Wild Wild Woods

While admiring the Cranesbill 'Karmina' in the gardens today, I noticed a fuzzy bee hurrying from one to another of the blooms th...

At the edge of the wild wild woods . . .  this year, the ground ivy has crept into the Sweet Woodruff Galium odoratum .  Their blooms com...

Peek inside some of the nestboxes in the wild wild woods . . . This box (above) holds a Tree Swallow nest -- a coz...

A small cluster of Sweet Flag Acorus americanus grows in a wet spot at the edge of the wild wild woods.  A cylindrical form protrudes ...

One nest box in the wild wild woods is being used by Tree Swallows Tachycineta bicolor this year.  Yesterday there were two eggs ...

Tulipa 'Marilyn'.  A long slender lily-flowered tulip variety.  Blooms later than other tulips in my gardens.  Bulbs were a gi...

  One of the prettiest maple samaras I've seen this year!   Even though only half of this pair developed, it is lovely in the sun...

Agastache seed heads stood through winter at the edge of the wild wild woods (see post 2/3/17).  Now, with warming soil, the new sprouts a...

 Subtle spring blossoms are visible in the woods to a wanderer gazing down. This Ranunculus aborvitus flower, Little-leaf Buttercup, ...

The male Chipping Sparrow displays his finest look, ready to attract a mate with his intense rufous cap.  A common sparrow wherever woods...

Among the migrating birds in the woods this week are a flock of White-throated Sparrows.  They show up in the late autumn on their way ...

Six nestboxes are up, ready for the NestWatch citizen science project.  We monitor nests in these boxes and look for nests in the trees o...

This beauty was in my studio this morning! I collect plant specimens in the autumn and keep them to draw or paint indoors during the c...

In summer, the Agastache blooms blue and provides sweet nectar for bees and butterflies.  Now, the seed heads stand in sunlight, a favor...

Walking through the woods in snow. Some plants display interesting winter personalities, very different from their growing season garb. ...

photo by Julie Pritschet

  A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers live in the wild wild woods.  This winter, they come to the feeder tray one at...

Camouflage of brown and gray and buff.  The outfit allows a sparrow to blend in among the leaves and litter while hunting for seeds, frui...

White-breasted Nuthatches forage up, down, and sideways on tree trunks and around large branches. They often start high in a tree and move...

Wandering in the woods, I came upon this rock.  It has been there a long while and I've walked by it before.  But today it looked more ...

The veggie garden has been transitioned to a feeder garden for birds and pollinators.  This year --  among the tomatoes, beans, peas, and...

Stripes in the grass!  The chipmunks Tamias striatus often hang out beneath the feeder tray.  They can hide among the raspberry canes and sa...

female Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis on birch The winter "guild" of feeder birds is forming.  The adult birds in t...

The hummingbirds have been filling up on nectar for their migration south in coming days.  This is the latest date I've seen Ruby-thr...