hare

The pond has been under a comforter of white snow. The snow layer insulates and protects the critters tucked in among the rocks, mud, and dormant plants below water and ice.

On a sunny day, we saw a large rabbit sitting in the snow near the pond. It created a depression in the snow among reeds and wildflower stems, and snuggled down there all day. At dusk, it was gone from that spot. The next day the sunshine was bright on the white snow. The rabbit was in the same spot again, and napped all day. I suspect it was a White-tailed Jackrabbit Lepus townsendii, actually a hare.  Jackrabbits are nocturnal hunters and are known to take daylight naps in a shallow hole. 

lovey doves

Mourning Doves being lovey-dovey.  A small flock has been here all winter, coming to the feeders for nourishment. These two hang together now since it is mating season. One was feeding the other a morsel, a sure sign of courtship.  The male of this species is slightly larger than the female, and he has a pink chest.  

shelter

One of the trees in the wild wild woods fell a long time ago.  It has survived in horizontal position, spreading its branches above.  And, it allowed the critters to hollow out a shelter along its sprawl.

suet for Spring birds

Brown Thrasher

Baltimore Oriole, male

Every bird loves suet at this time of the year.  Their efforts -- whether to migrate, find a mate, define territory, or build a nest -- all take energy.  Suet provides it when the insects are not quite plentiful enough this early in our "late" Spring.

woods in bloom

top left: Arisaema triphyllum Jack-in-the-Pulpit; top middle: Geranium maculatum Wild Geranium;  top right: Asarum canadense Wild Ginger; and a view of Aquilegia Columbine, all blooming now in the wild wild woods.

the old fence row

In gardening season,
I found buried several
pieces of the old barbed
wire that used to be the
fence row when this was
farmed land. 
The pieces stand by,
relieved of duty.

critter tracks

Now that some snow blankets the ground, we can easily see tracks in the woods.  Rabbits, grey squirrels, red squirrels, mice, chipmunks, various birds, and white-tailed deer left tracks -- visible today as the sun lowered in the west.  Even the neighborhood cat made her mark while searching around the brush pile.

mushrooms in the woods

The summer weather has been wonderful, and with frequent rain lately the mushrooms are numerous.  I have not studied that chapter in nature yet, so just admire them for their beauty!  These were in the woods along the path near some fallen logs.

blue vervain

Blooming in late summer, the Blue Vervain's tiny 1/4" flowers grow on floral spikes about 5" tall.  This native plant Verbena hastata appeared in the part of the woods recently cleared of invasive buckthorn and some other trees.  As often happens when buckthorn is cleared, the increase in sunlight makes way for native wildflowers to thrive.

woodland mushrooms

new growth among the evergreens

The evergreen trees are showing this year's branch buds and new cones. As I wandered tree to tree, each species showed a different beauty.

woodland wildflowers

False Solomon's Seal Maianthemum racemosum just showing the emerging flower cluster.

wild berries

At the edge of the woods, where sun shines on them part of the day, wild raspberries grow each spring.  The birds love the juicy berries so much that they usually don't get a chance to ripen fully to their darkest black-red. 
This year, I covered these with a net for a while in order to see them ripen. And, I got to taste them too!

deep in the wooods . . .

The Red Baneberry Actaea rubra finished flowering in June and set berries (left).  When the berries are mature, usually by September, birds forage deep in the shady woods to enjoy them (right).

Trout Lily emerging

This native ephemeral flower is so anxious for Spring that it pushed right through a dried leaf to get some sunshine!  The Trout Lilies Erythronium americanum that grow in the wild wild woods are known by several names. "Trout Lily" comes from its gray-green leaves mottled with brown or gray, which allegedly resemble the coloring of brook trout.  "Dogtooth Violet" refers to the tooth-like shape of the white underground bulb. These wildflowers bloom in the wild wild woods in early spring.  They grow in large colonies; each bulb sends up one nodding one-inch yellow flower on a single stem with a pair of leaves. 

small den

Now that the snow has melted, we can find the small dens and hiding places of critters in the woods.

all-season cabana

My backyard "cabana" is an arbor for the hummingbirds in summer.  Now, with a frosting of snow, it is still the perfect place to sit and watch into the wild woods.

along the woodland path

 

Jack in the Pulpit

A quiet meander through the wild woods will bring you to the area where Jack-in-the-Pulpit blooms silently in the dappled light.