Raining Red Maple Blossoms

Red maples (Acer rubrum) have been blooming for a few weeks now. They buds burst open the same time the Hazel Alder catkins appeared.

 Suddenly, the flowers appear to be raining down. The paths are covered with these flowers!

Nature's red carpet.

Spring in February!

If you woke up from a winter's sleep, you would never know it was snowing two weeks ago. Today, signs of spring were around every corner. As soon as I stepped outside, the resounding songs of Upland Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris feriarum) was front and center.

                                               

As I walked the trail to the pond and the breaks between my sneezes started to disappear, Hazel Alder (Alnus serrulata) catkins came into view, blowing in the breeze.

(Alnus serrulata)

These long delicate catkins are the male flowers. The female flowers are smaller and more compact. Hazel alder grows along streams and wetlands, and produces miniature cones. The cones in the picture below are still hanging on from last year.

(Alnus serrulata)

Spring is when trees really come alive; even the lichen start to move! Winter time is a great time to get to know lichen, since they brave the cold temps. But this tree, oh this tree has more than just lichen. At first glance, you may not see it.

But, if you stand and stare at the tree long enough and you get lucky, the lichen may start to move. Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) larvae cover themselves in lichen to hide from hungry predators. This allows them to wander up and down a tree looking for tasty treats, like other lacewings or red mites.

And the signs of spring continue! Down on the ground Trillium are breaking ground.

Trillium is one of the first wildflowers to break ground in Georgia. The species that is most common in and around the Atlanta area is Trillium cuneatum, which grows up to about 6 inches tall and has up to three large, green, speckled leaves. Technically, they are not leaves, but they look and act like them.

These three-leaved flowers grow up from the same rhizome (tuber-like root system) each spring. Each year a new layer grows on the rhizome. So, the age of the plant is revealed by counting the layers. One flower can be decades and decades old. Last year, I dug up a Trillium of another species (T. underwoodii) and counted 32 rings! And it all starts with three little leaves.

(Trillium cuneatum)

An Orchid in Winter

One of the best parts of living in Georgia is all the greenery in winter. One of our native orchids, Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor) reveals itself throughout winter. Amidst all the degrading leaf litter, the singular leaves really stand out.

(Tipularia discolor)

Okay, maybe it doesn't really jump out at you. But, believe me, these leaves are really one of kind. A simple flip of the leaf shows the brilliant purple underside.

I never tire of peaking under these leaves to see that color. But, these leaves will disappear before the flowers appear in the summer. If I can remember where these leaves are now, hopefully I can locate the flowers in a few months.

Even More Snow!

One snow storm was amazing! But, the unthinkable happened! More snow! The city shut down once again, which meant more exploring!

Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) tracks, with the back legs reaching in front of the front legs.

(Sylvilagus floridanus)

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) tracks, paired and even.

(Odocoileus virginianus)

Before the snow, ice fell across the city, coating all the trees in a layer of ice. This sheet of ice peeled right off the leaf of a Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora).

(Magnolia grandiflora)

Even buds were not safe. The picture below shows the cigar-shaped Eastern Beech Tree (Fagus americana) bud with a coat of ice.