Winter

An image captured last January, 2010.  It reminds me what a long, cold and snowy winter we experienced.  Then, this summer was the hottest, most humid on record.  Many, many 90 plus days.  I remember seeing on television, in the fall of 2009, that people were finding these almost white to solid white wooly worms and that these were a sign of an upcoming cold and snowy winter.  I guess they were right.  We also experienced a weird wind storm (Autumn 2008) and an incredible ice storm (early 2009), so we have had our share of incredible weather in the last couple of years.  

I nervously ponder what is in store for us this winter.

God Bless Us All

Image by M Smith

Climate Change: Picturing the Science

Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History (Princeton Field Guides)

The Garden in Winter: Plant for Beauty and Interest in the Quiet Season

Canadian Goose

The Canada Goose  is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body. It is often called the Canadian Goose, but that name is not the ornithological standard, or the most common name.

(Branta Canadensis)

The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish the Canada Goose from all other goose species, with the exception of the Barnacle Goose, but the latter has a black breast, and also grey, rather than brownish, body plumage.  There are seven subspecies of this bird, of varying sizes and plumage details, but all are recognizable as Canada Geese. Some of the smaller races can be hard to distinguish from the newly-separated Cackling Goose.

This species is native to North America. It breeds in Canada and the northern United States in a variety of habitats. Its nest is usually located in an elevated area near water such as streams, lakes, ponds and sometimes on a beaver lodge. Its eggs are laid in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down. The Great Lakes region maintains a very large population of Canada Geese.  
The life span in the wild is 10–24 years.

By the early 20th century, over-hunting and loss of habitat in the late 1800s and early 1900s had resulted in a serious decline in the numbers of this bird in its native range.

The Giant Canada Goose subspecies was believed to be extinct in the 1950s until, in 1962, a small flock was discovered wintering in Rochester, Minnesota, by Harold Hanson of the Illinois Natural History Survey. 
With improved game laws and habitat recreation and preservation programs, their populations have recovered in most of their range, although some local populations, especially of the subspecies occidentalis, may still be declining.

In recent years, Canada Geese populations in some areas have grown substantially, so much so that many consider them pests (for their droppings, the bacteria in their droppings, noise and confrontational behavior).
This problem is partially due to the removal of natural predators and an abundance of safe, man-made bodies of water (such as on golf courses, public parks and beaches, and in planned communities).


Migration of lesser Snow and Blue Geese
The Canadian goose and how to raise the young
Distribution and Migration of North American Ducks, Geese, and Swans
Source:  Wikipedia

Spicebush Swallowtail

Adults can be identified by their spoon-shaped tails and by their bright green (male) or iridescent blue (female) hind-wings. Ivory spots may be visible on the forewings, and orange spots may appear on the hindwings. Wingspan may be 3 to 4 inches.

Papilio Troilus

The Spicebush Swallowtail is found only in the Eastern US and extreme southern Ontario, with occasional strays in the American Midwest and even Cuba.

Habitat

This primarily black swallowtail is normally found in deciduous woods or woody swamps, where they can be found flying low and fast through shaded areas.

 Life cycle:

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar:

The caterpillars live in folded leaf shelters and eat the leaves of the sassafras or spicebush. The caterpillars make nests of the leaves by spinning silk and curling the leaf up. They mostly hide in the nest in the daytime and come out at night to eat. Because of this it is more difficult to follow when they molt and keep track of which instar they are in. They make the nest by laying down silk on the leaf that they want to curl up. You can see them doing this, they start moving their heads back and forth while moving along the leaf. Eventually the silk dries and cause the leaf to curl/fold up. When younger the caterpillars tend to eat away part of the leaf and just fold over a flap of it. As they get bigger they fold over an entire leaf.

 Adults consume a variety of nectars, including those from azalea, Japanese honeysuckle, milkweed, and thistle flowers.

