Weird Weather in 2023

Rime ice event in February 2023

Why pay weathermen when you can just look out a window?

Pamm Cooper

Rime ice on white pines ion February 2023

Looking back on the past year it was a singularly weird one as weather events go. It was kicked off by a wide-spread rime ice event. In mid- February 2023 we had warm weather that produced a winter fog which rolled in as temperatures dropped below freezing. Several regions of Connecticut had rime ice that lasted for as long as three days as cloudy, cold weather continued. Some tree buds, like red maples, already had swollen leaf buds and thick, clear ice covered them. Damage was moderate as the sun did not appear before the ice melted.

Clear rime ice on a red maple with swollen flower buds in February 2023

A week later there was a hoar frost which occurs during clear nights as temperatures drop. Hoar frost is more crystalline and feathery than rime ice and looks like sugar crystals on leaves and stems of plants. In May, hard frost in spring occurred when many fruit trees were flowering, and peaches, plums and other tree fruits had little fruit in some areas of the state.

Hoar frost

A wet spring resulted in a high incidence of Exobasidium vaccinii galls on some rhododendrons and azaleas. These leaf galls are very heavy and as they age they develop a white coating of spores. Especially affected for some reason were many old rhododendrons.

Exobasidium galls pruned off an old rhododendron

During a hike, I came across a small pile of white pines that had recently been cut. The cui ends had a reddish pink tint to the sap, which was a new one to me. Our forestry expert said that I took the picture likely within hours or at most a day of the cut, and the tree was still photosynthesizing. Carbohydrate compounds produced by photosynthesis in the sap reacted with the air and oxidized or developed some fungal stain. This is why pines are not harvested for timber during the growing season.

Reddish sap from newly cut white pine

Canadian wildfires affected our air quality, especially during early summer. Ash in the sky made for a hazy, almost fog-like appearance to our air, especially if you looked down into low areas. A lot of perennials grew exceptionally tall during this three-week period as they reached upward for light

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Widespread haze occurred from ash blown in from Canadian wildfires

It was also a very wet year, with almost weekly rains, cooler temperatures and sometimes very heavy downpours that occurred in short periods of time. Water made both gardens and lawns mushy as soil was slow to dry out. Flooding along the Connecticut River also destroyed some crops or rendered them unsafe for consumption. Native maples had brown shriveled leaves in late summer as a result of an anthracnose leaf disease brought on by extended humid conditions earlier in the year.

Corn field flooded along the Connecticut River

Anthracnose caused early leaf drop and browning of leaves during the summer on native maples

This year was a good one for fungi. Last year with the heat and drought there was a dearth of mushrooms, but this year there were plenty to be found. This year I found my first netted stinkhorns and several earthballs plus plenty of varieties of coral fungi that seemed to be everywhere in the moist woods.

Earthball fungus (Scleroderma citrinum) after spore dispersal

Netted stinkhorn Phallus duplicata– you smell it before you see it…

Golden spindles coral fungi

White Spindles – Clavaria fragilis fairy fingers coral fungi

Slime molds were also prevalent especially in lawns and in moist woods. Some look like puffballs, like the wolf’s milk slime mold. The fruiting bodies of this slime mold are pink and have a slimy pink interior where the spores are found. Many slime molds look like tiny dots on tree trunks and logs in woodland areas.

Wolf’s milk slime mold Lycogala epidendrum

This year was a mast year for many trees including oaks, Eastern red cedar, Atlantic white cedar and white pines. The ground underneath pines and oaks were covered in acorns and cones in the fall.

Eastern red cedar had a mast year

Summarizing the year- plants either seemed to do well or were damaged by ice, late frost, wet soils, high humidity and wildfire haze among other things. Although it was nice to at least have some rain after last year’s drought, too much is not always a good thing. Next year will be a typical one for our area,, though, which means it should be totally unpredictable. Dr. Suess has a really good weather tip I will share with you-

“The storm starts, when the drops start dropping
When the drops stop dropping then the storm starts stopping.”
― Dr. Seuss

Orange glow in January 2023 just before sunset

Pamm Cooper

 

Mushrooms, Wildflowers and Other Jewels of September

Common buckeye butterfly

“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures.” -Henry David Thoreau

September dawn

There are so many interesting things going on in the landscape at this time of year. In residential settings there may be migrating birds and butterflies if there is a good food supply. Animals may be helping themselves to fruits and seeds near homes as well. Most creatures are benign, not harmful to people, animals, garden plants and crops. They are just going about their daily routine for survival. The few that are pests can give the whole of their kind a bad rap.

