First The Storm, Then The Promise, Then The Reward

The storm clouds roll....

'Til The Storm Passes By
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place.
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

~ Mosie Lister, 1958

Then the promise......

"Mild arch of promise! on the evening sky
Thou shinest fair with many a lovely ray,
Each in the other melting."
~ Robert Southey

Then the reward......

"The sunrise is Gods greeting - the sunset, his signature." ~ Unknown

Storms have blossomed each afternoon all week. They appear almost out of nowhere, with wind, flashes of lightening, and booming thunder before the downpours. An inch one day, a tenth the next... nine tenths the next. Slow moving, flash flooding, and still the humidity does not break. A cold front stretches, lazily languishes across the area... asleep. And the storms keep developing. I don't have to water the grass, but the cats hide each day, afraid of the sounds of pounding rain and rolling thunder. Still, after the clouds move on to the ocean... a promise appears in the eastern sky.... a rainbow. Then later, with clouds and storms to the north and south, the setting sun delivers a magnificent masterpiece to the end of the day.

This was July 6th, 2011.

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Nature's Notes
Skywatch Friday

Cycle of Life

Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird... this couple was obviously young... and disorganized.
(Click pictures to enlarge)

"A bird is three things:
Feathers, flight and song,
And feathers are the least of these."
~ Marjorie Allen Seiffert, "The Shining Bird"

Again this year, the bluebirds showed up. They were on time and a group of four or five birds snacked at the feeders and checked out the house. But, they were young... the male was lazy.. and chickadees built a nest of soft moss in one day and eggs were laid. The chickadees seemed distressed and more vocal than usual and I saw the male bluebird look in the already occupied birdhouse several times. Then the crime. Someone invaded the chickadee nest, took an egg and threw it against the bay window of our house. The dried protein dribbled down the length of the panes and a small shell fragment remained glued to the top. Who could do this? I would like to believe it was a blackbird or crow or one of the birds I really don't care for; so I give the bluebirds the benefit of the doubt and say it really couldn't have been them, their beaks are too small to carry an egg. Whoever the culprit was, it was so sad for the chickadees as they have a short nesting season and will not likely have another round this year.

Mrs. Bluebird was more industrious and practical than her mate.

When it was obvious that no chickadee babies were in the nest, I cleaned out the house... washed it... let it dry... and opened it back up for business. It still took this couple almost a week to decide on the place. I think she expected his help in building the nest, but his lame attempts ended up in pine needles being stuck in at the last moment; therefore, they simply stuck up and out the edge of the opening in a random way -- not tidy -- and were no help at all. No, the male spent most of his time fluttering at the window, pecking at the other male bluebird he saw as competition and peering in at us in the den (wanting mealworms). I think she expected him to either sit on the eggs while she hunted for food or bring her food. He didn't do either. I started in with the mealworms and she quickly learned that she would have to feed herself, he wouldn't do it.

Dinner time.

When the egg/eggs hatched, this young couple had to figure out how to feed the baby/babies. Mr. Bluebird fed himself first, downing four or five mealworms before taking one to the chick. Mrs. Bluebird, with true maternal instincts, fed the baby first and only herself after the chick was taken care of. Unlike last year's group, these did not always finish off the mealworms in record time. Whether it was because they had only one baby, while last year's had at least three or not; the result was that other birds became interested, particularly the brown thrasher. After he devoured the remaining mealworms at one meal, they seemed to become better organized and more purposeful in the feeding and took turns flying back and forth from the birdhouse to the mealworms. This couple added one stage, taking the mealworms to the roof for processing before flying them to the baby.

Feeding time... how could one small baby bird make so much noise.

