Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

This past week has certainly been telling me that spring is on the way with my earliest sighting of an Eastern Phoebe ( Sayornis phoebe ) ever last Sunday, to seeing a Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) and a Common Grackle ( Quiscalus quiscula ) at Cumberland Farms in Middleboro, and all the songbirds I've been hearing around the house too, it seems a sure sign that winter is coming to an end. Now when it comes to weather prediction and seasonal changes, the last thing I rely on is the perceived advice of a rodent. For those of you who don't know, I have a passionate disdain for woodchucks ( Marmota monax ) as they have made life difficult for the chickens by living under their shed and stealing their feed (which now costs $16 per bag making me even less happy to share the bounty with them). According to the rodent's forecast this year it would be the paradoxical claim of "six more weeks of winter" even though if the thing hadn't seen its shadow, it...

As another busy week looms, I'm hesitant to post anything long-winded, so instead I shall show you all the wonderful colors of peak fall here in New Jersey. A Cabbage White ( Pieris rapae ) rests on a burdock in New Hope, PA. Another Cabbage White resting on an aster (presumed). Unless a sweetgum has gone all fancy, I suppose this might be a Japanese Maple. A male flicker rests in the red bush outside the window. Leaves litter the ground as if sowing the comforter for the coming frosts and snow that would hope to comfort the ground in the coldest part of the year. Little though they are, it is their numbers that ultimately make the difference and transform the fall ground into a mosaic of fading color and stamped texture. Adding almost a christmasy feel to the lawn behind the house, the Honey Locust ( Gleditsia triacanthos ) seed pods resemble green beans and are, in fact, related to legumes such as peas, peanuts, and snap beans. Transitions from the bou...