Woods Hole is above 3000 feet elevation so you don't see cardinals or goldfinches I was told. We did see and hear plenty of birds including wood thrushes, rose-breasted grosbeaks, red-eyed vireos and others.
Amercian Redstart female on nest
I wasn't good at identifying the birds from their songs like others were but I did spot this little tiny nest in a tree only a few feet from us. That's exciting.
Wood-Betony Pedicularis canadensis
I have seen this flower before at Mountain Lake where it's typically reddish. Of course, I couldn't remember the name at the time. I figured it was in the snapdragon family and so it was easy to look up.
Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
I had been seeing this butterfly for a few days at my house before I snapped this picture at Woods Hole. It will probably be flying around all summer according to my field guide.
After we birded for awhile, we enjoyed a good breakfast (home-made biscuits and sausage with country eggs from down the road). From the front porch, I admired the great garden--this area was just one part of it. In the background is the log cabin that the owner's grandfather built for the hikers. We saw several wirey-legged hikers enjoying the owner's coffee which she roasts and grinds there.
Looking toward the front porch where I stood before, you can see the house itself which is a log cabin dating back to the 1880s. The new addition (on the right) was completed last year. It has two bedrooms with shared bath they rent out, breakfast included.
I thought the builders did a great job of integrating the old and new structures. Also, from this view, you see the stone wall and fence which keeps the deer out of the raised beds. I wish I had photographed the great rock wall behind the house. They needed it to protect the house from run-off. The water flows into a pond which is to the right of this photo. The pond, which was flooded out in March, was built again and is now surrounded by blueberry bushes. I admire (and envy) the tremendous energy and hard work of the owners of Woods Hole.