Nymph likel;y of a Miridae family true bug

One that comes to mind is the saddleback slug moth caterpillar, an interesting creature which has no legs and instead creeps along like a bulldozer on medial suckers. Spines cover the tiny body which release a chemical that causes painful stings to the skin when brushed against. The markings on this caterpillar are singular and allow it to blend in with leavers having brown areas late in the season. If not touched, it is just a point of interest and is not a pest or otherwise harmful to the host plant.

Saddleback caterpillar showing its array of urticating spines

This year has been a wet one and wild mushrooms are more abundant than last year, as a walk in the woods will make plain. Laetiporus sulphureus- chicken of the woods- is a spectacular find as far as wild fungi go. It is orange or yellow and cream on the upper surfaces and is normally found in groups. The one I came across was on a fallen tree in the deep woods.

Chicken of the woods fungi on a forest log

Finding puffballs ready to burst provides a good opportunity to help them along a little bit. I like to give them a good squeeze and watch the action. The wood hedgehog mushroom has tooth-like hymenophores, not gills, and the common name is a direct reference to how the cap looks turned upside-down.

Squeezing a puffball- the excitement never ends…

The wood hedgehog toothed fungus cap undersides

Pinesap and Indian pipe seem to be popping up everywhere from leaf litter in hardwood forests. These Monotropa spp. are saprophytes and must tap into nutrients from trees via mycorrhizal fungi under the soil. Neither plant has chlorophyll, so shade is no obstacle for their well-being.

Pinesap

Goldenrods and asters color the roadsides and road trips may pass by tobacco barns with the laths of leaves hanging to dry. White baneberry berries are easy to spot- they look like white doll’s eyes on a stick. Other fruits from pokeberries to the blue fruit of Virginia creeper also add some color to the landscape.

Fruit of the white baneberry

Late blooming wetland wildflowers like closed gentians, cardinal flower and turtlehead are in bloom now. I recently came across an unusual two-storied closed gentian along the edge of a bog. This was an unexpected side dish on a search for caterpillars near this area.

Closed/bottle gentian found on the edge of a bog

Lately there have been a lot of small gray trees frogs on plants, screens, in window boxes and other places where they hang out during the day. These little frogs can change color to match their surroundings, so they can be hard to spot when they are resting on green plants when they are green themselves.

Gray tree frog on turtlehead

Fawns still have their spots and remain near their mothers. I had a close encounter with a pair and their mother while walking through a pasture on Horsebarn Hill here on the UConn campus. They were more curious about me than skittish, so I was able to draw a lot closer to them than is normally the case.

Fawn on Hoesebarn Hill

September often is the last hurrah for pleasant days, the last flowers of the season and a green landscape. Insects are still around as long as plants will provide food, and sunsets are getting very colorful. Fruits are adding color to trees and shrubs and lawns are their best green of the year. It is also a good time to learn about the different species of oaks by not only their leaves, but by their acorns.

“Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground.”

Henry David Thoreau

Pamm Cooper

 

Warm, Wet Weather Puts Plants at Risk

This summer has been a tough one for our plants. Not only has the abundant rain stressed the roots of plants grown in areas with poor drainage, but the warm, wet weather has also been very favorable for the growth of plant pathogenic fungi. Woody ornamentals with dense canopies such as lilac (Syringa vulgaris) have been particularly troubled by foliar pathogens such as powdery mildew (family Erysiphaceae), but large trees like maple (Acer spp.) are not being spared. Folks will see (or are already seeing) an early leaf color change and drop from plants that were stressed this summer. Colors may be more muted than we might hope, but a possible upside is that the season may last a bit longer.

Lilacs have been particularly sad this summer! Nick Goltz, DPM

Grasses have not been spared stress of the weeks of heavy rains and hot temperatures in July and August. One fungal pathogen that has been affecting grasses more commonly this summer is Rhizoctonia solani and related species, which cause a disease known as “brown patch”. Although a variety of plants can be affected by Rhizoctonia fungi, the turfgrasses most commonly affected are cool-season grasses such as bentgrass (Agrostis spp.), fescue (Festuca spp.), and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne).

