Years End

Well, 2013 is coming to an end. I made a decision last December to spend and entire year searching for and photographing every possible wildflower that I could find in West Virginia. Well it was a great year and I far exceeded my expectations by finding 308 wildflowers. Around 86% of those were natives and a 148 of those were found on the 28 acres where I live. That alone was amazing to me; 148 wildflowers on one small farm, many of them new to me, because I was actually getting out searching almost daily during the peak growing season. Most of those were common but many are not; Painted Trillium, Nodding Ladies Tresses, Yellow Tresses, Slender Ladies Tresses, Large Pad Leaf Orchid, Ragged Fringed Orchid and Reclining St. Andrew's Cross to name a few.
        And I keep thinking of the ones I missed for one reason or another; Clintonia, Indian Cucumber, Canada Lilly and others. I will be continuing to add West Virginia wildflowers until I have them all, well, probably not all of them, but many more.
      In January, I photographed the first flower, a Common Dandelion. And  this December I have seen it twice, on the 3rd and 28th; proving that in West Virginia, you can see flowers every month of the year. I really need to read up some more on the Dandelion; why does it bloom in winter months when there is little chance of pollination. Is it something it does in its European home range?

Well, Onward to 2014 . The weather will be dreadful the next few days; zero at night early next week and a daytime high of 12. Snow is also forecast several days this week. But, I get out occasionally, like today, the last day of 2013, I hiked into Piney Creek canyon to see the ruins of an 1800's grist mill. I also scouted out some new locations to look for wildflowers this Spring.

There is much to look forward to in 2014.
                                                                        Happy New Year to all.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade 
winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain

Winter for Real

After several fits and starts, winter seems to be here for real. Today, we are in midst of ice and sleet storm that has affected much of the East Coast. Church has been canceled all day, so I am watching out the window and reading up on birds, even though I vowed not to get hooked on them.  Probably won't spend a lot of time posting birds, just interesting items. ( but they all tend to get more interesting when you are stuck in the house)

Below are some wildlife from around the farm, roaming among the Christmas decor, and grandbabies toys.

Rusty Blackbirds (Apparently, not very common)

Joe Pye Weed in August

Joe Pye Weed in December 

J

"When your hobbies get in the way of your work - that's OK; but when your hobbies get in the way of themselves... well...”. Mark Twain