4.07.12 Common Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is in bloom in sunny, wet spots. The sweet-scented yellow blooms open before the leaves unfurl. This American hornbeam, aka musclewood or blue beech is showing off its "muscles" more than most.

4-7

Here a Cabbage White visits the Trout Lily.

John

4-7

Along the railroad track bike path in Dummerston and Brattleboro, Strawberry, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Violets, Kidneyleaf Buttercup and Trout Lily were in bloom.

John

4.05.12 Spring beauty announces its presence with its sweet aroma and then I start hunting among the leaf litter in the rich soil of sunny spots. The seeds of these ephemerals have an eliasome, a fatty appendage, that attracts ants. The ant carries the seed off to its home, eats the eliasome and discards the seed, thus planting it and keeping it safe from other would-be predators.
The brown wands of the Ostrich fern are the fertile blade of the plant. They wait for spring winds to disperse their spores. Collectors of fiddleheads find them useful for spotting where the new fronds are coming up in spring.

4-2

Spring is creeping up the West River valley. Dutchman's Breeches are in flower a mile north of Brattleboro. Saxifrage is flowering up to the town line. Trillium is open almost that far north. Columbine flowers are ready to open, and Toothwort's first flowers wont be far behind.

John

4.02.12 Rocky outcrops with southern exposure are the locations of all of these early spring plants. The green swords of leeks are an early food crop for many animals (humans, too!). Some of these were chewed off, as if cut with dull scissors, about 1" high. Amidst some were last year's weathered seed pods, still containing a few shiny black seeds. The leaves disappear in late June, before the globe-shaped flower spike opens, making it difficult to associate the two. However, when crushed the aroma of both is strongly that of onion/garlic.
On the same outcrop, Hepatica nobilis, var.obtusa (Round-lobed hepatica) held up their blue, pink, or white clusters of blossoms on fragile hairy stems. The leaves provide the distinguishing characteristic, three rounded lobes.
Also among leeks, were some lacy-foliaged Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's breeches) - little white heart-shaped pendants strung on a succulent pink stem.
Another such outcrop gave rise to both clumps of Dutchman's breeches and Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot), a member of the Poppy family.

4.01.12 A young moose wandered through our property, crossed the East-West Road (fortunately, no traffic was coming), and disappeared into the woods. Sorry - it was too dark for photos. Those long legs can take them far in a short while. Keep watch!

(not an April Fool's Day joke!!)

3-30

This afternoon a Bumblebee visited my Andromeda bush. It was the first I'd seen this spring. And Gill-0'er-the-ground, Dandelions, and Bluets have started flowering in my lawn.

John

3-25

Daphne, a garden cultivar gone wild, was flowering along Green Mountain Camp Road this morning.

John

3-24

Mayflowers - which could more precisely be called Marchflowers this year - can be found flowering in warmer locations.

These were beside Camp Arden Road.

John

3.19.12 The summer-like temperatures and longer days of sunshine are providing energy for the emergence of many species. On a walk today, bunches of blue or white hepaticas were in bloom on a rocky hillside; wood frogs were chorusing in a beaver-constructed narrow pond; a Sallow moth, pictured here (probably the Jocose Sallow) was spotted despite its remarkable camouflage; and Eastern comma(the orange-colored photo) and Mourning cloak butterflies were darting about.

3-18

Phoebes are back! I saw them along the West River this morning. By mid-afternoon they were in my yard.

As the afternoon warmed up, a lone Hepatica blossom opened.

One Palm Warbler was foraging with the local junco flock.

And a Mourning Cloak butterfly was wafted through on the day's mild breezes.

It was a taste of spring!

John

3.14.12 While looking for possible duck arrivals, this muskrat swam in circles, ever closer to the edge of the pond where I was standing. It appears to be using a tunnel in the side of the pond that was used previously by the river otter that has visited the area in other years. This is the first time I've observed muskrat activity in this small pond.

3-13

At dusk the male Woodcock were putting on fine performances in the fields around my neighborhood.

John

3-12

Yesterday there were Killdeer on the Retreat Meadows.

Today the earliest of the early. Colt's Foot and Chickweed were both in flower along sunny roadsides.

John

3.11.12 Cedar waxwings make the rounds at this time of year, cleaning up neglected apples and other fruit. About a dozen of them turned their pale yellow breasts into the warm sun and dozed; the earth under the tree was littered with russet apple pumice and the air held the aroma of cider.
In the garden under the apple tree, kale that self-seeded last fall shows the beginnings of new growth.

2.27.12 Although there's little-to-no snow on southern exposures and in the valley, the north side of Black Mountain still has several inches of white, frozen precipitation the texture of firm styrofoam. Sturdy ice cleats were much-appreciated as I bushwhacked my way to the top over terrain that I rarely attempt. Just as I was thinking that I should be looking for mountain goat tracks, bobcat tracks appeared instead. Bobcat tracks are difficult to see on hard snow; their furry feet prevent clear toe imprints, and the margin of the track is blurred by their fur insulation.
At a much lower elevation, a flock of turkeys was out fluffing up leaf litter under hemlock and beech trees and chatting as they dined; I wondered if the bobcat had investigated them, too. There was too little snow to think I'd see any of its tracks there.

