Picture of the Day for November 13, 2012

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With the sun out melting the snow today, the ‘hunt for spring’ fever continues this week and one sign that spring has arrived is the song of the Red-winged Blackbird as they hang out in the cattails.

The male Red-winged Blackbirds will do everything they can to get noticed, sitting on high perches and belting out their conk-la-ree! song all day long. Course they want the girls attention as the male Red-winged Blackbird may have as many as 15 female mates but with that many females, he apparently doesn’t watch them closely enough as a quarter to half of the nestlings are sired by a different male!

Conk-la-ree!

Picture of the Day for November 12, 2012

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Watching the big snowflakes coming down this morning makes me think of finding white that is not so cold and looking for white in the form of a spring flower. The Bloodroot is an eastern North American native plant and was used as a popular red natural dye by Native American artists. A break in stem would reveal the reddish sap or ‘blood’, leading to its name. The Bloodroot is often the second wildflower to appear in the spring after the Hepatica in my woods.

Native Americans, early settlers and herbal practitioners have prescribed Bloodroot for medical conditions from skin cancers to sore throats. Its most common use takes advantage of the flesh destroying properties of the root juice or powered root for treating conditions of the skin such as ringworm, moles and warts. Bloodroot is used in the mole remover Dermatend. An extract has long been used in toothpaste and mouthwash to fight plaque and gingivitis and this use is now sanctioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Finding White in the Bloodroot

Picture of the Day for November 11, 2012

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Looking out at the brown leaves covering the ground, I’m dreaming of spring and the hunt for the first spring flowers to emerge after a long winter. But that hunt will be months away as the brown I see is the fall brown before the white snow and not after the snow melt.

The Hepatica is found growing in rich woodlands from Minnesota to Maine to Northern Florida west to Alabama and is often the first wildflower to appear in the spring. Hepatica leaves usually come out after the flowers and are very fuzzy. The fuzzy leaves helps the plants to keep warmer in the very early spring. They would need their long johns today since the temperature is dropping to 20 tonight.

Searching for Spring

Picture of the Day for November 9, 2012

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It is getting harder to find much color on these fall days after all the cold nights. The marigolds have turned brown in the flower beds after freezing and a walk through the brown fields displays other remnants of the summer’s passing. The once vibrant green foliage of the wild cucumber has vanished leaving a few brown vines with seed pods exposed. The wild cucumber is also called prickly cucumber, and this seed pod does look rather prickly!

Prickly Pod!

Picture of the Day for November 6, 2012

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A light blanket of snow covered the ground this morning and when it finally started to melt, I got brave and went outside. Normally the first wet snow of the year, I end up on my butt walking down the hill to feed the cats when the feet start sliding on the wet snow that packs to ice.

At least the roads were just wet and not snow covered so people could go out and vote, but there was something missing on the ballot. There should have been a line about extending a warm fall so I could vote no to snow.

Vote No to Snow!

Picture of the Day for November 4, 2012

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Dandelions may be considered a weed by most people and people are constantly trying to get rid of them, but in the spring the dandelions often provide the first hint of color after the long winter. And just like in the spring, the dandelion often gives the last hint of color in the fall when everything else has turned brown. So it was nice to spot the glimpses of yellow scattered around the lawn this week, although they might not turn to seed before covered with snow or if the chickens get a dandelion treat instead.

Hint of Color

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