For our work day last week, we did some clean-up in an area of the woods where the previous owners seemed to have had a dump. Though the Cavanaughs have been pulling trash out of that area continuously since moving to the property, it has been a huge project. And it mainly needs to be done in the early spring, after the snow melts, but before everything gets covered by the understory plant growth. So it was ...
The photo above was taken this summer of some native plants growing under the shade of autumn olive shrubs, which are considered invasive. There are two sassafras trees and some spicebush, both of which are highly valuable for wildlife and humans alike. These native forest plants popped up on their own in this spot, spread by natural processes.Autumn olives can be problematic when they take over areas that have generally been dominated by native thickets of shrubs ...
"One of the recurring philosophical questions is: 'Does a falling tree in the forest make a sound when there is no one to hear?' Which says something about the nature of philosophers, because there is always someone in a forest. It may only be a badger, wondering what that cracking noise was." ~ Terry Pratchett snow covered trees by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC Lately Brennah has been noticing something stealthily swimming away ...
Jean, Brennah and guests A fun little episode from our May Member Walk and Bonfire was the appearance of this butterfly. Brennah spotted it and stopped to take some pictures - two of which I've added to this post. The young lad was especially interested, and Brennah explained that the butterfly is called a Mourning Cloak, and is one of the earliest to appear in the spring. Because they come out so early, there ...
The fragrance of the Autumn Olive flowers in the springtime is fabulous. It's such a joy to walk back towards the woods and be greeted with their sweet smell rich in the air. The blossoms are now beginning to fade away, but they have been a great source of pollen and nectar for the pollinator insects. Their speckled leaves are now coming in fully, and when fall rolls around, they will produce their yummy speckled berries (which ...
Excavating a fallen log, a little native bee works busily away to build a nest for her offspring. Blossoms of wild geranium, violets, and anemones peek out here and there. Insects go about their business breaking down the detritus that would overwhelm us if not for them. The alchemy of creating life out of death goes on constantly under our feet, in a world that mostly goes unnoticed.Oftentimes, that is the way of things... the true stars ...
One of the main understory shrubs in the woodlands area of the Sanctuary is Spicebush. The photos in this post are ones that Brennah has taken across the seasons showing the blossoms, berries, and fall foliage. She has even captured a shot of the Spicebush Butterfly (which I didn't realize was a thing, but she had identified long ago).I happened upon an excellent description of Spicebush this morning on the Indigenous Landscapes site which I will share ...
I found these photos of Comma Butterflies that Brennah took last year on April 2nd. She told me that they are some of the first butterflies to emerge in the spring. We will certainly be keeping an eye out for these beauties again this year. According to Wikipedia, "The eastern comma may be spotted in woods near rivers, ponds, marshes, swamps, and other water sources." Thank you once again for your support of this magical place for our ...