First Butterflies of the Year

Look closely for the ?

Blood Root

Question Mark

Mourning Cloak

Saturday found us returning to Shenk's Ferry - one must visit frequently in order to catch most of the excitement. My goal is 2 times a week - If we lived closer in would be every day.

On Saturday 3/20/10 we celebrated the first official day of spring by spotting our first butterflies of the season. The angle wings are first to appear because they winter as adults in a hibernation like state - protected in a hiding place usually under the bark of a tree. As soon as the air warms they come out to feed. Their spring source of nutrition is sap and they send their day flying to and from trees that are "bleeding" sap. Three angle-wings abundant in our area are the Mourning Cloak, The Comma, and the Question Mark. See my pics taken on 3/20/10 to see two of these and also why the question mark bears such an unusual name.

We were looking for one of my favorite wild flowers - Blood Root - it was not along the path so I assumed we were too early but on our way out of the glenn we saw several hundred blossoms on a sunny hill side. Don't miss spring - get out there.

GET OUT

Virgina Blue Bells


Hepatica (white)


Hepatica (blue)



Cut leaf Tooth Wort



Ivyleaf Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia)



Spring Beauty



Dutchman's Breeches




The weather could not be much better - it was almost 70 degrees here today - We made our first of many (we hope) trip to Shenk's Ferry today. There are some who will tell you it is too early for such a visit; but it was not a waste of time. The warm sun and fresh air were delightful and as we often do we met some lovely people there.

We listed the following wildflowers blooming
Speedwell (several varieties)
Cutleaf tooth wort
VA bluebells
Spring Beauties
Squirrel Corn

The pics I posted were all taken today. 3/18/10

Thanks to Professor Ken Miller for help with IDs - I was lost on the type of speedwell and the open flowers of the tooth wort confused me - I remembered them with a "hanging" flower.
If you ever catch a mistake don't hesitate to point it out - I am an expert on nothing and a student of everything.

Spring has sprung - GET OUT !!!!

A week in KY

morning mist from Pine Mt



grouse


Florence and I were privileged to spend a week in the mountains of eastern KY, just returned yesterday. Lots of rain but had one day on top of the mountain. Saw 2 rouffed grouse, 3 pilliated woodpeckers, an unidentifed owl, turkeys, bluebirds, lots of robins, deer, and my first box turtle (a good sign of spring). I enjoyed showing gill o'r the ground to some folks - with a magnifying glass these little "weeds" surprise any who take the time to look.

Spring has Sprung

What glorious weather yesterday and today (Sunday 3/7/10) Iwent to a spot where I kew I would see snow drops - yes blomming by the dozens. The surprise wasw when I came home and found corn speedwell blooming in my yard - thank God I don't use chem-lawn like the neighbors.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

I have been sick for nearly 6 weeks so naturing trips just ain't happening - therefore it is time to talk about the past and the future at the same time.

The past first - I wanted to take pictures of skunk cabbage when it was blooming. The skunk cabbage is the first wild flower to bloom here in the late winter and very early spring. It's flower is not considered beautiful by most folks but I always love to see it as it means spring is just around the corner. As a member of the Arum family the plant actually produces it's own heat to melt trough the snow in order to bloom. Several years ago my friend Ken Miller volunteered to take me to a place where he knew we would find the plant. It was planned to be an easy walk through a stream under a bridge and into the marsh where they grow. The water was very deep so we had to "walk around" the stream. We went several hundred yards down the road and crossed a railroad track (build on a high mound) The snow was frozen and ice covered so footing was not easy. I was not as well as I am today and needed the help of Ken and his grandson Jeremy to push and pull the fat man up the hills. It did not help that we were all laughing about the situation. The mission was accomplished, with a great deal of struggling.

Next, the future - I am looking forward to the skunk cabbage blooming again this year. Spring is such a special time and any sign the winter is loosing its grip to the wonderful spring flowers and creatures is a memorable event.

Above are 2 pics from the eventful day.

Good Bye Old Friend

One of my best friends went home to be with the Lord this week. Dick Warren was a remarkable man. and inspiration to me and others - I took this photo of him on a spring 08 visit to Shenk's ferry. It spoke to me then but I did not want to hear what it said.

KESTRAL

Sat 11/7/09 - I got as close to a Kestrel as I ever have today - I noticed it perched on a wire near our church school on Seighrist Rd. (West Hempfield Twp -Lancaster County, PA) As normal these sighting happen when I am WC (without camera). What was not normal is that after I fetched the camera and Florence (about 15 min later) he was still there.

Kestrels are amazing birds, the smallest of the falcon family, the are beautifully marked and fascinating flyers. They can hover in one place like a hummer and often will do this over an open field looking for the movement of a small rodent, their major food source. They will eat insects also.

I have seen them many times in the past but they are very leery of man. They will often fly from a perch as you approach and then perch again 20 or 30 yards away and will keep repeating this untill they get tired of you following them - then they fly out of sight. They often return to the same hunting grounds if they are successful.

This guy allowed me to get close enough for a good picture. (see above) Come to think of it I did get closer to a Kestrel once. I was between tours and taking a nap in the car waiting on the second bus - I awoke to discover a Kestrel perched on a fence post about 20 feet from me and of course I had no camera. I did enjoy the experience.