Some Woodland Flowers

I made a check of the Yellow Lady’s Slipper orchid to see what I might expect in the way of blooms this year and found a single stalk growing.  Last year’s two stalks produced a total of three flowers.  Unfortunately, the flowers ended up withering before there was even a hope of them producing seed.  Each year seems to bring some new surprise from these plants.  I’m still waiting for the year the surprise turns out to be more plants.

I searched the slope in vane for more Yellow Lady’s Slipper plants.  This hillside doesn’t have an abundance of wildflowers, but there are a few of interest.  Basal leaves of the American Columbo are looking bright and fresh.  For some reason, I was reminded of tropical climates when I looked at this plant growing at the base of a young Sugar Maple.

A few Columbo plants have produced stalks that will bear a crop of flowers.  It’s always an odd sight to find one of these tall plants towering in the woods.

The Columbo flower buds are in place awaiting the elongation of the flower stalk.  A few of these plants bloom each year.  The other plants remain as a collection of basal leaves and return as such each year until the conditions are right for them to reproduce.  The flowering year is its last year of life.

Mayapple numbers seem to increase each year.  There are now large sections of the woods that support these plants. 

Many plants produced flowers this year.  Annual flower numbers fluctuate greatly, but I haven’t noticed any correlation between weather conditions and flowering.

Fruits are already developing in some flowers.  Most will disappear long before they become ripe. 

One of the showiest blooms on the hillside is that of the Violet Wood Sorrel.  These petals seem to luminesce in the woodland shadows and catch my attention whenever I walk by.

The plants prosper in places that tend to be free of leaves.  The downhill side of a fallen log is a perfect place to find these plants.  Leaves displaying a purple blush are almost as attractive as the blooms.

Violet Wood Sorrel also commonly grows in the raised soil around the base of large trees.  Not all leaves are heavily marked with purple patches, but all show some degree of violet coloring.

This hillside used to support a good population of Jack-in-the-pulpit.  Now I rarely see any blooming plants.  Most of the population is now composed of young, non-flowering plants.

Squawroot has finally pushed itself up through the leaves and is beginning to bloom.  These parasitic plants are without chlorophyll, so their color is quite pale.  They may look like a sign of ill health, but only a healthy ecosystem can support parasites.  I take them as a sign that the overall health of the Blue Jay Barrens woodlands is good.

Trillium Update

I found these three Large Flowered Trilliums just where I’ve seen them growing for years.  That might not seem unusual, but ten days ago there was no sign of their emergence, despite the fact that others of their species were already flowering.  During that ten day time span, these plants went from nothing to showing an unfurling flower bud.  I’ve never seen such a prolonged period of emergence displayed by this population of trilliums.  In most years, all of the plants open their blooms at roughly the same time.  This staggered pattern of blooming makes it more difficult to achieve my goal of producing viable trillium seed from this small population of plants.

The plant that was just unfurling its bloom ten days ago has finally produced a pollen producing flower.  This is the second of what appears will only be three blooming plants this year.

With two flowers to work with, I set about helping with the transfer of pollen between plants.  If I’m working with several plants, I’ll use a pollination brush to gather and transfer pollen.  Since there were only two plants in this case, I chose to remove an entire pollen covered anther and apply it directly to the receiving stigma.  No chance of missing that way.

Digital cameras make it easy to document the location of plants of interest.  This population of trilliums is one that I’ve been monitoring for several years and it’s important to know exactly where the plants are so you can track losses or additions to the population.  After taking close up shots of a plant, I’ll take a mid range shot showing the plant’s location in respect to an identifiable landmark.  In this case, it’s clear that the plant is beside the double trunked tree with exposed roots.

Next I’ll take a wider shot showing the plant and landmark as it’s situated on the landscape.  By lining myself up with the various objects in the photo, I can come back to this point and reestablish the exact point from which I took the shot.  From there I can locate the site of the plant.

The lone trillium living on the gravel bar near the creek has survived.  It had to maneuver around a bit of flood debris, but it is still alive. I’ve seen this plant bloom a couple of times, but most years it seems to be recovering from the hazards of life on a floodplain.  The Blue Jay Barrens population of Large Flowering Trillium seems to be slowly increasing.  Hopefully, this trend will continue.

Streamside Salamander Larvae

I’ve been watching the area around the mass of Streamside Salamander Eggs I photographed last week, figuring that the area would fill with larvae once the eggs hatched.  When I went by yesterday, the creek was crowded with newly hatched salamanders.  This was a welcome sight, because I had been concerned that the eggs might have suffered some damage from being hauled out for a photo shoot. 

As the salamander larvae age, their coloring changes to become less conspicuous against the creek bottom.  Or it might be that all of the conspicuous larvae are eaten and those with better camouflage live longer. 

Nothing left beneath the rock except the now empty eggs.  I’ll check back periodically to see how long this evidence of a successful hatch remains recognizable. 

The head is the dominant feature of a young larva.  It contains the eyes and the mouth; two things that are brought to use immediately upon hatching.  Salamanders are predators and the larvae will eat anything small enough to get in the mouth and down the throat.  The more it eats, the faster it grows and the greater its chances of metamorphosing into an air breather and leaving the creek before the water disappears.

There are already some older larvae in the creek that are showing the development of their front legs.  I first noticed newly hatched larvae a couple of weeks ago.  This one probably hatched during that time period.  Batches of young larvae can be seen the entire length of the creek.  Based on those criteria, this has been a successful breeding season.  The real test though, will be how many larvae successfully leave the water and establish themselves on land.

