4-19 Wild Ginger

4-19
On a high sunny ledge Wild Ginger's carrion red flowers are open.
A few Spring Beauties can be found on the forest floor.
Tower Mustard graces ledges and waste places.
John

Wild Ginger

Spring Beauties

Tower Mustard

4-18 Field Pansy

4-18
Field Pansies are trying to open a few flowers, but need some sun to finish the job.
John

Squirrel Hanging by Her Fingernails

A gray squirrel got caught in our squirrel-proof bird-feeder. I pried the feeding louver off, but she was still caught by one toe or claw. She alternately squirmed and quieted. Squirming caused cries of pain. Eventually she freed herself and bounded off.

Cheryl Wilfong

4-17 Blue Cohosh

4-17
Blue Cohosh is starting to flower and an angle wing butterfly - perhaps a Gray Comma - sat for a picture.
John

4-16 Common plants

4-16
Common Dandelion, Common Chickweed, Purple Dead Nettle and the shrub known as Daphne are all opening a few flowers.
John

Common Dandelion

Common Chickweed

Purple Dead Nettle

Daphne

4-15 Hairy Rock Cress

4-15
The 4 tiny petaled white flowers of Hairy Rock Cress are opening and Gil-o'er-the-Ground, AKA Creeping Charlie, can be found if one searches carefully.
Also seen, 3 garter snakes, all within a few feet of each other. Probably just emerging and still a bit lethargic.
John

Hairy Rock Cress

Gil-o'er-the-Ground

Garter snake

4-14 Dutchman's Breeches

4-14
Dutchman's Breeches are opening a few flowers in sheltered sun warmed nooks.
And a woodchuck enjoys the new green grass of spring!
John

4-11 fungus

4-11
This very photogenic (but unidentified) fungus adorned a dead limb.
On warm banks Myrtle is starting to flower.
Draba Verna, commonly called Spring Whitlow Grass, a mere inch high now, is opening its first tiny white flowers.
John

fungus

Spring Whitlow Grass

Spring Whitlow Grass

Myrtle

4-7 Beaked Hazel

4-7
Tiny twisted scarlet flowers and yellow male catkins dot thickets of Beaked Hazelnut.
Saxifrage can be seen on sunny ledges.
Tree swallows are back at the Retreat Meadows.
Painted Turtles basked on old tires nearby.
Also seen but not pictured - Great Blue Heron and a Gray Comma butterfly.
John

Beaked Hazelnut

Saxifrage

Tree Swallow

Painted Turtles

4-6 Bloodroot

4-6
Bloodroot has been poised to flower for two days, but waited out the cold winds and precipitation.
Hepatica is also opening a few flowers in sunny locations
John

Bloodroot

Hepatica

3-28 Flicker

3-28
A flicker visited my suet feeder this morning but lurked behind the feeder. Also, a red-shouldered hawk has returned to my neighborhood circling and screaming beyond camera range.
John

3 -25 Woodcock

3-25 Woodcock were "peenting" in the fields near my house last night!
John

3-24 Phoebes and Coltsfoot

3-24
Phoebes are back in the area. This one was along the West River in Brattleboro.
Coltsfoot is in flower on a sun-warmed roadside. Only Skunk Cabbage flowers earlier.
John

Phoebe

Coltsfoot

3-15 Grackles and Cowbirds

3-15
Today grackles and brown-headed cowbirds joined starlings and red-winged blackbirds under my feeder.
Along the West River a song sparrow lurked in a thicket but was not yet singing.
John

3-14 Wolf Spiders

3-14
Wolf spiders were active atop the snow today. I saw at least 5 while crossing my field this morning.
John

Carrie Walker in Dummerston sent me this picture How crazy is this.

3-11 Red-winged Blackbird

3-11
A Red-winged Blackbird showed only the yellow edge of his red epaulette while sampling the fare at my feeders this morning. It was the first I'd seen this spring.
John

Owl Perch

The statue of Aphroditie beside our fish pond made a good perch for this owl to watch goldfish swimming in the half-frozen water below.

Yes, owls can catch fish (or so i see on YouTube).

Cheryl Wilfong

3-9 Winter Stoneflies

3-9
Winter Stoneflies were active in cornfields along the Connecticut River this morning. Aquatic for most of the year they emerge and breed in mid and late winter.
John

2-15 Bluebirds

2-15
Six male bluebirds accompanied a small flock of goldfinch visiting my feeders. The bluebirds appeared to be eating cracked corn both in suet mixture and scattered loose on the ground.
John