With summer in full swing, many people will take to the water, and often people will come flying out of the water. “Get out. There’s a water moccasin!” Possibly, but doubtful, and practically impossible unless you are in the southeast swamplands of Virginia. Overwhelmingly, snakes seen in the water are simply harmless water snakes – northern water snakes, most likely. Here’s how … [Read more...]

I bought 4 tomato plants this spring. One was a cherry tomato plant because I enjoy them in salads. Nancy, however, bought three plants for her above-ground garden, and she mistakenly picked out two cherry tomato plants. They are now beginning to produce, and we soon be overwhelmed with the little red and gold fruits (or maybe vegetables. It depends on who you ask). I say cherry tomatoes, but … [Read more...]

  It looks like we have a resident raccoon. Well, maybe not a resident, but a frequent visitor. A few weeks ago, Nancy noticed a flattened place in one of her garden beds. The deer are fenced out, so they weren’t the culprits. Maybe a big cat? Then, one day as I was typing in the living room, I saw a raccoon walk right up on the front porch – in the middle of the day. Nancy found another … [Read more...]

An interesting phenomenon is occurring concerning whitetail deer. The does are more and more moving into suburban areas to have their young. They have discovered that the greatest threats to their newborn fawns – coyotes, bobcats, and bears – are less likely to venture into back yards. So that’s where Mama Doe goes to deliver. Back yards - and it is freaking out suburban families. “There’s a … [Read more...]

Every year we are surprised by a plant or plants popping up in our yard that we had nothing to do with. Sometimes it’s a stalk of corn, sometimes a sunflower, sometimes a vine of some sort. The mystery plants come from squirrel plantings as the digging devils hide their stash anywhere they can find soft dirt. This year, we have a beautiful plant developing in one of Nancy’s flower beds and … [Read more...]

(An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) By Andrea Naccarato/DWR   Butterflies are fascinating creatures to observe in Virginia’s natural ecosystems, gardens, farms, and any other places where they can flutter from flower to flower. Within the Animal Kingdom, butterflies are considered a type of insect because they have three pairs of legs and an exoskeleton. Butterflies go through four … [Read more...]

We were in Athens, GA last week for my Grandson’s graduation. Our family had rented a lake house from which to commute and as we finally arrived and were getting out of the car, we noticed quite a racket. “What’s that noise?” Nancy said. It sounded like a gazillion tree frogs, but it wasn’t. It was cicadas. They were everywhere – belly-up in the driveway, clinging to screen doors, crawling on … [Read more...]

Besides bluebirds, the most welcomed guests in my backyard are Monarch butterflies. They are like miniature, fine-art paintings flitting from bush to bush and flower to flower. They are magnificent creatures, and they are threatened. Their fiercest enemies happen to be human beings, who are rapidly destroying meadows and the milkweed plants that Monarchs must have to survive. One of my biggest … [Read more...]

We stayed in a Air B&B cabin on the Greenbrier River last weekend. It was good to be back in my old stomping grounds of Lewisburg, WV and the river was as beautiful as ever. Funny, but on the way over, Nancy and I thought about Whip-poor-wills and wondered if we would be able to hear one again in these remote backwoods. Did we ever. The little fellow Whip-poor-will-ed his heart out. … [Read more...]

After being a drab olive for six months, my male goldfinches are beginning to put on the Ritz, molting into a new suit of bright gold feathers. I always thought the birds’ feathers changed colors, but they don’t. Many birds grow new and entirely differently colored feathers. The goldfinch is the only one in its family to undergo a complete, not a partial molt. Even the females get a touch of … [Read more...]