Flowering Dogwood

I’m guessing that we’re just past the peak of the Flowering Dogwood blooms.  It’s odd that the dogwood buds all began to swell and open at the same time, but where some hurried ahead to full bloom; others lagged behind and bloomed at a more leisurely pace.  We’ve now reached the point where the final dogwoods are blooming and the early developers have just a trace of white left on their branches.

In a typical year, all of the trees tend to bloom together.  It seems odd that in a year where the weather hurried many spring species through their blooming period, the Flowering Dogwoods would display such a sporadic pattern.

The Flowering Dogwoods managed to synchronize their showy phase with a series of frosty mornings.  The result is a display that is slightly less than perfect.  The bright white bracts all show traces of brown where the light freeze caused damage.

The actual flowers, clustered at the base of the bracts, appear free of damage.  There may be two dozen flowers in a cluster, but I normally find clusters of only four fruits in the fall.

Leaves are developing rapidly and will soon displace the flowers.  The summer phase of the tree is also quite attractive.  Unfortunately, its greens blend with its neighbor’s and the beauty goes unnoticed by most.  I always take time in the summer to visit with these trees and enjoy their warm weather personality. 

Song Sparrows

Apparently a portion of my garden fence runs through the edge of a territory claimed by a pair of Song Sparrows.  Both birds became agitated when I stopped in their territory to splice together two rolls of fence wire.  This one stayed close and chastised me with a continuous series of chip notes.

Fortunately, I was surrounded by suitable perches from which the sparrow could comfortably scold.  A favorite seemed to be a tangle of Concord grape vines growing behind the garden.  I suppose this site offered just a bit more security in the face of a potential threat.

Although the Song Sparrow never stopped announcing my presence, he seemed most intent on collecting small insects.  He found several in the grape vines, which might have been a stronger reason for spending so much time in their tangle.

From more open perches, frequent trips to the ground were made to collect what he spotted from his perch.  The brown leaves shriveled on the vine are the result of our recent frosts.

The second Song Sparrow stayed farther out in the field.  I’m guessing there’s a nest with young somewhere in the vicinity. 

He didn’t seem to mind the fact that the fence was shaking because of my splicing activities.  I wonder if this is a way of asserting claim over a new structure in his territory.

It looks like his patience has worn thin and he’s stomping his foot to emphasize his command that I finish my work and move on.  I hate to tell him that I’ve been stomped by some pretty forceful supervisors, but they’ve never been able to change my work style.

Bonus Shot:  I’ve mentioned before that I see faces in just about every photo.  I found this image in the grape leaves and call it A Man and His Cat.

A Camera Critters submission.

Tree Swallows

Tree Swallows kept me company as I prepared to put new fence wire around the garden.  They arrived in record numbers this year, taking control of every nest box not already occupied by a Bluebird. Squadrons of seemingly boxless birds circle the field, chattering constantly.

Wooden fence posts are the perching place of choice for Tree Swallows and several other field related species.  Besides the top of a bird box, fence posts are the only place I ever see the Tree Swallows land. The first and third posts are topped by Tree Swallows.  The fuzzy brown blur atop the fifth post is a Song Sparrow.  I guess it’s a lucky thing I maintain a fence, so the birds have somewhere to rest.

I’m not sure if this Tree Swallow is mooning me, or if it is just comfortable enough in my presence to conduct business as usual.  This species is quite tolerant of my gardening activities, as long as I’m relatively quiet and slow moving.

Since the Tree Swallows were all out watching me work, I decided to take advantage of their empty boxes to check out their nesting progress.  All the nearby boxes had completed nests, but only one had begun laying and in that nest was a single egg.

In another box was a nest with a thicker than normal layer of base material.  Bluebirds began a nest in this box, but gave up their lease to a pair of Tree Swallows. 

I think the Tree Swallows are now firmly in control.  It doesn’t look like they’re going to give up this box.  Maybe the Bluebirds will retake it after the Tree Swallows fledge their first batch of young.

Water Shortage

Six weeks ago, Blue Jay Barrens was experiencing a record flood event.  The rain creating that flood was the last significant rainfall for this area and the pond has shrunk to almost nothing. 

Ground water levels are still plenty high, so some water is entering the pond from the intermittent spring.  This is not nearly enough to replace what is lost through leakage and evaporation.

Leafless dogwood branches clearly show the level of high water.  During the flood, Wood Frogs laid clusters of eggs in the now exposed branches. 

The pond is low enough that the rush stubble left to receive salamander eggs is now sticking above the water.  Fortunately, the eggs have long since hatched and are not in danger of being left airborne.  If the water level falls a couple more inches it will be shallow enough for the Raccoons to wade through the middle hunting for food.  That usually means the end of most tadpoles and other small pond creatures.

This year’s crop of rushes is already up and going.  These plants actually do their best when the water is shallow.

The Whitetail Deer are obviously spending a lot of time around the pond.  The winter herds are breaking apart and I’m seeing the deer individually or in small groups.  It won’t be long before the tracks of fawns begin showing up with the others.

As the water level drops, crawfish deepen their burrows to keep in contact with the water.  The excavated material forms small mounds on the exposed pond bottom.  The pond leaks because the soil does not contain enough clay to stop the water from seeping through.  The water wouldn’t drop so rapidly if there weren’t so many crawfish burrows giving unobstructed channels through which the water can quickly escape.

Amphibian larvae must hurry through their metamorphosis and become land dwelling creatures before their watery home disappears.  External gills make it easy to separate salamander tadpoles from those of frogs.  In order to survive, this guy must develop legs and lose the gills before the pond goes dry.

Wood Frog tadpoles have done well so far.  If we get some rain to boost the water level, these tadpoles should have time to make the change to little frogs.  Unfortunately, the long range forecast doesn’t look favorable for precipitation.  April is just not living up to its reputation of being a month of showers.