At feeding time, the noise coming from the birdhouse was amazing and loud; it could be heard all the way to the back door and yet, there seemed to have been only one chick. He poked his head up with mouth wide open to get his food from mom and dad and starred with wide eyes at me. A week ago, I checked the birdhouse and there he was with feathers on his chest and looking like he was almost ready to go. Mrs. Bluebird must have told him to get down in the nest when I went to get my camera, for he was not to be seen when I returned. Sunday morning, the bluebirds had their breakfast of mealworms but by Sunday evening they were gone and though I left mealworms out for three days, no bluebirds. I presume they took their baby into the woods to teach him how to fly and to gather food. The feeder has been busy the last two weeks with all sorts of adult and baby blackbirds, blue jays, even finches; parents showing the babies where the food is and trying to get them to eat from the feeder without having to put it in their mouths. Now, it seems the juveniles have learned and the feeder sessions are more normal.

I waited for almost a week, then opened the house and took out the abandoned nest and washed the house. The very next day... yesterday... I came downstairs to the pecking sound of bluebirds pecking on the window and much agitation. Male and female, flying back and forth from the house to the feeder to the windowsill. I don't think these are the same bluebirds that just vacated the premises with their baby as they are supposed to stay with him in the woods for at least a few weeks. Hopefully, it is a new pair.. more mature (although this head butting against the window behavior does not indicate any maturity to the female who continually chatters at him while he is doing it) and perhaps they will build another nest and raise another family. I hope so. I still have mealworms left.

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Friday's Ark
Camera Critters
Nature's Notes

Let's Play I Spy

It's daylily time.

"On the face of it, the easiest of all activities should be seeing what we see. In reality, it's the hardest." ~ Charles Movalli

Have you every played "I Spy" or maybe "Where's Waldo?" I thought we would enjoy a little game today; but first I must digress to another story that has nothing to do with either "I Spy" or "Where's Waldo?" (or maybe it does).

Most of you know I have cats and some of you probably believe I have an excessive number of cats for a "normal" person. However, I have never claimed to be "normal" and my number of cats is dwindling from the unavoidable attrition that comes with increasing age. (I am now only living with four cats.) Once upon a time (every good story begins with this) I lived with another group of cats, all Siamese. Shamroc was the eldest and a seal point, Cassiopeia (Cassi for short), another seal point, and Rami, a blue point. They traveled with us everywhere for many years and it was on one of those excursions to Wichita Falls, that this story takes place.

My ex-mother-in-law (she wasn't and "ex" at that time; but you figured that out didn't you) had just re-done her bedroom with paint and curtains and a new king sized bed and bed linens. She longed for a picture of her new room to show her friends. Some of you, perhaps most of you, no longer remember the days of the Polaroid instant cameras (except for those tiny funky shot things my daughter had as a teenager that made weird instant picture stickers), but this was what I had. This was a time before I could afford a film 35mm camera, so you must be able to imagine what the style was back then... in the late '70's and early 80's. OK, please try not to gag too loud.

Anyway, as a dutiful daughter-in-law I obliged and stood in the dormer window facing the bed and snapped away. As the pictures lay on the bed and the foggy images slowly started to take shape, there was a curious blob centered at the botom of the picture. Milky and murky at first, it began to take shape; something dark and mysterious and at the same time stately and royal. Finally, the bedspread came into focus, as did the headboard and curtains and night stand and the rug... and the blob. IT WAS SHAMROC! I didn't see him through the viewfinder; but he positioned himself at the foot of the bed right in the dead center bottom of the picture, almost as if he were sitting on the edge of the white picture margin frame. AND he was turned just slightly sidways to show off the sloping curve of his back; his paws were placed together and his tail curled around and tucked in just in front of his paws. His head was trained directly on the camera with blue eyes front and center. HE POSED! Shamroc posed for the camera and gave a perfect shot, though no one knew he was there. Then, he WAS a special cat.

