Tuesday in the park

Well, the groundhog may have seen his shadow, but plants, animals, and fungi around here sure think it is early spring. Earlier this week, we had the chance to take the kids to a park. 

These photos are part of what I found.

Does anyone know what the flower below is? It is quite small and grows in the woods. 

I haven't been able to identify it.

Below is one of my all-time favorite trees. It's a favorite of my mom's as well. 

It was my grandmother's favorite tree, too. I love it.

I don't know if I am more taken with the moss or the roots.
Decisions, decisions!

The photo doesn't do it justice, but the moss was aglow.

Why, yes, I did photograph mushrooms! How did you guess?

I don't know what these are, except pretty. Of that I am sure.

See the mushrooms in the next picture? They are red.

I think they are Sarcoscypha coccinea. They are commonly known as Scarlet Cups or, 

more fancifully, as Scarlet Elf Caps. 

In the guides, these are listed as an early spring mushroom. How exciting!

As always, feel free to click on any picture for a closer look.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you think.

Don't forget to stop by

blogging from bolivia to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan

Cicada Macro Friday

It's Periodic Cicada time again. The ones emerging right now in Shakerag are Thirteen-Year Cicadas. The last time we had this particular brood was in 1998. Back then, I was living in Nashville. The cicadas were bordering on plague-levels. Working in a business that had the outside door opening and closing all day allowed us to have enough cicadas inside the store that my female co-worker and I had to remove bugs from each others backs several times a day. Another co-worker spent most of his time sweeping cicadas up off the floor and back outside.
No, I won't soon forget Brood XIX Periodic Cicadas.
These particular Thirteen-Year Cicadas are also known as
The Great Southern Brood.

Perhaps they won't be that abundant here this year.

The females lay eggs in the bark of trees. The hatchlings bury themselves about a foot deep into the soil. Then they wait. Thirteen long years, they wait. Then when the soil reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit, the Cicada nymph emerges from the ground.

This is what the holes look like.

Above is a cicada nymph before its molt into adulthood.

Above is a cicada in the process of transforming from nymph to adult. I think this individual has a deformity of his wings. I'll see if he is still there tomorrow.
Pale yellow is their color when they first emerge.
They darken during the first hour of adulthood.

Adult cicadas dry out and their exoskeletons harden
over the first week of adult life.


Here is an adult. The red eyes are striking.

Here are some more adults:



Cicadas are very tasty to birds, reptiles, and other animals.
Their only defense is sheer numbers.
They do not bite or sting.

As soon as their exoskeletons harden, the race is on to mate.
Their above-ground lives are only about six weeks.

He's a mere shell of his former self. Oh wait, this just his molted skin.

Before long the "singing" of cicadas attempting to find a mate will begin. This is the same song the annual cicadas will be singing in the late summer.
Guess you have to be a cicada to find it appealing.
I just think of it as summer noise.

As always, you can click on any of the photos for a closer look.

Don't forget to
stop by

blogging from bolivia
to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan

Sweet Tweet Tuesday, um Sweet Shot Tuesday

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been having some unusual guests. While I had seen a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak once or twice before, we have had about 25 at a time! On more than one occasion, I counted a dozen males, not counting all the females. It has been quite remarkable.

But now they are gone. I knew they were probably a feeding flock passing through on the way to their breeding grounds up north, but I had hoped that a pair or two might stay. They were here for a couple of weeks of fun and about fifty pounds of sunflower seed. Unfortunately, they are jumpy birds and I never got the shot of them I was hoping for. But that's the way it goes with photographing wild birds.







Hop on over to Life With My 3 Boybarians
and see what other sweet shots are out there today.

-Susan

Macro Monday

Mrs. Killdeer on her nest of rocks. Isn't she pretty?

Here are her eggs. She lives at the local airport. The folks there said she stayed on the nest through all the storms we've been having.

Here are some photos from a trip to the local city park.



I'm linking to Macro Monday at Lisa's Chaos.
Stop by and see what macros you can see today!
-Susan

Pretty peony

I am still waiting to hear how friends fared Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The destruction there is unreal. In 2005, a similar sized tornado cut a swath through my home county. It's not something I will ever forget. I'm filled with compassion for those struck by Wednesday's tornado outbreak.

As always, you can click on any of the photo for a closer look.

I decided to link with macro friday.

Don't forget to
stop by

blogging from bolivia
to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan


Edited to add:
They are okay! My friends weathered the storm fine. I'm not sure about their property, but they are all okay! I'm sooo relieved! Thanks for the concern!

Macro Monday

Insects, anyone?
Spring is here and so are the bugs.
Here are some of my favorites from the last week.

Here is our Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Notice his red antennae.






I believe this to be a Spicebush Swallowtail.

Here is the underside of the same individual.




I think this is a female Twelve-spotted Skimmer.




Okay, I admit it. The above is an arachnid, not an insect.
I had never seen a red spider before.




This is a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle.
According to Enature, these guys bite. I didn't handle him to find out.

Stop by Lisa's Chaos to see what others have to share this Monday.

Edited to add more spider pictures:

-Susan

Macro Friday

The weather here has been colder than is typical for spring. Normally, we have about two weeks of spring and leap straight into summer. This time, we have had quite a bit of cool weather, not just the "dogwood spell" that the oldtimers predict.

We have also had a lot of rain, even for springtime.

Folks may say that April showers bring May flowers, but it seems to me that mushrooms are a more immediate result.


I have a yard full of these mushrooms.



Based on my internet research, these mushrooms are either poisonous or not.



Here is my Columbine. It's like the ones that grow wild here.



And in black and white.

As always, you can click on any of the photos for a closer look.

Don't forget to
stop by

blogging from bolivia
to link up your own Macro Friday post!

-Susan

Spring has Sprung

Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
I wonder where the flowers is?
The bird is on the wing
Now ain't that absurd?
I thought the wing was on the bird!

My grandmother used to quote this springtime poetry every year.
I surely miss her.



Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. I have a patch that is in its third year. I had about given it up for dead when last week,
"spar grass" began shooting up!


The strawberries are coming right along, too. I really need to thin them out a bit and start another strawberry bed.


Who doesn't love violets? Sugar coated violets are supposed to be quite tasty.

In this past week, several signs of spring have come to my attention.
On April 7th, I saw my first bumblebee moth. That usually coincides with the return of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, although I haven't seen any yet.
On April 8th, I saw my first toad and tree frog of the year. I
also heard my first Whip-poor-wills.

So, hold on tight, blog readers, frog pictures will be showing up soon!

-Susan