A low, wet area of the author’s yard is prone to fungal diseases such as brown patch. Nick Goltz, DPM

Symptoms and Pathogen Life Cycle

Brown patch usually appears in mid to late summer when nighttime thatch (the dead grass and old plant material beneath active green shoots) temperatures reach 70° F. As the name implies, symptoms on lawns presents as a brown, roughly circular, patches that can be as small as a few inches in diameter up to several feet. Sometimes, a dark purple-tinged ring can appear at the edge of the patch in the early morning hours. Individual leaf blades may have brown-grey lesions with a dark border. Rhizoctonia, the fungus that causes Brown Patch, is capable of surviving the winter in infected thatch.

Individual leaf blades may have brown to grey colored lesions with a dark border, as shown here. Just beyond the dark border is a chlorotic (yellow) band, showing where the fungus is actively growing. Nick Goltz, DPM

Rhizoctonia fungi rarely produce spores and are instead identified in a lab using characteristic hyphal morphology. Rhizoctonia species are generally soil inhabitants and usually only colonize aboveground plant parts in certain cases, such as leaves and low-growing plant tissue that had been splashed with soil after a heavy rainstorm. The fungus grows most vigorously in high humidity and warm temperatures. It will produce “resting” survival structures called sclerotia when environmental conditions are not favorable for growth, such as during droughts or cold weather. When conditions are again favorable for growth, the sclerotia germinate and allow the fungus to colonize new plant tissue. Because the sclerotia are found in old plant tissue and in upper soil layers, soil from these areas should never be moved to new areas where it can infect healthy plants. Brown patch can be difficult to manage without thatch removal and reduced irrigation.

Management

Managing brown patch begins with improving turf health and preventing spread of the fungus to new areas. Rake-up and remove infected thatch during dry weather if possible. Put the thatch and any diseased clippings in a trash bag and throw in the landfill trash. Do not compost it or allow it to stay on-site. Do not move soil that may have come in contact with symptomatic turf. When the turf affected by brown patch borders a garden, use mulch to reduce soil splashing from the affected area to aboveground plant parts.

Reduce high-nitrogen fertilizer application for the areas affected by brown patch. Also try to minimize extended periods of soil wetness and soil splashing however you can. Avoid excessive overhead or sprinkler watering, if possible. When providing supplemental water using a sprinkler system, do so in the morning rather than evening to allow time for plant tissue to properly dry. For additional advice on lawn care, please contact the UConn Home & Garden Education Center by emailing ladybug@uconn.edu. The UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory and the UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory can also support lawn health this fall by providing nutrient analysis and disease analysis, respectively.

Nick Goltz, DPM. UConn Plant Diagnostic Laboratory

 

Nature Finds and Happenings in the Summer of 2023

Tiger Swallowtail on Purple Coneflower

How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!

–Emily Dickinson

This year, 2023, has been one for the record books. We have had smoky hazes from Canadian wildfires, rain events we could have used last year, and several microbursts just this week in late July in Connecticut. Plants have bloomed way early, achieved higher than normal heights in gardens and lots of butterflies have been noticeably absent, or have been very few until recently. That said, there are treasures to be found in our tiny dot on the globe.

White pines lost their tops in a recent microburst in Manchester

I was made aware by a fellow nature enthusiast that there was a spectacular native plant that I have never seen before blooming now in her neck of the woods. I checked it out, and I was not disappointed by her generous clue as to where to find these gems. The plant is the fringed yellow orchis, Platanthera ciliaris, also known as the orange-fringed bog- orchid.  It is listed as extremely rare in Connecticut on the GoBotany website. Found in grassy bogs, this plant features racemes of yellow to orange flowers that have a showy fringed lip and a very long, slender spur. They are pollinated by butterflies, especially swallowtails.

Native orange fringed orchid- flowers can be yellow or orange

Fringed lip of the

Cicada killers are making their presence known. These large wasps with amber colored wings dig nesting chambers deep in the soil, usually sandy or dry soils, and they can make a mess while doing so as sand is piled up in the lawn or garden. Females drag paralyzed cicadas into the chamber, lay an egg on the body and are done with that chamber. While females can sting, they are not aggressive, and they are only active in the digging phase for a couple of weeks.

Cicada killer

On a recent visit to a nature center, I found a fabulous (for a spider) arrow spider Micrathena sagittata. They are small orb weavers, and they resemble a Gibson Flying V electric guitar.

