Finding Golden Treasure

Finding gold is easy around here right now.  It's everywhere, from acres covered with blooming Goldenrod-- to Goldfinches at the bird feeders with their fledglings.  Today I'm going to write about a less noticeable, but equally beautiful treasure.

 They are less noticeable because in flower size they are out shined by the previously mentioned Goldenrod.  They do grow in large patches in wet areas and can grow from 2 to 5 feet tall, but the flowers are only about an inch long.  Unless you look up close you won't really see their beauty.

So let's look up close at some Orange Jewelweed.  

It's also called Spotted Jewelweed.  You can certainly see why!

 Another common name is Touch-me-not.  You can't see why in the photos but here's a link to a video that shows why.  The video shows a seed capsule exploding in slow motion! (my, the wonders of YouTube!)

Here's what the seed capsules look like before they pop:

And here's what they look like after:

We've talked about some common names of the plant-- here's its scientific name: Impatiens capensis  Yes, it's related to our garden Impatiens. Both like shade and moist soil.  And both have the "touch-me-not" seed pods.

Impatiens showing a popped seed pod, and one almost ready to pop!

The Impatiens seed capsule does look a little different from the Jewelweed pod after it explodes. 

Both of them do this neat trick to spread their seeds.  However, it's also a lot of fun for little children to hunt for them and make them pop!  (possibly even fun for 'children' of any age! Right, Laura?)

Ruby-throated hummingbirds, the subject of my last post, like to drink from the Orange Jewelweed flowers.  And another good thing to know about them is that if your skin is itchy, you can break open the Jewelweed stem and rub the juice on it to relieve the itch.  It seems to work!

Another thing I love about jewelweed is that their foliage tends to 'bead up' with drops of water.  (pun intended).

So pretty!

 Don't overlook these lovely jewels! 

"Most Brilliant" Winner

Today's post will feature the second category of my bird pageant awards.  If you missed the first one you can read it by clicking here. 

As you've already seen by the post title, this time the award is for "most brilliant".  Brilliant has two meanings: very bright and radiant; or exceptionally clever or talented.  Our winner excels in both!

 Here is our winner, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, showing off his brilliance in the late afternoon sun at my window feeder.

While the hummers are brilliant, they aren't always.  Sunlight does have to strike their feathers to show off the males' red gorget.

Above is a male sitting in our crabapple tree facing away from the light, and here he is when he turned his head towards the sun:

Pretty amazing difference, isn't it?  Hummingbirds are amazing birds in many ways.  From how fast their little wings beat (about 70 times a second and up to 200 times a second when diving!) to how far many of them migrate (500 miles over the Gulf of Mexico - flying for 18 to 24 hours straight!) there are many incredible facts about these tiny birds.  Did you know you could mail 9 or 10 hummingbirds with a single stamp?  (I loved reading that information, which of course is to impress us with how little they weigh, but had my vivid imagination picturing trying to capture 10 hummingbirds then taking them to the post office!) You can read more interesting hummingbird facts by clicking here.

Now for the second qualification Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have to win the "most brilliant" category:  their brains are the largest bird brains per body weight of any birds!  That's 4.2% of their total weight.  Scientists have done a lot of studies on hummingbirds and discovered some very interesting things about how they can remember which flowers they have visited, when, and when to visit them again for the best nectar.  You can read more about it here.

Here are a few photos of our winners:

Can you find the hummer in this photo?  They blend in quite well with green leaves!

Easier to see in this photo, enjoying the Scarlet Runner Bean flowers

You can see the male juvenile throat feathers in this shot.  He doesn't have his full red gorget yet...

but as he goes to perch on the wire fence you can see one bright red spot!

I plant red flowers for our hummers, as they are definitely attracted to the color.

They like any red flowers, but especially tubular-shaped ones like these Millions Bells (Calibrachoa)

Despite their brilliance, they do have to learn about things, like any other creature.  I've seen them fly to the red on our rain gauge.  No.... no food there.  Also I saw one check out the red on a Rose-breasted Grosbeak one day!

This juvenile is looking to see if this Miniature Rose has any good nectar.

I wonder if it got a drink from there?!

In my online search for information about hummingbirds I was fascinated by all the interesting things I read.  One of the things that intrigued me was some of the names that hummingbirds are known by in other countries.  

In Portuguese they are called "Beija-Flor" which means "Flower-Kisser".    One Spanish term isn't quite as 'romantic'.  It's "Chupaflor" for "Flower-Sucker".

 There are two other names for them in Spanish -- "Joyas Voladoras" (Flying Jewels) and "Picaflor" (Flower-nibbler)!

I like the name for them in the Carribbean (Cuba and Haiti have the world's smallest hummer - the Bee Hummingbird).  They call them "El Zunzun" for the sound they make as they fly.

Whatever we call them, they are certainly beautiful and fascinating birds!

Congratulations to our winners!

Book Winner and thank you!

The winner of the "Mammals of Pennsylvania" book is... Mary!  Mary, I'll bring your book to church with me today.

Thank you to everyone who commented.  I really enjoyed reading all of them.  It was fun to hear what kind of animal you'd like to be.  
If you'd like to read the comments, click here and then click on "comments" at the bottom of the page.  Ruby will be happy to hear that dogs were popular (I won't tell her about the comment that said bassets smell bad!).  Also popular were birds - from Bald Eagle to Rainbow Bee-eaters to Goldfinches and a Nuthatch.  

Thanks again to each one who took the time to leave a comment!

A Book Giveaway!

Since many of the blogs I read have occasional give-aways, I thought... why not give it a try, too.  And give my 'tens of readers' a chance to have a copy of one of my favorite books!

For my first give-away, I've chosen "Mammals of Pennsylvania".  

This is my copy, the giveaway one actually looks in better shape!

It's an oldie but a goodie and I've consulted my copy many times over the years (I've had mine since 1980).  It contains lots of fascinating information about over 60 mammals.  Sure, some of the statistics are a 'little' dated, but even so, it's a very interesting book.  It's out of print now, so this is a chance to get yourself a copy.

To enter, just leave a comment.  If you are game ;-) , tell me if you were an animal, what animal would you like to be?  (Remember my post about chipmunks, and how-- come February I sometimes think I'd like to be one? If not, you can read it by clicking here.) 

My choice would be a chippy!

  I'm not fussy about what type of creature - it could be a mammal, bird, or an insect or, well.... anything!  Ruby thinks that everyone will want to be a basset hound.

"What could be better than a basset?"

So you can prove her wrong and come up with some other wonderful animal, if you like.  Or make her happy and say "basset hound".

Or, just leave a comment telling me you'd like to win the book.  Or, just leave a comment saying what animal you'd like to be but that you don't care about winning the book.  See, I'm giving you lots of options.  I'm very flexible.  Just, someone please leave a comment so I don't feel sad and start looking like Ruby. (no offense, Ruby!)

Next Sunday I will pick a winner by random drawing and post it in the comment section.  I'm looking forward to your comments!  Thanks!