So, what does the previous story have to do with a lovely garden scene and gorgeous daylilies and a birdbath that is definitely leaking? Can you not guess? I took this picture from our living room window. It has been sooooo hot and humid that stepping outside into the wet sauna is more than I can take. So I take pictures from my little bench next to the window; pictures of the birds, hummers, and the occasional pastoral scene that invites the feeling of coolness at least. My brother gave me a long lens and I use it for this purpose. So I am at least fifteen to 20 feet away from these shots. As I worked with the pictures on my computer, something caught my eye... similar to the way that black blob showed up in my picture. Now, can you guess... is there anything showing up to you?

Scroll on down and get a closer shot.

I've patched cracks in this birdbath but it still leaks, just not as fast.

"The question is not what you look at, but what you see." ~ Thoreau

Do you see it now? After the first batch appeared and vanished at the end of April, just as they did last year, I have been looking and watching for more...to no avail. But here, it appears in my picture and I wasn't even looking.... have you figured it out yet? OK... a real cropped out close up is below.

A bit fuzzy but a monarch none the less.

"You can observe a lot by just watching." ~ Yogi Berra

Yes. A Monarch caterpillar of full size and it looks as if it has already entered into the wandering phase; as they rarely leave the milkweed until it is time. Of course I looked for him this morning, but alas, he has meandered away and hopefully has found a safe place to rest and form his chrysalis. I checked the milkweed again and still don't seen any eggs or small caterpillars. I guess it is time to break out the incubators and get them set up for the Monarchs and the Black Swallowtails.

So how did you do? Did you find him without my help? Did the story give some hints? Or did you have to scroll to the last picture.. come on.. tell the truth now!

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Nature's Notes (a day late)

And So It Begins Again....

Remnants of last season.... beginning again. Black swallowtail butterfly.

"I've watched you now a full half-hour,
Self-poised upon that yellow flower;
And, little Butterfly! indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless!---not frozen seas
More motionless! and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!"
~ William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)

Last October, six black swallowtail caterpillars, the last of the season... wove their chrysalides in the small aquarium sitting in my sunroom. Five days past.. then ten... then a full month... and it became obvious that these six were not going to emerge until spring. Days and weeks and months passed; the sticks with five brown and one green chrysalides simply ..."were". Two attached to the mesh cover and the rest to small twigs. A couple of the twigs had to be taped to larger sticks to fit into the empty flower pot in the aquarium. Those black swallowtail that overwinter usually start emerging in mid to late April, but one adventuresome fellow suddenly emerged in early April... really too soon, especially this year. The day was cold and wet and I kept him inside as long as possible before placing him in the drying mesh lid we used last year. An hour or so later, he was gone... I fear for his survival as there were so few flowers blooming and it was really cold. So, for the other five... I covered the aquarium with a dark towel for a few weeks... the length of the day, the light is the trigger for their emergence not the temperature.

Three more butterflies have successfully emerged, inflated their wings, practiced their wing style and spent time resting in the welcome mesh outpost. They have long since gone... but I did notice the tiny eggs on the fennel and several small caterpillars in various stages already eating the now abundant fine foliage. Sadly, the fifth butterfly was deformed and couldn't inflate the wings..... it died quickly. So now there is one left. It still has several days to emerge and still be within the normal time.... we will see. Soon, we will be breaking out the incubators for both the black swallowtail and the monarchs.

And an update on the monarch caterpillars already on the milkweed.... as last year, the first crop of caterpillars mysteriously disappeared. Only one managed to grow fairly large and I was thinking of bringing it inside for the last couple of days before transformation... but this morning it was dead. I do hope the parasite that invaded them at the end of the season is not still around. As yet, I have not seen any adults.

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Nature's Notes

Look Who Already Showed Up On My Milkweed!!!

Twenty caterpillars, already!!!