Both sexes are thought to be edible mimics of the distasteful Pipevine Swallowtail.
Wiki

The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide

Red Spotted Purple

                        Limenitis Arthemis

Wing span: 2 1/4 to 4 inches
Caterpillar hosts plants:
Leaves of apple, Malus; aspen, cottonwood and poplar, Populus; basswood, Tillia; birch, Betula; deerberry, Vaccinium; hawthorn, Crataegus; hornbeam, Carpinus; oaks, Quercus; serviceberry, Amelanchier; wild cherry, Prunus; willows, Salix
Adult food:
Carion, dung, rotting fruit, sap flows, occasionally nectar of small white flowers including, privet, Ligustrum; spirea, Spiraea; viburnum, Virburnum
Habitat:
Deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms
Notes:
Mimic poisonous pipevine swalowtail, males perch 3 feet or more above the ground to locate females, rarely patrol for females, hibernates as third stage caterpillar, females lay eggs singly on tips of host plant leaves, caterpillar appearance mimics bird droppings.

A World Of Butterflies

Franz Red Spotted Purple Butterfly Porcelain Cup & Saucer Set

Painted Lady

The Painted Lady group of colourful butterflies comprises the subgenus Cynthia of the genus Vanessa in the Family Nymphalidae.

The group includes:

the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui),
 Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi)
American (Painted) Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella)

Distinguishing features

In general, the Painted Lady is a large butterfly (wing span 5--9–cm (2--2 7/8 in)) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has 5 white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hindwings carry 4 small submarginal eyespots on dorsal and ventral sides. Those on the dorsal side are black, but in the summer morph sometimes small blue pupils are present in some.
Source:  Wikipedia

Painted Lady Butterflies

 (Life Cycles)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are at least 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of Australia (genus Ornithoptera).

Papilio Glaucus

Swallowtails differ from all other butterflies in a number of anatomical traits. Most notably, their caterpillars possess a unique organ behind their heads, called the osmeterium. Normally hidden, this forked structure can be everted when the caterpillar is threatened, or forced out with a gentle squeeze, and emits smelly secretions containing terpenes. The adults are often tailed like the forked tail of some swallows, giving the insect its name.                                                 

Source: Wikipedia
Photo: Mary C Smith

Swallowtail Butterflies of the Americas: 

A Study in Biological Dynamics,
 Ecological Diversity, Biosystematic and Conservation                                                 

Majestic Monarch

Danaus Plexippus

The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed-butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae.
It is perhaps the best known of all North American-butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer.
In Europe it is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 centimetres (3½–4 in).
Female-Monarchs have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot called the "androconium" in the center of each hind wing from which pheromones are released. Males are also slightly larger.
The Monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer in the Americas which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly.
Source: Wiki

Old America

Like a piece of old rusty farm equipment, America is beginning to rust a little around the edges... some people see it as a crumbling infrastructure, but I think it's more like the aging of a fine wine or a good strong cheese.  We are just becoming more flavorful and bold with age. 


Collapse Under Pressure
Freedom of the American Road: The case for more Highways (1955) [DVD]
Invisible New York: The Hidden Infrastructure of the City (Creating the North American Landscape)
The Physical City: Public Space and the Infrastructure (American Cities : a Collection of Essays, Vol 2)

Spiderwort

Tradescantia ohiensis is a species of Tradescantia (spiderwort) native to much of the eastern United States.  It is the most common species of Tradescantia in the wild in the United States.

The flowers are white, pink or purple but most commonly bright blue, with three petals and six yellow anthers.  The sap is mucilaginous and clear.  The leaves are long, thin and bladelike to lanceolate, from 3–45 cm long.

Its native range extends north to Wisconsin, Michigan, and slightly into Ontario, west to Texas and Kansas, south to Florida, and northeast to Massachusetts. 

They are weakly upright to scrambling plants, growing to 30–60 cm tall, and are commonly found individually or in clumps in wooded areas and fields. 

A number of the species flower in the morning and when the sun shines on the flowers in the afternoon they close up, but the flowers can remain open on cloudy days until evening.

The three species of Wandering Jew, one native to eastern Mexico, also belong to the Tradescantia genus.                             Other names used for various species include Spider-lily, Cradle-lily, Oyster-plant and Flowering Inch Plant.

The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels.

The generic name honours the English naturalists John Tradescant the Elder (ca. 1570-1638) and John Tradescant the Younger (1608-1662).
 wiki

Squawroot

This grouping of Squaw-Root was found growing in the Mammoth Cave National Forest.  These were very interesting to capture, however, they did seem a little past their prime.