Arrow spider

Nearby was a snowberry clearwing moth, one of two clearwing sphinx moths that hover near flowers like a hummingbird. The caterpillar of the snowberry clearwing uses any honeysuckle as a host plant.

Snowberry clearwing sphinx moth

Caterpillar of the snowberry clearwing moth

At the same place were a number of walking sticks, a well-turned-out orange leaf footed bug nymph, and a female aphid giving birth to live young. She can have a family of a hundred in a few days, so that explains why aphids are hard to control.

Female aphid giving birth to live young

In a butterfly- pollinator garden in a nearby town, the Crocosmia is blooming. The flowers of this variety were brilliant red, so they are likely the ‘Lucifer’ variety, around since 1966. Hummingbirds love this flower, as do many people. There was also a native vine called the groundnut, Apis americana, twining across goldenrods and Joe-pye in a field.

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Groundnut

The Connecticut tobacco crop seems on schedule, some plants flowering now as would be expected. I have no idea if diseases or insects are worse than usual for this historical crop of the Connecticut River Valley. To my eye, as I zip by the tobacco fields in my car, it all looks green and healthy.

Tobacco plants in a field surround a tobacco barn used for drying the crop

With all the heavy rains of late, the field of crops along the Connecticut River were lucky to stay above the floodwaters. The Glastonbury ferry was closed due to strong currents and high water. Some towns had microbursts or tornadoes this week, causing some damage to trees and property. In my town, a rural development area had damage from some wind event that went down a few blocks, clipping off the tops of mature white pines and downing trees.

Flooded corn fields along the Connecticut river in the background

Native wild plants lie Clethra, Joe-pye weed and buttonbush bloomed much earlier this year. I guess the weather has discombobulated a lot of plants. Haze from wildfires lasted a couple of weeks and caused some plants to grow taller than normal as they reached upward for the sun. Fluctuations in temperatures and decreased sunlight has fooled some woody plants into early leaf color change, but they are not dropping these leaves yet.

Native staghorn sumac has fall color in late July

Katydid nymph

Northern walking stick found in a field

With all the wind and rainstorms, wildfire smoke effects and temperatures that have gone up and down like Duncan yo-yos, I am wondering what normal is and so are my plants. At least the insects are not so confused, and neither are the birds. I guess that is something at least the birds can crow about…

Purple martins, young and old, on the UConn campus outside the W.B. Young Building

Pamm Cooper

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Observations in the Winter Landscape

Winter dawn

I please myself with the graces of the winter scenery, and believe that we are as much touched by it as by the genial influences of summer.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Winter can be a wearisome time for people who really enjoy the sights and sounds of the outdoors. That said, you never know what you may stumble upon on that may be interesting on any given day as you wander around. During this time of year, some things may actually be more interesting. Trees are interesting in a different way as they are bereft of their leafy canopies which normally hide branches, trunks and growth forms. Bird and wasp nests are visible, and so are growth anomalies caused by outside forces such as entwining bittersweet vines. It is a good time to learn tree identification using features such as leaf bud forms, branching patterns and bark on branches or trunks.

Weeping Higan cherry Prunus subhirtella in fog in January on the UConn campus

This trunk had been constricted by bittersweet that has been cut down

Gingko leaf buds are stout and upright, alternating on twigs and branches like askew, miniature ladder rungs

Skies get very interesting color-wise at dawn and dusk, or even during the day. Atmospheric temperatures are colder and less polluted than in the summer, and the angle of the sun’s rays are different now and make for brilliant reds and oranges just before dawn and sunset. When gray skies are to the east, just before sunset there can be an ethereal orange glow that lights up the landscape.

Orange glow minutes before sunset January 2023

On Horsebarn Hill on the Storrs UConn campus, there are vast open pastures and fields that are home to northern harriers, bluebirds, kestrels and stopping grounds for migrating horned larks. Recently my colleague and I saw a large flock of these larks as well as a male kestrel. Kestrels are small robin-sized falcon and they are a species of concern in Connecticut due to the loss of their habit, which is large open farmland. Look for these birds perching on telephone wires along roadsides where they have access to prey on acres of open fields.  

