A steady roar sounded in the woods. The tree canopy shimmered with traveling fixtures of light that bounced off transparent wings. I stood outside and took in the sights and sounds. Then I noticed someone on my shoulder.
Anticipating Cicadas
Camouflaged Cacophony
When Using Binoculars
Roadside Attractions
Roads themselves are notoriously busy places. Fast human transportation is concentrated within these strips of pavement that cut through what can often be a human-designed landscape, be it housing or farmland or something else. But between the road and the other development, there tends to be a section largely neglected by deliberate human interference and left to its own devices. The roadside.
Puddles and their Avian Occupants
The Regulars
The loud squawking of blue jays leads my gaze upward. The talkative birds coast in from the distance and land on the tallest tree branches where they continue their conversation. Cardinals are unmistakable with their red plumage popping against the muted winter backdrop. Nuthatches scratch the wood of trees as they crawl around on tree trunks. A downy woodpecker joins them.
The Amphibious Appearance
The bird feeders outside the nature center’s windows are occupied by a frenzy of woodpeckers, chickadees, goldfinches, nuthatches, and so many more fluttering feathered beings. Squirrels take the liberty of picking up fallen seeds on the ground alongside mourning doves and dark-eyed juncos. My attention is very much absorbed in the birds’ and squirrels’ whereabouts, but I do notice someone else.
Where Owls Have Perched
The Acorn Buffet
Young Spots
Counting Arthropods in a Patch of Daisy Fleabane
On a sunny summer morning I spent well over an hour examining a patch of daisy fleabane, a weedy plant that stands at about four feet tall and is topped with small white flowers that are daisy-like with fringed petals surrounding a yellow center. I was at this flower patch for the purpose of counting arthropods.
Trees of Tree Frogs
Welcoming the Queens
A Sunny Moment for a Turtle
The pond was still and cold. Its dark hue reflected surrounding trees and shrubbery yet to turn green. Ends and angles of sticks and logs protruded from the water’s surface. On one of those logs was a round shape, an irregularity among the flat water and squiggles of wood. But it was not quite an irregularity after all.
