Spring Overload

Walker Mountain from our back pasture. April 21, 2011

It's been a great spring--minus the scary tornadoes.


Tiger Swallowtails April 19, 2011

These tiger swallowtails and another black swallowtail were feasting on the mud left by a flood along Walker Creek.


Blue Phlox April 19, 2011

The blue phlox has already bloomed in our woods . . .


and the redbud trees...


. . . as well as the wild strawberries in the back pasture.


Box Turtle April 24, 2011

I found 3 large box turtles while hunting for morel mushrooms--not sure where they were going in the woods but I was glad to see so many of these turtles around.


Garden Spring Flowers

I've been torn between working in my garden and walking in the woods. Too bad everyone doesn't have that dilemma.



Pink Tulip after rain. April 28, 2011

I plant tulip bulbs every fall even though they seem to only last a few years. I can't remember when I planted these large pink tulips.


Columbine April 28, 2011

This native columbine "came up volunteer" (an old saying of my mom's when anything just came up in her garden without her planting it). The blooms were especially beautiful this spring with the creeping phlox I planted years ago. Of course, the woods are full of columbine--they seem to like the steep rocky slopes.


Shooting Star April 24, 2011

I planted this native shooting star several years ago. The delicate green leaves are at the base whirled around a single stalk of flowers. The flowers are quite small--you almost have to get right down to appreciate their beauty. Shooting Stars don't t grow on our land but I was able to buy a start from a native plant nurseryman. It blooms for only a few days, the light green foliage decays after a month or so. I was lucky I didn't plant anything there the first year or else it would be gone.



Lilac April 25, 2011

The lilac shrub was filled with blooms.


I also surround myself with lots of pansies from local greenhouses--they get their plants from local growers or else grow them right there in the greenhouse. The prices are usually good too.


Teapot Planter

At one greenhouse, I saw some violas in a teapot planter which gave me an idea to use my recently broken teapot. My husband glued it back together for me and I put some violas in it. I think it makes a better planter than teapot now.



Country Eggs

This has nothing to do with my post but wanted to show you the beautiful country eggs I've been buying from a friend. He supplies the local gourmet restaurant with eggs so they have to be good.


Carolina Wren April 23, 2011

I put up an old birdhouse on my garden shed. A pair of Carolina Wrens built a nest in early spring. She was disturbed every time I went inside the shed. But, now it's quiet with the last fledgling leaving on April 23. But, I saw a new pair checking out the birdhouses on the front porch so I hope to see more activity and I can watch them from my computer.

Spring happens so fast!

Phlox, Wood Anemone and Pear Blossoms with Bee Update

Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) April 17, 2009

Blue Phlox is blooming profusely along the road where the highway department trimmed the brush. Hooray--wish they would do this every year instead of spraying pesticides. Native wildflowers tend to take over and it is also better for my honey bees which are on my mind a lot lately (see below for update on my hive).



Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) April 17, 2009

Bloodroot and Toothwort flowers are just about gone as the mid spring flowers take over. I spotted this Wood Anemone in the woods. You can see that the forest floor is still very brown with the exception of alien invasive species (i.e. multi-flora rose, Japanese barberry, Japanese honeysuckle) which get a head start by leafing out early. That also makes it a good time of year to remove these troublesome species.


Sweet Cherry Blossoms and Honey Bee (April 9, 2009)

With bees on my mind, I have observed where my bees forage. I have watched them go from the hive to the dandelions and henbit I have allowed to grow up in our lawn this year. I also see my honey bees follow along the powerline to these sweet cherry trees that must have been planted a long time ago by the farmer who owned this land.


Old Pear Orchard (April 12, 2009)

On the back part of our land and next to our neighbor's beautiful barn is an old pear orchard where I went to see if the trees were blooming and to search for honey bees. I have been trying to restore this orchard for several years by pruning the many branches (per a Mother Earth magazine article).

I wondered what happened to the fruit every year since I do not harvest the many small, mostly inedible pears. Last year, I was looking at the pears on the ground when a cow approached. I threw a pear at her to shoo her away. She promptly ate it and came over with her calf and gobbled up a lot of pears--another mystery solved.


Pear Tree Blossoms (April 12, 2009)

I don't know if the honey bee on the right is from my hive but there were several on this pear tree along with bumble bees and many small bees.

The weather has not been good for bees since I installed my package April 3. There have been few warm, sunny days. The bees don't go out to forage on the mostly cold, rainy days we have had. So, it is good thing I have fed them sugar syrup continuously.

Update on my Bee Hive

With some good advice from fellow beekeepers, I requeened my hive yesterday (the eggs in the previous post were probably from laying workers). I also used an ingenious method for removing the laying workers as recommended in the Beekeeping for Dummies book and further detailed by another beekeeper who did this last year. Hopefully, these efforts will rejuvenate my struggling hive.

Phlox and Finches

Frost was on everything for the last two nights but the days have been warm (60 degrees). Today, it will be well above 70 degrees, prompting everything to grow fast.

All day, I hear the finches. I tried to count how many there were at the feeder--about 30 American Goldfinches and 25 Purple Finches. Besides the finches, there are Cardinals, Woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy, Red-Bellied), Carolina Chickadees and Wrens, Tufted Titmouses, Chipping Sparrows, and White-Breasted Nuthatches. On the ground, we still have Fox and White-Throated Sparrows and Dark-Eyed Juncoes. I never know which day these winter visitors will disappear. The Eastern Towhee made its first appearance about a week ago--yesterday there were 3 males but no females. Not at the feeders, I have seen the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker at a hickory tree and Pileated Woodpecker in black cherry and oak trees.

Last week, I was sitting on our back deck not far from the feeders when I heard a Tufted Titmouse sound an alarm call. I looked around for my cat, thinking she was near but instead, a Sharp-shinned Hawk came flying by, no more than 5 feet off the ground. He was not successful, the birds having fled because of the alarm call. Who said living in the country is not exciting?


Photo: April 18, 2008

The bright yellow of the American Goldfinch is striking.


Photo: April 16, 2008

The Red Maple trees have already borne fruit. It seems pretty obvious now why they are named Red Maple--red leaves in the fall, red flowers, red fruit, red twigs.


Photo: April 14, 2008

Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) was blooming at the edge of the woods along several old logging roads.