American kestrel on a treetop on Horsebarn Hill UConn

Male horned lark. These birds can appear in winter in open fields and grassy areas where snow has melted and seeds can be found

Barred owls can be active both at night or during the day in the winter. They often rest close to the trunk of trees on lower tree branches where they blend in.  They will go after fish if streams remain open in the winter, but their main diet is rodents, small animals and other birds. Often the larger owl species are mobbed by screaming crows, so if you hear that, head for the ruckus. They might be after a great horned or a barred owl.

Barred owl waking up on a late January morning

Mushrooms have mostly come and gone, but the cinnabar polypore will stand out against the rather monochromatic winter scenery. This shelf fungus can be found on fallen dead tree branches. Against the snow, their brilliant deep orange caps and spores are a standout.

Cinnabar polypore pores on the underside of the cap live up to their description

Earlier this month temperatures were higher than normal before dropping well below freezing for a couple of days. Thin ice formed on algae colored water and then partially cracked, which made an interesting, angular, tessellated pattern. That day temperatures went well above the 40’s and by the next day, these patterns were gone. What a difference a day makes!

Green edged crack patterns on thin ice in January 2023

Besides birds, some fungi, morning and evening skies, and maybe a visit to a greenhouse, there can be other means to escape the winter doldrums. Sometimes the best winter color comes from the sun shining through a window in your own home…

Elephant ear in a sunny window in winter

Pamm Cooper

 

Outdoors in August 2022

Tobacco barn

“Keep calm because August is here.” – Unknown

This may be remembered as the year of drought and oppressive heat. Trees and shrubs are showing signs of stress in parts of the state that missed isolated rainfall events, and many fern species in shaded woods have turned brown. Animals are having a full-time job looking for water and birds are at my bird baths all day long getting a drink. Even though it has been a dismal year weather-wise, there are still a lot of interesting things to see when we are out and about.

Common buckeye butterfly on a wild Rudbeckia flower

The native trailing wild bean, Strophostyles helvola, may be common but easily overlooked as populations can be sparse in their habitat. Flowers are pink and the lower keel has a dark purple projection that curls upward like the raised trunk of an elephant. Leaflets are in threes, with bluntly lobed leaves.

Groundnut, Apias americana is another native pea family vine that blooms in August. The flowers of this plant are clustered and very fragrant and they are visited by many of the smaller native bees that can climb inside.

Groundnut flower cluster

In a field with mowed paths I recently observed a good number of the non- native wool carder bees on the flowers of birdsfoot trefoil. This plant is also member of the pea family and has yellow, puffy, slipper-like flowers.

Wool carder bee with head inside birdsfoot trefoil flower

This same field had thousands of grasshoppers that took flight as I walked along the path. Most seemed to be what I have nicknamed the ‘plus and minus” grasshopper, for the tiny patterns on the wings. There was also a seed bug on Queen Anne’s lace that had interesting vein patterns on its wing tips.

Wing tip vein patterns on seed bug

A little eft of the red spotted newt put in an appearance in a golf course fairway a couple of days after a heavy rain, as is their habit. They come out of the woods looking for food, seem to lose their way getting back to the safety of leaf litter and often need a rescue from mowers.

Eft returned to the safety of the woods

Katydids are another late summer insect that may be heard rather than seen. Their loud rasping ‘night music’ begins in late July and is joined by crickets by August.  

 Common true katydid

This morning I was out just before sunup and heard odd noises on the siding of the garage. I saw two dark forms moving up the siding and needed a flashlight to discover that they were gray tree frogs. Must have been some insects there they were hunting, I guess.

Gray tree frog climbing up the house

Tobacco is being harvested and hung in barns now. Any barn is something of interest to me, and tobacco barns in use are just one type I like. Any barn with a flag, too, for some reason. I am also a fan of playful or interestingly creative farm signs.

Something bad must have happened

I am hoping we come to the end of this drought in time for water supplies and plants to recover before winter. Just saw a monarch laying an egg on milkweed that hadn’t succumbed to aphid damage or drought, so that is something good. As you travel about outdoors, at any time of year, do not forget to look up. You may miss something…

Pamm Cooper

 

Wonders of Nature in July

“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.”   
–  Gary Snyder

July is just the beginning of what I consider the most interesting part of the year, nature-wise. Birds have fledged a first brood, insects are abounding and plants are showing off their colorful flowers and fruits. Many turtles have laid their eggs, the majority of tadpole species have become frogs and brush foot butterflies are heading into a second breeding phase. AT my property. there are so many tiny toads and wood frogs, I could win a dance contest trying not to step on them.

