4-30 Leatherleaf

4-30
Leatherleaf's dull green leaves and one-sided racemes of bell-shaped flowers make identification easy. another name for this species is Cassandra.
John

4-26 Wood Anemone

4-26
The white 5 petaled flowers of Wood Anemone, AKA Windflower, respond to cold nights by partially closing.
Also seen: an Osprey!
John

This is actually the Wood Anemone

4-29 Cut-leaved Toothwort

4-29
Cut-leaved Toothwort is known from damp rich woodlands in Chittendon, Washington, Addison, Rutland and Bennington counties. I took this picture in Brattleboro!
John

4-28 shadbush

4-28
On a steep, ledgy, inaccessible Townshend hillside a single Shadbush is flowering. Within a few days, our field edges and river banks will be flecked with Shad's 5 petaled white flowers.
The Flora of Vermont lists eleven very similar species of shadbush, making exact identification next to impossible.
Common names for shads include Serviceberry, Sarviceberry, Juneberry and Sugarplum.
John

4-27 Lesser Celandine

4-27
The garden escape Lesser Celandine is extremely toxic if eaten. Experts also advise wearing gloves if handling it! Thankfully it's rather rare. I know of 2 remote occurrences, both in Brattleboro.
The flowers when fully open show 8 to 12 petals.
John

4-25 Wild Columbine

4-25
Wild Columbine is starting to flower. It's often - but not exclusively - seen on ledges.
Wild Oats, AKA Sessile-leaved Bellwort, a common plant of woods and thickets, is also starting its flowering.
John

Wild Columbine

Wild Oats

4-24 American Fly Honeysuckle

4-24
The paired, pale yellow flowers of American Fly Honeysuckle are starting to open, and Squirrel Corn is well into flowering.
John

American Fly Honeysuckle

Squirrel Corn

4-23 Long-spurred Violets

4-23
Long-spurred Violets are putting in an appearance.
John

4-22 Jack-in-the-pulpit

4-22
Jack-in-the-pulpits are pushing up through the leaf litter. There were 3 at this location.
John

4-21 Dwarf Ginseng

4-21
Dwarf Ginseng, a flower of rich moist woodlands, is starting to flower, and aggressively invasive Garlic Mustard is poised to carpet roadsides and waste places.
John

Garlic Mustard

Dwarf Ginseng

4-20 Field Pennycress

4-20
The tiny four-petaled flowers of Field Pennycress - an alien member of the mustard family - are open. This is a plant of waste places and fallow fields.
John

4-19 Small-flowered Crowfoot

4-19
Small-flowered Crowfoot, AKA Kidney-leaved Buttercup, is opening its nearly petal-less flowers.
Toothwort - a member of the mustard family - has opened a few of its white four petaled flowers. The flowers turn pink as they age.
Our Andromeda bush is attracting swarms of insects including Bumblebees!
John

Small-flowered Crowfoot

Toothwort

Toothwort flowers

Bumblebee on Andromeda

4-18 Miterwort

4-18
In wet mossy areas - often on ledges - Miterwort is starting to flower.
John

4 -17 Violets

4-17
A few Violets are starting to flower in my lawn and in other weedy places. Both of the violets pictured are probably the Common Blue Violet.
John

4-16 Spicebush

4-16
Spicebush's twig hugging clusters of bright yellow flowers brighten swamps, stream banks and other wet areas.
A pair of Ruffed Grouse crossed my path this morning. Grouse can be either gray or rufous, and the males's tail-fanning, wing-drooping mating display is very turkey-like.
John

4-15 Bluets

4-15
Bluets (AKA Quaker Ladies and Innocence) are cropping up in lawns and other grassy places.
An occasional Smooth Yellow Violet can be found on sunny woodland hillsides.
John

4-14 Field Pussytoes

4-14
Although still at ground level, the flowers of Field Pussytoes are open and attracting insects.
The shiny evergreen leaves of Trailing Arbutus make it easy to spot. This patch is atop a roadside ledge. Trailing Arbutus is also called Mayflower.
John

Pussytoes

Trailing Arbutus

4-13 The Big Night

4-13
Big Night finds! John

American Toad

Peeper

Wood Frog

Red Backed Salamander

Lead Backed Salamander

Spotted Salamander

Red Spotted Newt

4-12 Marsh Marigolds

4-12
Marsh Marigolds are in flower. Cold water and NO Trespassing signs kept me from getting a close-up.
And the odd little flowers of Dutchman's Breeches are slowly expanding.
John

4-11 Strawberry

4-11
One Strawberry flower - although imperfect - gives a hint of the berries to come.
An occasional Fern is pushing up fiddleheads.
Pennsylvania Sedge, a plant of dry oak woods, is flowering. By late spring the flower stalks will be gone but the grasslike leaves persist.
John

4-10 Red Trillium

4-10
Red Trillium (AKA Purple Trillium, Birthroot and Wake Robin) is flowering. The most robust specimens are found in wet areas. Due to its unpleasant odor this flower is also called Stinking Benjamin.
This mound of sand with its pencil size hole is the brood nest of a solitary wasp. Its chambers will be stocked with live, paralyzed insect prey upon which the wasp's larvae will feed.
John

4-9 Trout Lily

4-9
Trout Lily (AKA Yellow Adder's Tongue or Dogtooth Violet) is coming into its flowering season. The mottled leaves of this flower are in the background. The deeply cut leaves in the foreground are those of Virginia Waterleaf.
Also seen: a Red Fox!
John

4-8 Round-leaved Yellow Violet

4-8
Round-leaved Yellow Violets are opening their flowers after which they will unfurl their leaves. Blue Cohosh employs a similar strategy, it has opened a few flowers although it has barely risen above the leaf litter and its leaves are still tightly furled.
Also seen: a bat hunting over my field.
John

4-7 Spring Beauties

4-7
Spring Beauties are starting to dot the forest floor. They are among our commonest wild flowers forming huge colonies.
Also seen: Mourning Cloak and Gray Comma butterflies. The Mourning cloak wouldn't pose for a picture.
John

4-6 European Field Pansy

4-6
European Field Pansy - a member of the violet famiy - had opened one flower as of this morning. I found it in a cornfield.
John

4-5 Wild Ginger

4-5
Wild Ginger was flowering on a high sunny ledge this afternoon. Last year I found it on the 17th.
And, although there is little food for them to eat, Woolly Bear caterpillars are active. These caterpillars are the larvae of the Isabella Tiger moth.
Due to extremely mild, snow free conditions I saw a woolly bear caterpillar crossing a Dummerston road on February 4th! Not a great time of year for a herbivore!!
John