Day 95: Everlasting Pea

 Backyard Nature, Natural History, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Apr 052014
 

Along the edge of Piney Woods Church Road at the junction with Rico Road, I glimpsed some of the earliest blooms of everlasting pea (Lathyrus latifolius) today.  This photograph makes this small flower look almost glamorous.   An immigrant from southern Europe that commonly frequents waste places (such as roadsides), everlasting pea arrived in the New World around 1720. Despite the flower’s unassuming, pea-like appearance, Thomas Jefferson judged it worthy of a place in his Monticello garden, so it certainly merits inclusion here.

Everlasting Pea

Blooms Everywhere

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Apr 042014
 

Everywhere I glance down Piney Woods Church Road (or, at least, everywhere that is fairly wild and was not recently mowed), I see flower buds and blossoms.  Here are four images from my walk today:  flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), a lovely pale purple violet, and the much loved and hated Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis).  The wisteria is just coming into bloom; soon, much of the roadway will be lined with curtains of pale purple flowers, exuding a heady, almost sickly-sweet scent.  There will be more about Chinese wisteria in future posts.

Flowering Dogwood One

Flowering Dogwood Two

New Violet

Chinese Wisteria

Day 94: Eastern Towhee

 Backyard Nature, Natural History, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project  No Responses »
Apr 042014
 

On my walk late this morning, I was serenaded by the shrill calls of an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), perched in the undergrowth along the roadside.   I am not a birder, and have no intentions of beginning a life list.  But I am pleased to say that this is a species of sparrow that I had never seen before.

Eastern Towee

 

Day 93: Dwarf Dandelion

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project  No Responses »
Apr 032014
 

As a change of pace, I set out this morning for Piney Woods Church Road by way of Hutcheson Ferry Road.  Glancing in the ditch at the end of Piney Woods Church Road, I saw what I thought at first were unusually small dandelions, with flower heads perhaps half an inch across.  What I found suspicious is that there were so many, all of which were about the same size — leading me to think that this might be a different flower altogether.  Returning home, I did a quick internet search and discovered that they are, in fact, dwarf dandelions (Krigia virginica), native annual wildflowers common to roadsides, fields, and lawns in the eastern half of the United States.  Despite its similar look, the dwarf dandelion is only distantly related to the non-native true dandelion (Taraxicum officinale).

Dwarf Dandelion

Day 92: Spring Impression

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project  No Responses »
Apr 022014
 

I ventured out to Piney Woods Church Road today shortly after discovering that one of our cats, an orange and white adolescent Manx cat shaped rather like a bowling pin, had sneaked outside last night and was missing.  My walk was necessarily distracted, as I paused every few steps either to take a photograph, call out the cat’s name, or a combination of the two.  Early on my walk, I glimpsed a pink tree blooming in a backyard beside the road — crabapple, I think.  Here is my impression of the tree — a bit unfocused, like myself at the time.

Just as I began writing this post, the prodigal kitten returned, none the worse for wear, but rather hungry.

Spring Impression

March 2014: A Retrospective

 Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Apr 012014
 

As I approach Day 100, I continue to marvel at the new discoveries I make every day along Piney Woods Church Road.  Now that spring is underway, I have difficulty keeping up with all the new flowers in bloom and trees and shrubs in leaf.  So much is happening that one visit per day hardly seems sufficient.

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