Late Spring Lovelys

A walk in the woods now means walking in shade of newly leafed trees.  I can certainly appreciate that with the climbing temperatures (wasn't I just saying in my last post that it would be good if it warmed up?!).  It also means that we should enjoy the woodland wildflowers... the lovely spring ephemerals, which will be finishing up their blooming period very soon. 

Right now in our woods, we have a lot of tiny flowers.  These are Canada Mayflowers.

If they remind you of Lily of the Valley, you aren't the only one... as their other common name is Wild Lily of the Valley.

They are only a few inches tall, but they make a big statement in the woods by their number. 

In some places, they really carpet the ground.

 By fall, their flowers will have turned into tiny berries... at first whitish with spots, then light red.

Here's another small white flower, which is not as plentiful as Canada Mayflowers, that you might miss unless you especially look for them.   They are one of my favorites, so I like to make sure I do!

Do they remind you of another flower?

They are a relative of a blossoming tree you probably know... Flowering Dogwood.  This tiny relation is called Bunchberry.  (Both are in the Cornus family).  Just like the Dogwood Tree, this little flower will produce a tight cluster of bright red berries in the fall.  

I only find it in one section of our woods, where it is mixed with several other plants - Canada Mayflowers, Starflowers, and Wild Sarsaparilla.

Starflower is a very dainty and pretty flower, shaped like it's name.

Wild Sarsaparilla is a neat plant, with the divided leaves on one stalk and flowers under them on another.  You can see the leaves in the photo above, and here is a closer look at the flower.

They are related to Ginseng and used to be used for some medicinal purposes, as well as a substitute for true Sarasaparilla to flavor root beer.

The next wildflower isn't technically in our woods, rather it's in my flower garden.  But it is a native Pennsylvanian and a lovely one at that.  So, I want to tell you about it.  

This is Iris cristata alba, a white version of Dwarf Crested Iris, which is typically blue.  It, too, is only a few inches tall.  Like all the other flowers I've mentioned, it likes a shady spot.  It has done well for many years under our apple tree.  If you want a little piece to start in your garden, let me know... I'd be glad to share.

Speaking of sharing, my sister-in-law shared a piece of the next plant with me a long time ago.

It's called Sweet Woodruff, and while it's not a native to Pennsylvania, it has naturalized in some places.  It likes the shade and spreads but doesn't 'take over'.

As its name indicates, it has a sweet smell, which I've read persists after it is dried, so it can be used in potpourri. I think it looks quite pretty in our little woods, and there is a lot of it, but I've never tried drying it. 

Have you noticed all of these flowers are white?  And there are other white flowers blooming now, such as Mayapples and Painted Trillium.  And in some very special places, there are Pink Ladyslippers... which are one of our native orchids, and one of the best treats of all to find in the woods!

That one has a Starflower next to it.

Pretty in pink, surrounded by Goldthread leaves...

And this trio was just beginning to bloom when my husband and I saw it today.  So you still have time to get out in the woods and hunt for some!

Ruby's 'May Madness' Walk

I'm coping out a bit.  This time of year is 'May Madness' (I know for sports fans the saying is 'March Madness' but for nature-lovers, it's May).   Birds are everywhere doing all kinds of interesting things.  Wildflower are blooming.  

I was having a hard time deciding what to write about because there are so many possibilities.  Then Dr. Ruby came to my rescue.  She said, "Why don't you just share what we saw on our walk this morning?" Okay, Ruby, good idea!

First of all... everything was very green!  It's so beautiful, even on an overcast day like today.  And Ruby says,  "All photos look better with a basset in them!"

 The honeysuckle bushes are blooming along our path.  This is one of the spots we hear a Chestnut-sided Warbler singing, "Pleased, pleased, pleased to meet you!"

While Ruby sniffs, I listen.  We're right by the edge of the big woods now, where we can hear an Ovenbird singing, "Teacher, teacher, teacher."

