Tag: nature photography

Image #157 – When the weather turns bad …

It has been a miserable … wait, let me amend that.  It has been a MISERABLE day here in Western North Carolina.  It has been raining steadily since the wee hours of the morning and my rain gauge is showing more than 2″.  Our temperature has been above freezing so the precipitation has remained liquid. That will change tonight when the forecast says that snow will begin and carry on through most of tomorrow.

Sigh….

There really is nothing you can do about the weather except have faith that it will change and remember happier times. So on a yucky day like today I try to remember better times and returned to my photo diary to see what I was up to last year. It appears that I was hiking in the Myakka Park Wilderness area, a lovely pristine part of an already pristine place. Here’s a picture from that day.

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As you can see it was a beautiful day and Myakka was, as always, sublime. On my way out the area I encountered a deer who stopped and calmly assessed my intent. I passed muster and she walked away quietly. I hope she is enjoying a warm, sunny and peaceful day. ❧

Image #157(1)

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Image #156 – What Tango Found

Image #156

Tango and I went for a walk at the West Macon Track yesterday. He was off leash and a few feet ahead of me, sniffing everything in true dog manner. Suddenly he jumped back and I knew from past experiences that he had found something more interesting than an odor. I quickly gave the command for him to “Get in” which he reluctantly obeyed. Snapping on the leash we went forward to see Tango’s discovery which I thought was probably a turtle since we frequently find them at WMT.  Imagine my surprise when I saw a groundhog!

I have never seen a groundhog before except for the legendary Punxsutawney Phil, that poor groundhog in Pennsylvania that gets paraded out every year on Groundhog Day and gets televised for providing a pseudo weather forecast.  Groundhogs hibernate and Phil, in my opinion,  always has that look of someone who has been dragged out of a nice warm bed.  I know they have to fill air-time but has anyone from the SPCA ever looked into just how Phil is treated?

Well, I digress. An honest-to-God groundhog no more than 20 feet in front of me was a new experience and, from the groundhog’s reaction, the same may have been true for him/her.  We spent some time eyeing each other. Tango was straining to get at it which seemed like a really bad idea given those front incisors that could clearly take a bite out of an Australian Shepherd. Once I managed to get Tango controlled I grabbed my iPhone and took some pictures.  It obligingly posed although, in retrospect, perhaps it was just reluctant to take any action with that dog in sight.

Groundhogs are also known as whistle-pigs, a really charming moniker.  Their burrows can be up to 46 feet in length and have several entrances.  I think this one had an entrance on that hillside because once we moved on just a few steps I looked back and it had quickly disappeared.

Long-time friends are aware that the groundhog has a special niche in my life. My late husband, Robert, was a devotee of Groundhog Day and each year he sent Groundhog greetings to our many friends.  They became almost legendary and I still hear from friends on Groundhog Day who remember Robert and miss his always interesting missives of February 2nd.  He would have been as enthralled with this discovery as I was.  Groundhogs rock!

So, good luck to you whistle-pig.  Live long and prosper. ❧

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A worried groundhog eyes Tango and me.
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Image #155 – Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

I’ve been waiting for this guy. He’s a Junco, a Slate-colored Junco.  For some reason I am very fond of these little birds and shortly after I moved to Fawn Hill I asked my neighbor if there were Juncos. “Sometimes,” she said, “In the winter.”  And that squared with my memory of Juncos.  I first became acquainted with them in Washington, D.C.  For a period of time we had an apartment with a lovely deck just off the living room and in winter the Juncos would come and hop around searching for food.  We traveled a lot in those days and somehow never got into the bird feeder thing even though there were many varieties of birds there in downtown Washington, DC, including numerous raptors. The Juncos were only around in the winter and they charmed me with their white breast and pinkish beak.  It didn’t take long to figure out that when the Juncos arrived it was going to be cold and it came as no surprise to me that they summer in the Arctic Circle.  Forecast for Franklin this weekend?  An “arctic blast” arrives on Sunday.  ❧

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Image #154 – Stalked Hairy Fairy Cup

The Stalked Hairy Fairy Cup, according to Audubon’s Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, is “Often in large groups, on dead twigs, stems, beech burs, and birch catkins.” That explains the large number of these specimens that were populating the various pieces from our recent tree removal on Fawn Hill.  There were plenty of dead or dying stems and twigs for this fungus to enjoy.Image #154(1) At approximately 1/8 of an inch (3mm) in length is is very easy to overlook this unique mushroom.  The actual cup is only 1/32 of an inch (1mm) wide.  When you get down close to it you see that is is covered with long, white hairs. Just another wonder from the mushroom world. ❧

Image #154

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Image #152 – Opportunity!

On Friday we had some tree removal work done at Fawn Hill. There were two really bad problems–an 80 foot Poplar that was rotted at the base and hollow for about six feet up, and some limbs on a Black Oak that had died and were hanging precipitously over the house.  One piece of the Oak had already broken lose and, like a spear, pierced the roof.