2.16.12 The temperature was in the upper 30's and old snow had softened to corn snow. I meandered through a mixed wood en route to an open field until I came to a stream. A coyote recently had chosen the same spot as I for crossing. Backtracking the animal, its gait was even, and its tracks indented the surface just enough to follow as it came from the upper reaches of the mountain. However, as it came to the open water, footprints imprinted much deeper as it powered off the edge to clear the 3-foot wide expanse by nearly two feet of margin.

2.12.12 The River otter commutes between bodies of water via overland routes as well as through streams. The otter I've been tracking for several years bounds along, sliding on its stomach, both uphill and down. For the last 3 years, it has constructed a new den annually in the bank at the edge of a pond. Muddy tracks lead from the open edge of the pond to the 8-inch opening to its den. It leaves the den to use its latrine nearby. The slide pictured was made earlier this winter, but without new snow, it has remained a frozen record of its travels.

2-9

This melanistic gray squirrel visited my bird feeders today. It was the first of this color phase I've seen here.

John

2-4

THis morning I observed a four chipmunk mating chase along a roadside stonewall. Seeing an occasional chipmunk during a mild winter isn't very unusual, but mating doesn't usually take place until at least early March.

John

2.04.12 Sapcicles hanging from broken or damaged sugar maple branches signal spring to me. I used to love to melt one on my tongue with the thought of maple flavor, but at best I might get sticky mittens! Sap rises when daytime temperatures are around 40 degrees and fall below freezing (but not too low) at night. I've been seeing these seasonal harbingers for more than a week.

2-3

In an effort to avoid being stepped on, this grouse locust made a wild leap and landed in the snow. Before moving on, I herded him back to bare ground.

As a bonus, I found this cricket sunning on a dead leaf. After this picture was taken it scurried down into the thatch of dead grass.

John

1.27.12 I ventured out to the mailbox in light, cold rain and an inch of frozen slush underfoot to be startled in my musings by the chatter of a Belted Kingfisher as it made a mad dash first into a nearby white pine, then back and forth through swamp shrubs near the bottom of my driveway, scolding and chattering all the while. Although it rained much of the night and morning, there isn't a lot of open water around here.
Yesterday, a short loop through the area revealed the meanderings of river otter (its slide and tracks preserved in ice); oppossum; red fox; gray fox; coyote; deer. Yet unidentified, there were clear tracks of a weasel-family member as it dropped into open holes in the brook and exited onto snow leaving muddy tracks and drips of muddy water. All tracks were greatly magnified by the thawing temperatures - great viewing without the need for glasses!

1.11.12 Protected from some of the snow by dense hemlock branches overhead, and near an ample food supply of acorns, this chipmunk burrow seems to be outfitted for winter. The white ring of hoar frost inside the tunnel indicates the resident is inside, creating some warmth in contrast to outside temperatures.

1.09.12 Birch conk, Chaga, and Clinker Polypore are some of the common names for Inonotus obliquus. Found most commonly on Yellow Birch, often at the site of a wound, the irregularly-shaped fungus looks like a piece of burned wood. This slow-growing fungus is found on yellow birches in northern European and Asian countries, as well as in northern US and Canada. It has been the subject of medical research for its apparent anti-cancer properties.

1-6

Sunshine and mild temperatures brought out a few Grouse Locusts this afternoon.

John

1.06.12 The Cecropia moth cocoon, measuring about 2.75 inches, resembles a milkweed pod attached to a branch in the woods. Lashed to a Striped maple twig along its top side and encompassing the intersection of two small side twigs into its construction, it is secure against many challenges. If successful, it will complete its metamorphosis in spring.

1.04.12 Temperatures were in the teens when I bundled up and headed for the mountain behind my house. I was nearing the top when, from some distance, I could see a white patch standing out in the snowless terrain. Curious, I approached to find hoarfrost around the opening of a pair of 4 -5 inch holes in the ground at the base of a fallen tree. Some animal is probably dozing down there, and its warm, moist breath freezes on contact with the cold air, creating a halo-like effect.

1.02.12 On 10.23.11 I posted a picture of a Baldfaced Hornet's nest dangling from a high branch. In the last two weeks, I've seen Bluejays perched atop the swaying globe, pounding and pulling at the outer paper covering. A few mornings ago, the nest was no longer hanging. I found the paper covering tangled in goldenrod stems; the remaining comb, with the nest's opening still attached, was on the ground. Each comb is made up of uniform-sized cells, measuring 1 cm in diameter. There were two layers of comb, separated by cone-shaped "risers" about an inch tall, constructed of the paper used for the outside. A few remaining covered cells contain nearly-developed hornets, now frozen. The queen of these nests mates just in late fall and burrows into the ground where it will spend the winter, emerging in spring to make a golf-ball sized nest, lay eggs and raise the few youngsters that will become workers to assist in enlarging the nest and raising subsequent members of the colony.

1-1-2012

While the West River valley was full of fog this morning, the view from Black Mountain was clear and bright. It seemed more like late September than it did January 1st!

John