe if they haven’t gone to seed yet, they can enjoy some sunshine.
Spring Beauties Needing Sun
Yesterday a couple of male Indigo Buntings arrived at my bird feeders. There might have been some females too, but the female’s brown color does not pop out like the male’s blue even though the males do not have blue pigment. The blue we see instead comes from microscopic structures that refract and reflect blue light in their feathers.
Male Indigo Bunting
More white can be seen, but at least it isn’t snow, but blossoms from the wild plum trees giving additional sources of pollen and nectar for the bees.
Bee in Wild Plum Tree
With the trees beginning to leaf out, the orioles have arrived. And they must have been hungry from their trip north as one sugar water feeder was already empty and the other probably will need filling in the morning too. The Baltimore Orioles young males do not molt into their bright orange color until the fall of their second year.
Baltimore Oriole Arrived
With the sun out, the Wood Anemone open up tiny blossoms instead of being tear drop shape on cloudy days. The small white specks stands out against the green mat of foliage, but with an oak leaf in the foreground, you can tell the wood anemone are not a big showy flower.
Little Wood Anemones
More birds have returned adding additional voices outdoors, including the grosbeaks and the loud song from the tiny wrens. And this evening, the humming of tiny wings was heard as the hummingbird danced near the feeder. With their short legs, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird doesn’t walk but shuffles along a perch.
Shuffling Hummingbird
The road ditch exploded with yellow color from the marsh marigolds blossoms. There was no hint of yellow on Friday but today they were providing lots of blooms for the bees and butterflies.
Springtime Yellow