Squawroot - Conopholis americana

Common Name: Squawroot, Cancerroot, American Broomrape

Scientific Name: Conopholis americana Family: Orobanchaceae, Broomrape

This plant, which lacks leaves, is parasitic on the roots of trees, especially oaks.

• Family: Broomrape (Orobanchaceae)

• Habitat: woods, often under oaks

• Height: 3-8 inches

• Flower size: 1/2 inch long

• Flower color: yellow-brown

• Flowering time: May to June

• Origin: native

Like all members of the Broomrape family, the Squawroot contains no chlorophyll. It must therefore obtain nutrients from a host plant as a parasite.  The Squawroot attaches to the root structure of oak trees for this purpose. However, this parasitic activity generally does not result in the death of the host tree.

Squawroot has astringent medicinal properties. A decoction can be used to treat hemorrhages of the bowels and uterus and as a cure for headaches.


The name Squawroot is attributed to its use by Native American females as a treatment to relieve the symptoms of menopause.

The name Cancerroot is a generic reference to its general palliative properties, as it has no measurable anti-tumor properties.

The genome of the Squawroot has been sequenced. The genes responsible for photosynthesis proteins are missing, while the remainder of the genome is consistent with other vascular, seed-bearing flowering plants, indicating an evolutionary mutation.  Excerpt taken from the Hiker's Notebook.

URL:  http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/Squawroot_040620.htm

Turkey Tango

This turkey was runnin' bout in Mammoth Cave National Park one spring morning, 2010. It was not the only one we spotted that morning, but this one did stick around long enough for me to capture a photo.

Here are some tidbits of info about the habits of a turkey.

The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was domesticated from the South Mexican subspecies of the Wild Turkey. 
Adult Wild Turkeys have long reddish-yellow to greyish-green legs and a black body. Males have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles.
When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood, almost concealing the eyes and bill. Each foot has three toes, and males have a spur behind each of their lower legs. 
Wild Turkeys are surprisingly agile fliers and cunning, unlike their domestic counterparts. Turkeys are very cautious birds and will fly or run at the first sign of danger. Their ideal habitat is an open woodland or savanna, where they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than a quarter mile (400 m).

Turkeys have many vocalizations:
"gobbles," "clucks," "putts," "purrs," "yelps," "cutts," "whines,"    "cackles," and "kee-kees." In early spring, male turkeys, also called gobblers or toms, gobble to announce their presence to females and competing males. The gobble can carry for up to a mile. Males also emit a low-pitched "drumming" sound; produced by the movement of air in the air sack in the chest, similar to the booming of a prairie chicken. In addition they produce a sound known as the "spit" which is a sharp expulsion of air from this air sack. Hens "yelp" to let gobblers know their location.
Gobblers often yelp in the manner of females, and hens can gobble, though they rarely do so. Immature males, called jakes, often yelp.
To view a larger image please click here.

Webworm Moth

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

The definitive coloring and stripes on this moth make it unique among Webworm Moths. They tuck and roll their wings close to their bodies when resting, making themselves look more like a beetle.  Adults are active in the daytime and can be seen from spring through autumn.
This moth gets its name from the Ailanthus tree, where its larvae make webs on leaves. The grayish caterpillars feed on the foliage of the tree

Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard

Pyralidae: Oeobia, Omiodes, Pyralidae Stubs, Pyralinae, Aglossa Cuprina, Indianmeal Moth, Lesser Wax Moth, Cabbage Webworm

Lost Mountain

Lost Mountain by Erik Reece : TreeHugger

This book I am currently reading and I recommend it whole heartedly.
So far, I have the following emotions... that sickening pit of your stomach feeling, outrage and a deep sadness at our lack of attention to the ongoing destruction of our most precious resources in Kentucky... our mountains.

Handbook for an Informed American
Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness Radical Strip Mining and the Devastation ofAppalachia

"Dragonflies and damselflies"

Most damselflies hold their wings at rest together above the torso or held slightly open above (such as in the family Lestidae), whereas most dragonflies at rest hold their wings perpendicular to their body, horizontally or occasionally slightly down and forward. Also, the back wing of the dragonfly broadens near the base, caudal to the connecting point at the body, while the back wing of the damselfly is similar to the front wing. The eyes on a damselfly are apart; in most dragonflies the eyes touch. Notable exceptions are the Petaluridae (Petaltails) and the Gomphidae (Clubtails)."
Wikipedia