The crew was here early and it was a good thing because by midday the rains had come in and the crew headed out, leaving massive quantities of lumber staged in my backyard and driveway, Image 152(1)awaiting the chipper that may arrive on Monday, weather permitting.

Saturday dawned mild and sunny. When I looked at the pile of tree debris in my backyard I thought of one thing–opportunity!  It’s not often that the opportunity to study macro-environments at 80 feet up falls into your lap. Normally you need to strap on a lot of climbing equipment and be strong enough to claw your way up a tree with your heels.  I have neither the equipment, strength or, for that matter, the interest to even try.  Another opportunity to accomplish this goal is to visit a few places, like Myakka River State Park, where there is a tree canopy walk and you can leisurely study the flora aloft.   In my case, on Saturday, I simply needed to walk out my front door.

I spent some time studying the downed pieces. There were many things of interest. Lots of lichen…or moss…not sure which. But the limbs from the Black Oak gave me something I could identify, another addition to the growing list of mushrooms I have become acquainted with here in North Carolina. In this case it is the Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum).  They are the orange fungi you see on the branches at the bottom of this first picture.

But here is a much better and closer picture.

Image #152 (2)

I had studied the dead limbs of the Black Oak with some interest before the arborists arrived but I can’t recall seeing the fungi. No doubt it was on the sunny side of the branch which was some 60 or more feet in the air.  Having photographed and identified it I then learned, via the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, that the habitat for this fungi is  “On dead deciduous twigs and stumps, especially oak.”   Seems the arborist made a good cut.  ❧

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Image #151 – Red-headed birds

Image #152

If you think this is a Red-headed Woodpecker you are wrong…but you are not alone.  Thinking this is a Red-headed Woodpecker is one of the most common birding ID mistakes.  While I couldn’t find an absolute statistic my bet would be that 90% of the people who see this bird think “Red-headed Woodpecker.”   Actually he is a Red-bellied Woodpecker although none of my field guides indicate an actual red-belly.  Such are the problems of birding ID’s.

This is an actual Red-headed Woodpecker and they are not nearly as common as their colorful cousins.   Image #151 (1)This particular Red-head was a resident at the Carlton Preserve in Venice, Florida and for several years you could count on seeing him at the entrance to the preserve in a grove of decaying trees. I told an honest-to-God ornithologist (bird expert) about the Red-headed Woodpecker at Carlton Preserve and he poo-pooed the possibility, insisting I was actually seeing a Red-bellied Woodpecker.  So I suggested we go to Carlton Preserve together and he agreed.  We had walked just a few feet into the entrance when this handsome Red-headed Woodpecker flew to the same tree in this photo.  My ornithologist friend was so surprised that he dropped his camera. He spent the rest of the day expressing awe that it really was a Red-headed Woodpecker and that I was right!   I can’t recall if I ever saw the ornithologist again but the Red-headed Woodpecker was great entertainment for several more years. They are still at Carlton Preserve but the ones that foraged near the entrance seem to have moved on.  My guess is they grew weary of too many ornithologists making fools of themselves. ❧

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Image #150 – The Pool Has Closed for the Season

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That’s my backyard bird bath this morning.  It was chilly here, actually downright cold. When I awoke it was 15º F.   The birds are flocking to my feeders in great numbers and who can blame them? I can barely comprehend how they manage to survive in such weather but clearly good nutrition is a part of it.  Just yesterday I was talking with my neighbor about bird bath heaters.  She was talking about the need to get her’s in place and I was marveling that such an item existed. It never occurred to this Florida girl but I’ve already been to Amazon.com to check it out and this morning certainly confirms the need for such a device.  There are some technical issues to resolve, however. So, for the next few days at least, my feathered-friends will have to try skating.  Thankfully the weather is forecast to moderate and by the weekend we will be back in the 60s. ❧

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Image #149 -Little Tennessee River Greenway

Image #149

Running through Franklin’s rather erratic downtown area is a lovely stretch of land known as the Greenway which is maintained by the delightfully acronymed group – FROGS.  Friends of the Greenway (FROGS) maintain the paths, weeding out invasive plants along the five mile stretch while also providing a comfy headquarters with coffee shop and books. The park meanders along several miles of the Little Tennessee River. During a walk last week I snapped this photograph.  As the trees continue losing their leaves there are new designs emerging from the dense growth. The trees become dancers against the wintering sky. Soon all the leaves will be gone and these trees will stand naked and exposed. Yet, remarkably, they are safer that way. Leaves are heavy, so is snow and ice.  Exposed limbs have a better chance of surviving the onslaught of winter. Nature is remarkable. ❧

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Image #147 – You talkin’ to me?

Image #147

Tufted Titmouse doing his best Robert De Niro impression … ❧

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Image #146 – White-breasted Nuthatch

Image #146

The variety of birds at my feeder has narrowed to about 6-10 varieties. The White-breasted Nuthatch is one of them and he is a surprisingly cooperative subject. The Titmouse and Chickadee are frenetic and move too quickly to grab the right focus. But this little fellow looked right at the camera and smiled.  Don’t you agree? ❧

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