It is good to be green. When you are a tiny Green Frog, it is good to be living in a pond covered in Duckweed. The perfect camouflage.
 This Northern Cardinal might be relieved that the storms have passed but it is hard to know with this facial expression.
 What's in a flower? Pollen, nectar and a lot of beauty. Just ask this honeybee and Red Admiral butterfly on a Coneflower.
 It is wonderful to be out in nature and see these majestic wings soaring above the treeline.
 A friend told me about a Red Fox family living by her neighbor's house. When I arrived at the home I witnessed two fox kits playing with an empty plastic water bottle on the edge of the yard. The home-owner explained that a sibling of the two was hit by a car in the road.
I stayed and watched the two remaining kits for some time. When I returned a week later the fox family had relocated. What a gift to have watched these siblings. Safe travels little foxes. Stay away from the road.  This Ruby-Throated Hummingbird braved the rainstorm to guard its feeder from other hummingbirds. There is always something interesting going on in nature-even in the rain.
 June 21. Spring ends and summer begins. The Poppy opens to gather sunlight, the Hooded Warbler sings under the hardwood canopy, and American Toads gather in a roadside pool. Summer begins.
 The instructor identified the bird singing as a Dark-eyed Junco. This caught my attention since I only see these birds in winter and expect them to be breeding in Canada during the spring and summer months. Then I remembered that our group was in a Red Spruce forest on a mountain top at nearly 3000 feet. Hearing the Junco's song and seeing one in late spring was a first for me.
 It looked like a stick on the side of the road. Closer inspection revealed a colorful and motionless Eastern Milksnake. Some people mistake this snake for a Copperhead and kill it. The Eastern Milksnake is not venomous and helps to keep rodent numbers down. When you see snakes warming up on the road consider their role in the ecosystem and drive around them instead of over them.
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Explore the outdoors with DanielPhotographs, musings and observations. (Click on images to enlarge.) Archives
May 2025
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