As we start back down the hill, I see something that Ruby doesn't.  Do you?

I've been keeping an eye out for fawns, which are usually born in our area around Memorial Day.  But on closer inspection, there won't be a fawn near this White-tail, as it's a buck.

Ruby didn't see him at all, but that's okay.  (At her height, I'm not sure she could have).

Ruby's height is perfect she says, "Look, I can fit right under this Mayapple!"

Very nice, Ruby!

Ruby likes to check out what I call our "Warbler Woods".  This week, I've seen a Magnolia Warbler and a Northern Parula in this area... besides the resident Chestnut-sided Warbler, Ovenbird, and Black-throated Green Warbler.

This photo of a Magnolia Warbler is from a few days ago, but Ruby said it was okay to put it in.

Ajuga (also called Bugle or Bugleweed) was blooming.  Even though it's an alien, it is pretty.

I think it's kind of sad that the dandelions are already in the seed stage... although I do love both their cheerful flowers and the puffy seed heads.  

Now we're back almost to where we began.  Ruby finds something to sniff (as usual) while I listen to a Bobolink.  I think it would be almost impossible to come up with a saying to describe the sound they make.  The Cornell website describes it as a "metallic, bubbly, rambling song with a mixture of sharp high notes and buzzy low pitches".  You can listen here.

As we get back to the yard, I see a bird in one of our crab-apple trees (a different one than I wrote about in this post).  With Ruby on the leash, sometimes it's difficult to get a good photo, but I zoomed in and snapped a few anyway to see if I could tell what it was.

I was glad I did, because it turned out to be the Yellow-billed Cuckoo that I've been hearing.  (They have a really neat song, which you can listen to here.) It's not a great photo, but even with a leaf in front of its face, you can see the yellow bill.

Ruby and I continued on.  She makes me laugh sometimes, just by being Ruby.  How did she get the leash under her ear?  (Well, she tells me that with ears that long, it happens sometimes!)

Now, it's time to go in the house and get warmed up... it's been a damp and chilly 45 degrees while we walked.  Just one more shot of Ruby with the garden in the background.  It's all planted and I hope the temperature will warm up soon so the seeds will sprout and not rot.  Meanwhile, I'm sure the Tree Swallows nesting in the box on the corner post would like it to warm up again, too.

If you look closely, you can see a Tree Swallow standing guard-- he's on the fence, right in between the two  closest posts, on the top of the wire.  Ruby doesn't notice... she's ready for her treat at the end of our walk.  Thanks for joining us!

PS - Ruby said I should add photos of the other birds I mentioned.  So here they are:

 Chestnut-sided Warbler and a link to listen to it.

Ovenbird and a link to listen to it.

  Bobolink (link is above to listen)

One tree, One Day

We have a crab-apple tree outside our kitchen window.  It's the closest tree to our bird feeders (which hang from a pole on our deck).  Right now, the tree is in bloom, but the flowers won't last long.  They make a pretty backdrop for the birds... so let's enjoy them while we can! Here's a look at the visitors to our tree today:

Purple Finch 10:40 a.m.

White-crowned Sparrow 10:42 a.m.

Blue Jay 12:46 p.m.

White-breasted Nuthatch 12:51 p.m.

Female Baltimore Oriole (taking hair for nesting material from the whisk) 1:01 p.m.

Male Baltimore Oriole behind whisk 1:02 p.m.

American Goldfinch 2:46 p.m.

Eastern Towhee 3:25 p.m.

Grey Squirrel 3:26 p.m.

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3:45 p.m.

Male Red-winged Blackbird 3:48 p.m.

Downy Woodpecker (taking off toward the suet feeder) 3:59 p.m.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker (notice her red belly!) 4:08 p.m.

Male Northern Cardinal 4:46 p.m.

And finally, a Wild Turkey 6:08 p.m.

 I'm so thankful for this beautiful tree, and I think... so are the birds!