March
Days Are Getting Longer March is a month of returning birds, and planting indoor garden seeds. Summer is just around the corner, I can feel it. The days are getting longer by 60 minutes in...
Category: Through The Seasons
Through the seasons. Phenology is the repetitional change of plants, animals, and weather. Wisconsin changes month by month and so do the animals, plants, and trees.
Starting in 2023 the blogging style will change a bit.
Most of the photography is mine – although, I do use public domain and creative commons work in informative blog posts. I was a blogger long before being a photographer :)
February
Holy smokes! It is February 2023 and I have seemed to have misplaced an entire blogging year! Did you wonder where I was hiding? Last January I committed to posting monthly about the seasonal changes...
January
Well, Happy New Year! Hope you are settling into your new year. January 2022 – It’s cold! But, did we expect anything less from the Wisconsin winter? Welcome to the phenology posts. The posts will...
Moose Maple Keys
What are moose maple keys? You’re thinking it is a place, right? Nah. It is a bush-like shrub or tree that produces moose maple keys that attract wildlife.
Marsh Marigold
The marsh marigold is one of the earliest wetland plants to bloom after the winter snow has melted with it’s beautiful, yellow blooms that herald spring is here.
White Baneberry Dolls Eyes
White baneberry dolls eyes begins its life with fuzzy white flowers on a green stem and later develop white berries with a black dot in the middle.
White Campion
White campion is a weed, and not a wildflower. It grows in most open habitats, particularly wasteland and fields, most commonly on neutral to alkaline soils.
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel The Eastern gray squirrel is found mainly in mature hardwoods & deciduous forest areas but is also abundant in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The coats of the gray squirrel are generally...
Invasive Cow Vetch
Invasive Cow Vetch Cow vetch is widely used as a forage crop for cattle and is beneficial to other plants because, like other leguminous plants, it enriches the soil in which it grows by its...
Common Scorpionfly
So what is this crazy-looking insect? Have you seen one before? This is the common scorpionfly. To me, there is nothing common about the look of this little guy.
Chicory
Chicory Chicory is known for its electric blue flowers, creating a spectacular summer show along roadsides, ditches and fields.
Mayapple Wildflower
Mayapple The mayapple plant’s scientific name is Podophyllum peltatum and is part of my running Wisconsin wildflower collection. The mayapple wildflower in Wisconsin was found on one of my walks through the Wisconsin woodland areas.
Northern Cardinal
The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird wat are about 8-9 inches in length. The Male is a vibrant red, while the female is a reddish olive color.
European Starlings
European starlings (starlings for short) are about the size of a blackbird with glossy black plumage that has a metallic look to them. During the winter months, the birds sport white flecking to them
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Our winter visitors the red-breasted nuthatch are back for the season. As soon as the weather starts getting cold, I will usually see my first red-breasted nuthatch.
Leafhoppers and Planthoppers
Leafhoppers and Planthoppers There are over 12,500 varieties of leafhoppers and planthoppers, that feed on the sap from plants, grass, and trees but most are harmless to the plant.
Gall Fly Produces Goldenrod Galls
Gall Fly Produces Goldenrod Galls The Gall fly produces goldenrod galls that become the food source and host plant for gall fly larva over the course of the winter. The insect has a fairly interesting...
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. The term pileated comes from the Latin word pileatus meaning “capped” which refers to the red crest on the top of the bird’s head.
Blue Jays and Peanuts
Blue Jays and Peanuts There is a soft and gentle rain coming down from the heavens this morning as I sit quietly at my kitchen table watching the deck peanut wreath full of blue jays...
Red Eyed Vireo
Red Eyed Vireo The red eyed vireo is a small songbird that you might see trying to catch insects in your trees. The bird isn’t a fan of the feeder.