Over a dozen Red Admiral butterflies, as well as Tortoise Shell butterflies, honey bees, and bumblebees were drinking nectar from the blossoms of our Manchurian apricot tree. The entire tree was buzzing and fluttering. What an incredible world our God has made! For more photos of winged creatures, visit Nature Footsteps Winged, and for more [...]
100 Species Challenge
Goldfinch Nest in a Purple Loosestrife Plant
One of the simple little things our homeschool does for the environment is to keep the invasive plant purple loosestrife off our three-acre property, about half of which is wetland. Although purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is beautiful, it can harm native plants as well as wildlife. Purple loosestrife was introduced into North America over 200 years [...]
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
When the shy bloodroot flower peeks out from its one protecting leaf, we know that spring has come to stay. The amazing single leaf can wrap completely around the flower! We’ve always been fascinated by it. Years ago, before we knew it was endangered , the children dug some plants up and we were all startled [...]
A Woodpecker Walk
Our eleventh Rideau Trail walk, the longest yet, covered snowy terrain through woods, along a railway, and into a residential area. The theme of this walk seemed to be woodpeckers, but we noticed a lot of other interesting things, such as this tree. We found fairly large skeleton with extra bumps on the spine toward [...]
Nature Study: Horsetail or Scouring Rush
On our first Rideau Trail walk, we saw several colonies of amazing green stems in a ditch. Each plant is, in fact, just a stem consisting of long finely ridged sections. Each section fits into a lower one and is held in by a fringe of darker or lighter vegetation. I remember this unique plant from the prairies of [...]
The 100-Species Challenge
Ever since my sister taught me to really look at plants, I’ve been fascinated by them. Now thirty years later, I’m finally starting a project I’ve dreamed about for years: to know more about the plants and animals that grow nearby. After all, there are hundreds of species in our little swampy, foresty, grassy, boggy area, to say nothing of [...]