Day old leaf-footed bug

Canada lilies, Lilium canadense, a native wildflower pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds, blooms at the same time as the native wood lilies Lilium philadelphicum. Both species can be found near woodland edges. Swamp candles are wetland plants with whorled panicles of yellow star-like flowers with red centers. Often they form large stands on wetland edges.

Canada Lily

Swamp Candle Flowers

Eastern wood pewees are medium sized flycatchers related to phoebes. They sit and wait for insects to fly, and then catch them in the air. One was recently following me as I mowed, swooping out to catch whatever moths were stirred up by the mower. Barn swallows will follow mowing equipment as well.

Eastern Wood Pewee

One insect that always is fun to find is the tiny partridge scolops planthopper Scolops sulcipes. In all stages, it has a protuberance on its head that looks like a horn. In adults, it is curved upward. Found in grassy areas with goldenrods, not a lot is known about this insect. Wing venation in adults has striking patterning.

Partridge Scolops Nymph

Blueberries are ripening, and there are plenty of them on many power line right-of-ways, along with native huckleberries. Recently, a female calico pennant dragonfly took a break and rested on some blueberries.

There is always something unusual to find- the excitement never ends, as my nephew once said- and this July has been no different. There was a mass of some type of insect eggs, perhaps a tree hopper, that had perfect little exit holes where the insects had hatched.

Egg Mass Perhaps of a Tree Hopper

Cleft-headed loopers are named for their cleft head, and they always remind me of kitty cat ears. Its moth is the famous peppered moth, which has been written about in textbooks throughout the world due to color variations that enable it to camouflage itself by day.

Cleft-headed Looper- Head on Left

Head of the Cleft-headed Looper

Butterflies have not been especially abundant so far, but the diminutive American coppers seem to be everywhere. The caterpillars are seldom seen, but may be found by looking carefully on their host plants- sheep sorrel or curled dock near where the adults are spotted..

American Copper on a Grass Seed Head

The slender long- horned flower beetle, Strangalia famelica can be seen on flowers obtaining pollen and nectar throughout the summer. There are many other species of flower beetles that look similar and also use flowers as a food source.

Strangalia famelica beetle

This year there have been quite a few walking sticks in varied habitats. Usually found on woody plants, two were in grassy areas with lots of forbs but no woody plants. Wonder what they were eating…

Early Instar Walking Stick

There are a lot more things of interest to discover as the summer progresses. Caterpillars tend to be larger and more colorful and interesting as foliage becomes mature. Fruits and seeds will attract lots of birds, sunrises and sunsets provide more color and interest than most television shows and perhaps all of us will be delighted by something new that we find that is not in a store. As Helen Keller noted “To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.”

Pamm Cooper

July Sunrise

 

Outdoors in May

Star Chickweed blooming in May Connecticut College woodland garden

Among the changing months, May stands the sweetest, and in fairest colors dressed.”

— James Thomson

For good or bad, nature has its own comprehensive coordination of flora and fauna, and all play the perfect instrument in the classical themes of nature. Mozart in his glory had nothing compared to nature and its symphony of birdsong, and Monet has an inferior palette to that which nature offers. In May, nature is at its beginning and its best is yet to come.

Red oak flowers

Pin cherry is a native small tree that occurs in sandy clearings, along shorelines of ponds and lakes, often with aspen and white birch. It has a straight trunk with shiny reddish-brown to grayish-brown bark with numerous horizontal lenticels. Another tree with interesting bark is the striped maple, Acer pennsylvanicum. This maple is aptly named for its colorful green and cream colored stripes on the trunks of younger trees.

Pin cherry bark

Bark of a young striped maple trunk

In mid- May I took a trip to New London to visit the Edgerton and Stengel woodland wildflower garden at Connecticut College. In May there are creeping phlox, tiarella, swamp azaleas, trilliums, shooting stars, star chickweed, Virginia bluebells and many other woodland plants in bloom. Pitcher plants in the bog were showing signs of flowering.

Pitcher plant ready to bloom

Before sunrise recently, there was a peculiar pink, upright band in the sky, which turned out to be one end of a rainbow. It lasted a good 20 minutes and was an interesting start to the day. Later a line of thunderheads moved in, but no rain was in the mix in our area. In the afternoon in mid-May It looked like a rainstorm was happening just across the Thames River in new London, but it was actually a fog bank rolling in along the eastern shore.

