Naked Woods

Yesterday, the temperature reached a record 71 degrees at 3:00 p.m while it was 65 degrees earlier this afternoon. The warm temperatures prompted me to walk in the woods the last couple of days.

I can see and hear more woodpeckers after the leaves have fallen like this downy woodpecker.

Identifying trees by the bark is a skill I have been acquiring over several years. The trees have to be mature because the bark of young trees of most species vary greatly in pattern and sometimes color.


The easiest one for me is Black Cherry because it is dark grey and has a distinctive pattern.



Sourwood is also easy to identify because the deeply-furrowed bark is light grey. The bark is very hard as well just like the wood which was used by the pioneers for sleds to bring supplies up into the mountains.

This morning, an Evening Grosbeak came to our feeder. I first noticed him during the cold spell last week but I did not expect him to stay. I don't remember ever seeing one before here even though we have had Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks during migration.

Another unusual bird at the feeder is the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. So far, I haven't been able to catch a photo of him. So that makes 4 woodpeckers (Red-Bellied, Downy, Hairy, and Yellow Bellied Sapsucker) coming to the suet feeder.

Sourwoods, Maples and Milkweed Bugs

Fall finally arrived in late October. Some of the trees show evidence of drought but I still find quite a bit of color.

The foliage of Sourwood trees first turns orange and then maroon--true Hokie colors (I was a professor at Virginia Tech and longtime football fan). Some trees started turning early in September, with their leaves already dropped.


But, those in the forest, tucked under the hickory and oak trees are in full color this past week (photo October 20)


Most sourwood trees have turned maroon by the end of October (photo October 27).

The sourwood trees bloom in late June through the end of July. Last month, I bought sourwood honey from a local beekeeper about 5 miles from where we live. I wondered if some of his bees came to our land to collect nectar this summer.

For a long time, I tried to identify the maple trees on our land. Finally, I collected leaves of two different trees and laid them side by side.


The red maple, on the left, has coarsely toothed edges while the sugar maple, on the right, has smooth edges. Now, I can distinguish them easily and realize we have a lot more sugar maples than red maples.

I have enjoyed watching milkweed bugs which I never noticed until Suzie Leslie, master naturalist, brought them to my attention recently.

First, they're small bright orange spots on the milkweed pods (photo taken September 22).


The bugs molt several times to become large milkweed bugs in late October.


Milkweed bugs eat the seeds which by this time are ready to take flight when a good breeze comes along.




Nature is a great source for inspiration--like this pattern of milkweed seeds which would make a great design for a printed fabric or embroidery.