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." ~ Richard Buckminster Fuller

My brother is here... it is a busy and too short time of being together, laughing, working, planting... and yes, buying another Japanese maple tree. Just before he arrived I was looking over the flower beds marveling that just weeks before, except for the parsley and fennel and the evergreens, these beds were simply mulch where plants once grew. And then, remarkably, they began to return.. slowly at first but then almost changing each day. A few will not return and I don't know why... a few, I am still holding out hope for. The milkweed are slow to emerge and then grow more rapidly. I was watching them inch up towards the sky, each day a little more. Then I saw some leaves with holes and ragged edges and I thought... "My, these look really ratty... and still they are so short." A closer look showed why... and when I checked all the milkweed it was the same.... little one-half inch long green, yellow, black and white striped caterpillars. I haven't seen any returning Monarch butterflies, but they have slipped in and laid the eggs and so the cycle of life begins.

By the way, of the six black swallowtail chrysalides that overwintered in the sunroom... one emerged on a cold and rainy day, a little too early.... another emerged on time, dried and flew off. Four have not changed, but still a couple of weeks remain in their time frame. I haven't seen these butterflies around either, but I see that the fennel already has a lot of tiny eggs on it. This year I have planted more fennel behind our fence, near the preserve. I want to have a yard that is awash and a flutter with butterflies so thick you can hardly take a step without seeing one. Sigh. Perhaps.

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Nature's Notes

The Last Remnants of Winter

Forgotten nest in a naked tree.. the last remnants of winter.

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life." ~ John Burroughs

It looks like the last freeze of winter is past... or perhaps I am going out on a limb here to say that. Still we have the yo-yo up and down temperatures between 45 and 80 right now; but the night time temperatures are slowly and steadily creeping up... 39..41...45..48...50..52. The trees are flowering or leafing and the fennel and yarrow are growing. The roses on the east side of the house are leafing out while those on the west and south sides are still canes. I see the small tiny curled fronds of the ferns starting to lift the overlying mulch just a bit and the hydrangea that I thought was horribly mutilated by the freezing cold weather this year is beginning to fill in with leaves. Daffodils are in full bloom, but alas, as yet I haven't seen one of the tulips emerge. I fear I planted too late again. Even the liriope is pushing up out of the ground and will flourish although, of all the plants in the front flowerbed, I dislike the liriope most.

In fact, the oaks and other hardwood trees along with the milkweed and lantana appear to be the late comers and still with bare branches. This long abandoned nest is tucked high in a tree behind the house. This tree is hanging on by a thread, much of the top has died and already broken off in the winds of two years ago. Its lower branches have bravely leafed out each spring and have tried to be robust enough to provide shelter for this nest. All in all, pretty successful, as it was very difficult to even see this nest.. or the birds that lived there last spring. Some day soon I expect to see it fallen to the ground.. perhaps a new nest built. That is a shame. It was a strong nest for a fledgling family and weathered the summer tropical storm winds and the winter nor'easters without becoming dislodged. So, this is its final act... a last remnant of winter for all to admire.

Watch...we will probably have a snow storm for Easter this year... just to prove me wrong!

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Nature's Notes

ABC Wednesday: Heavenly Horticulture

Purple hyacinths with yellow pansies.

“If, of thy mortal goods, thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one and from the dole,
Buy Hyacinths to feed the soul”
~ Muslih-uddin Sadi

Pink hydrangea.

Hydrangeas
Dragoons, I tell you the white hydrangeas turn rust and go soon.
Already mid September a line of brown runs over them.
One sunset after another tracks the faces, the petals.
Waiting, they look over the fence for what way they go.
~Carl Sandburg

Rose...spicy...Honey Dijon

"They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream."
~ Ernest Dowson, (1867 - 1900)

Purple Heliotrope...the scent of vanilla.

"Perfumes are the feelings of flowers." ~ Heinrich Heine

To honor the coming of Spring and the changing of the hours, I look back at the wonderful flowers of last year with their heavenly fragrances and their handsome blossoms and I hope their beauty will soon honor us with their presence again.

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ABC Wednesday ~ Letter "H"
Nature's Notes

ABC Wednesday: "C" Is For Camellia ~ Charming and Captivating

Pink Camellia, formal double bloom. Norfolk Botanical Garden.