Pre-dawn rainbow

While birding for the Audubon spring census, my sister and I came across two species of rare violets classified in Connecticut as  rare and endangered species. Viola enduca, or hook-spurred violet was one of them. This purple-flowered violets bears a slight resemblance to a bearded iris in that its lower side petals are bearded. The second species was Viola renifolia, the kidney-leaved violet, which has a sweet white flower with deep purple striping.

Rare Viola anduca hook-spurred violet

Kidney-leaved violet

There are always interesting galls to be found, and a favorite of mine is the maple eyespot gall caused by a midge. Spiffy red and yellow spots are caused by a chemical response to the egg-laying of the female midge. Cedar-apple galls on cedar were also starting to open.

Maple eyespot gall

For some unknown reason there has been a strong attraction to bucket loaders for a lot of birds, this year. A mockingbird uses the backhoe on a farm for a fine perch to sing away on and at the golf course, a robin built her nest on ours. Every time the loader is used, the nest is taken off and placed in a safe spot nearby. After parking it for the day, the nest is returned, and the robin has resumed laying eggs. All seems well for the moment

Robin’s nest on back hoe

Mockingbird singing from atop a bucket loader

Turtles should be heading for the hills soon to lay eggs. They are surprisingly fast on land when given a reason to press on, especially in egg-laying season. Otherwise, they can be seen relaxing on logs and rocks in calm waters.

Painted turtle laying eggs

Painted turtles soaking in the rays

Trees and shrubs starting to bloom include Viburnum plicatum, Carolina allspice and Fraser magnolia, while horse chestnuts are ending bloom. Oaks are wreaking havoc as flowers have a load of pollen right now, but flowers should be falling soon.

Horsechestnut flowers

As May draws to a close, I am looking forward to more bee and insect activity, a profusion of new life in the form of baby birds and animals, and more color as wildflowers make their mark in the landscape. Altogether, they will become a natural symphony of coordination of sight and sound in their own special place on the earth. I intend to enjoy what remains of this spring. You never know what you will see or come across…

Pamm Cooper

 

Outdoors in April

Spiffy Viola

“A gush of bird-song, a patter of dew / A cloud, and a rainbow’s warning / Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue / An April day in the morning.” – Harriet Prescott Spofford

Woodland fern frond underside loaded with spores

This April has been slow to warm up, but finally we are getting some warm days, and spring flowers and returning or migrating birds are beginning to make themselves known. Many birds, like Carolina wrens and bluebirds, have probably laid eggs already, or they will soon. Chickadees and some woodpeckers are tapping holes in trees to use as nesting chambers for rearing their young. A few early flowers are brightening up the landscape, and soon many others will follow.

A pair of chickadees made a hole in this dead tree trunk for a nest

Black and white warbler

On Horsebarn Hill, UConn’s pastureland, there are many birdhouses that serve as nesting sites for Eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, and sparrows. Early in the morning, birds can be seen sitting on top of the houses they have chosen.

Male and female bluebirds near their nest box on an April morning

The same pair after the male gave the female an insect as a gift

On Horsebarn hill, there are also young horses, cows and sheep that were born this spring. One is a friendly little colt I call Little Blaze- a friendly little chap with stellar markings.

Little blaze

Forsythias are nearing full bloom, and the early blooming Rhododendron mucronulatum ‘Cornell Pink’ have a profusion of pink flowers, being the first of its species to bloom here in the Northeast. Bees are visiting its flowers, as well as those of Cornus mas, another early blooming landscape shrub.

Forsythia used as a hedge

‘Cornell Pink’

Migrating birds that are passing through in early spring are just now arriving. Palm warblers, sweet little rusty brown warblers with a yellow chest with brown splashes can be found in wet arears like bogs that have a lot of trees and shrubs. They flit around looking for insects, wagging their tails when at rest.

Palm Warbler in boggy woodland area

Spring flowers like Coltsfoot, an introduced species, flowers as early as March, with yellow flowers appearing before their leaves open. Flower stalks have unusual scales. Seed heads are similar to those of dandelions, and silk plumes allow the wind to carry the seeds a distance. Birds use this silk for nesting material.

