Flowers

This Week at the Park

There's so much to see in April! Here's some of the observations from this week.

Mayapples

I've been watching the Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) emerge and open their umbrella-like leaves over the past few weeks. Colonies of mayapples blanket much of the beech grove having emerged just after the trout lilies to join the parade of spring ephemerals. I'll post pictures of the

The History of Anson B. Nixon Park

Landfill to Park

This is a chapter in an occasional series about the history of Anson B. Nixon Park.  Other entries At the Foot of the Mountains Waterworks Somehow just over thirty years have passed since the idea of a park became an actual park. There were times it wasn't clear

Which Crow?

I heard this fish crow before I saw it. It was one of a pair having a fairly long distance conversation, probably something spring related, like getting on with building their nest. The American crow (what most of us think of when we think of a crow) is a bit

Nature

The Yellow Trout Lily

Trout Lily Growth Stages Year 1 (June-December): Seed stage. Year 2 (April): The seed sprouts, a single embryonic leaf (the cotyledon) grows down into the soil first, then the tip pops up above ground. At the bottom, underground, the very first tiny bulb starts to form. Notice it's

Morning walk flowers

Some wild (and not so wild) flowers seen while walking the dogs around town in the morning.

Nature

Eating Tree Flowers?

I had no idea that squirrels ate tree flowers. I don't know why the idea surprised me when Mark Volpe sent me the picture above, but it did - after all squirrels do eat or gnaw on just about everything else. The practice was confirmed for Red Squirrels

Box Elder Flowers

The Box Elder is unfairly considered by som to be the black sheep of the maple family. Box elders are a hearty native tree that will grow just about anywhere. While they may not a conventional beauty they have a certain charm. They are dioecious having separate male and female

Nature

Recent Birds at the Park

All count as "usual suspects" you are likely to spot any day you visit the park this time of year.

Nature

On the Lookout

Over the past several weeks the red squirrels have been in their breeding season. Females are in estrus for one day, and they cause a lot of chattering and chasing about. Besides being the fastest thing in the forest they are a watchful and cautious creatures; so much so I

Just Today

Om today's visit to the park I found Trout Lillies that were in bloom. These were in a small patch of the forest where sunlight manages to get through for long enough to keep the plants growing there develop slightly ahead of the rest, a microclimate. Thanks for

Nature

Signs of things to come

Two more spring ephemerals started showing up this week. Wild leeks grow thickly in one section of the park. I may be wrong but I suspect they are lasting remnant of an area that the Lenape people harvested. I think this because the abundance of them points to a long