"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size." ~ Gertrude S. Wister

I have officially cracked up, gone crazy, become a real cuckoo.... I thought it was Tuesday, all day until about 5pm. I lived through Tuesday, but it was obviously a day to simply forget. So, now I am a day behind on everything, at least in my mind.

It is ABC Wednesday and today's letter is "C". I bet my faithful friends and readers who know me thought I would post pictures of my cats..... the crew....but I have been saving this picture since last February. Today, "C" is for camellias. Camellias are the winter's color with delicate petals and yet cold hardy. Norfolk Botanical Garden is home to the Hofheimer Camellia Garden contains around 750 different types of camellia bushes and the garden overall, contains more than 1700 individual camellia plantings and is one of the largest collections in the southeast. All shades of pink, coral, red, lavender, white and variegated blooms cover the bushes at this time of year. Nestled beneath the tall pines, they seem to love or at least tolerate the shade. The mass plantings are not far from the garden's Bald Eagle nesting site.

Speaking of the eagles... they have built a new nest and the Eagle Cam is in full swing for 2011. Each year they band all the eaglets and typically attach a small transmitter to one of them. It allows the scientists to follow the wanderings of the young ones until they mature and find a mate, building their own nesting spot. Eaglets with the transmitter are named and it just so happens that last year's is named "Camellia".

ABC Wednesday is brought to you this week by the letter "C". Our camellia will also be seen at Nature's Notes... and don't forget to check out the eagle cam... it is amazing to watch from January to July.

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The Holly Bears A Berry...

Deciduous holly... winterberry, Norfolk Botanical Garden
(Click picture to enlarge)

"The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O' the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry harp
Sweet singing of the choir.

The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good.
O' the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry harp
Sweet singing of the choir."
~ Cecil Sharp, The Holly and the Ivy ( 17th Century Christmas Carol)

"It was a grey and dismal day"...as it does seem to be so often in winter and without the clean blanket of white snow to offset the damp and rain. We have entered that time of year when you can "feel the bone structure in the landscape" (Andrew Wyeth) and when the trees clack and crack together as the strong north wind blows. Everything is gray.. the sky, the tree trunks, even the grass that tends to stay a greenish tinge all winter here, seems gray. And yet when you look closely, you can find pops of color here and there.

Now is the glory of the holly. We mostly think of the evergreen holly with the scalloped spiny leaves and red berries often tucked in between the leaves and visible only upon close inspection. But my favorites (besides the soft evergreen varieties) are the deciduous hollies or native winterberries. I have seen these grow into tree forms and in the midst of winter you can see group plantings of them with branches covered by bright red berries. When framed by a gray winter sky, these pop with red fire and warm the space around them. The roses and coneflowers may rule the summer... but these holly are the queens of winter.

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Someone Wished For A White Christmas... Be Careful What You Wish For!

What a difference twelve hours makes! (Click pictures to enlarge)

"The cold was our pride, the snow was our beauty. It fell and fell, lacing day and night together in a milky haze, making everything quieter as it fell, so that winter seemed to partake of religion in a way no other season did, hushed, solemn." ~ Patricia Hampl

Nyssa wanted a white Christmas, something we never had in Mississippi and something we did have in Oklahoma, but she was too young to remember. So, being the meteorologist student.. she studied the charts and the storm in the west that was slowly moving across the country. She waited while they predicted lots of snow and then backed off and announced that the low would swing out further into the Atlantic and that we would only get a couple of inches; only to backtrack and predict a few inches more... perhaps 4 to 6 inches. Still, she thought there would be more... and as the weather service declared a Winter Weather Advisory and then a Winter Storm Warning, she kept saying that we might get a whole lot more snow than they thought. It began on Christmas night... by bedtime we had what would have been a major snow storm in Mississippi... three inches. Overnight, it ramped on up and began snowing harder with wind as well.