Coltsfoot

Twinleaf and bloodroot bloom very early. Twinleaf has an unusual leaf that is divided in half lengthwise. Bloodroot has a single leaf that appears after the flower and is wrapped around the flower stalk before opening. Both plants have similar bright-white flowers that stand out in the otherwise dismal landscape.

Bloodroot

Twinleaf

Turtles are enjoying basking on sunny days, and toads are around as egg- laying will begin soon. Spotted salamander eggs and wood frog eggs can be seen in some vernal pools already. The spotted salamander eggs differ from wood frog eggs in that the egg masses are covered with a clear or cloudy gel.

These painted turtles need a bigger log

Spotted salamander eggs

The Connecticut River is at flood stage, blueberries are just showing flower buds, and native willows are in full bloom, providing food for our early native bees. A few cabbage white butterflies can be seen floating by, and spring is about to go into full throttle.

A doughnut cloud…

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”
― William Shakespeare

 

2022 January- Things of Interest So Far This Winter

Woodland Stream in January

“January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.”

 – Sara Coleridge

Living here in Connecticut offers a lot of variety in interesting places to go outdoors in the winter. From the shoreline to the hills and farmlands, to the forests and major rivers, there are always things to pique one’s interest. The main thing as I see it is to dress for the elements and then to enjoy the crisp, invigorating winter air and anything you happen to venture upon.

Underside of a polypore fungi showing partially broken down pore structure

Crepidula fornicata, the American slipper limpet- like snail, is native to the Atlantic coast of the U.S. Females can lay anywhere from 10- 20,000 eggs four times a year. After winter storms, thousands of these creatures can be washed up on beaches, sometimes in piles that are over two feet deep. Winter visiting shore birds like ruddy turnstones and sanderlings can be found feeding on these creatures where shells have washed up recently. Any mollusks or crustaceans washed on shore are discovered by flipping rocks, seaweed or other shells out of the way. They can easily pull out the snail- like animals from the slipper shells. Both the ruddy turnstone and sanderlings will dodge among small waves as they search for prey. Sanderlings are often in large groups that seem like synchronized surf runner formations, and I give them a 10…. Both species breed as far north as the tundra.

Ruddy turnstones

Sanderlings on piles of American slipper shells

Knobbed whelks (Busycon carica) are edible marine snails that are carnivorous scavengers and predators of shellfish. Their native range is from Massachusetts to Florida. Large casings are released in strings by the female whelks and are then anchored to the sediment. The tiny whelks hatch nine months later. If you find a sting of these egg cases washed up on the beach, shake them and see if any tiny whelks are inside. There is a hole in the egg case top where the little whelks would have exited through, hopefully before the whole string was deposited on the shore.

Stringed whelk egg cases are full of tiny whelks

Knobbed whelk with barnacles

While walking through the woods after a recent snowfall, I came across a hermit thrush, a native thrush that has a rusty red tail, brownish olive body and a white chest speckled with dark brown. Normally, they migrate south for the winter, but I can usually find one every year near woodland steams and boggy areas that do not freeze over.

Very hardy hermit thrush

In mixed deciduous woods, especially where oaks are found, there is often evidence of deer in the neighborhood. Deer will scrape off snow with their hooves to find acorns to eat. Later, the deer may bed down nearby. Look for small areas where the snow has melted- that is where the body heat of the sleeping or resting deer has melted the snow.

Melted snow where three deer had rested or slept

On a yellow birch tree deep in some woods, there was a new burl being formed by abnormal cell enlargement from an unknown cause. This rounded, woody swelling has an interesting surface pattern and grain, and may have been caused by a wound or pathogen as there is a gummy excretion surrounding the base of the burl. In the same area of the woods there was a tree with a fist-sized rock growing into two forked trunks.

Burl

Rock with tree trunks growing around it

In a small brook nearby there was a waterfall that had partially iced over. The patterns in the ice struck me as similar to lines in a topographic map, tiny lightning bolts. Natural designs are often temporal, so I take pictures of things like this as tomorrow, or even in a few hours, it could be gone.

Interesting patterns on small waterfall ice

Every winter day will have its own surprises.  For instance, I wonder if a young white-tailed deer made this tiny snow deer along a woodland trail…

Tiny snow deer

Pamm Cooper

Fox in the backyard seen through a screened window

“January is the quietest month in the garden. But just because it looks quiet, doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.” – Rosalie Muller Wright