In a winter wonderland... where did the street disappear to?

Next morning there were periods of white out and the snow continued to accumulate. By noon, nine inches was on the ground and the snow continued. The weather service kept inching the predicted amount on up until we were in the 10" - 12" range and with an attached "hedge"... "some areas may experience heavy bursts of snow and therefore higher snow totals." It snowed all day, tapered off towards evening but still flakes flew well into the night. In total we had a bit over 12 inches and places in Norfolk had up to 14 inches. Yes, it was not the 24 inches in New England, but for coastal Virginia....well, it was and still is something.

One of the near white out bursts of snow. There is a golf course just beyond those trees.

Nyssa had to leave on Monday, the 27th and all the Southwest Airline flights on the 26th were cancelled as well as the first three on the 27th. Her flight was still on the books, so we had to get to the airport. There is no scraping or sanding in the neighborhoods, so the streets were simply packed down snow and ice. The expressways were cleared, at least one lane each way but the on and off ramps were horrible. Normally, the drive takes 25 minutes. On Monday, it took over an hour and a half to get there. I stayed in the terminal after she went on down through security to her gate, just to make sure the incoming plane from Chicago actually landed. It did, she boarded and made it off the ground and all the way to Chicago... almost before I got back to the house.

Even the birds had to deal with the snow.

The cold and snow seems to be hard on Daisy's heart. She has coughed more and had a fainting episode after being outside. Walking through snow that is almost chin high is hard... poor old girl. Even the little birds had to brave the wind and pelting snow... I bet this young bluebird wishes now he had flown south for the winter.

The snow is now slowly melting, though it seems that our yard is not situated to where sun shines on the driveway and back porch enough to melt and dry the area. This melting and re-freezing has brought large swaths of black ice on the roads and today was the first day the mailman could get to our box. Still, by Friday we are supposed to finally get close to the 50's... balmy weather to be sure.

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"And They Say We Have 'Bird' Brains"

The little yellow-rumped warblers are back.

"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."

~ Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing

It has been an unusual December indeed. Two snowfalls, granted each was just a dusting, less than a half an inch; but for this area near the coastal waters and the warming Gulf Stream, snow of any sort is unusual and hardly ever seen in December. Our huge, snow of a decade last year, came in at ten inches but it came towards the end of January. This year the temperatures have been much lower, especially in the last three weeks. Last Saturday it was almost balmy and reached 49 degrees. So I started the cleaning of the outside hot tub and as I had it half-way drained, the drizzle began and the temperature fell and then the outright rain came. It was to be below freezing by Monday so I had to get it done. Nyssa was coming home and I wanted it ready to use. It wasn't dirty, really, but two small tree frogs had taken up residence this fall and it took me a while to capture them and "relocate" them to an actual tree out in the swamp/forest behind the house. Somehow the thought of getting in the water once occupied by two adorable but slimy tree frogs was more than even my hardened sensitivities could bear. By the time the cleaning was finished, I was drenched and cold and ready for a nice hot electric blanket in a cold room.

At the corner of the deck with the hot tub, I have a curved hanger that holds a basket of flowers and a hummingbird feeder during the summer months. These have been replaced with a suet feeder and a special Christmas wreath feeder for the birds will soon join it. Several small birds have returned from their summer vacations further north, most notably, the yellow-rumped warbler. They seem to love the winter here and puff up quite admirably against the north winds. As soon as the hot weather returns in May and June, they are off.. not to be seen again until late October some years. They have such a lovely voice, but on Saturday they simply watched the crazy woman in the rain with a steamer cleaning out a tub while the rain pelted her face... probably thinking... "stupid human can't even get in out of the rain."

Tomorrow we are expecting more ice and snow followed by rain mixed with more ice.. up to three inches. This fellow is probably hoping or trying to remind me to fill the feeders before the mess starts. He is adorable, isn't he.

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