May Flowers

This beautiful daffodil emerged a week ago in the woods behind the house and amazed me. About three years ago my aunt and uncle came up from Tennessee bearing a bag of bulbs dug up from their garden. "We have way too many," my aunt told me as she handed me the bulbs. I intended to plant them that fall, but I didn't, and so the next spring, I dug holes for them and in they went. Several bore green shoots, but no flowers later that spring. The next spring a few green shoots returned, but again no flowers. I was pretty sure the squirrels had gotten to them, or the intense Pennsylvania mountain cold, very different from the Tennessee weather they'd come from. But this spring, this one bloomed! It is a lovely white and yellow flower.

I searched for its name, and this was the closest I found at the Pacific Bulb Society website in "Narcissus Division 11: Split Corona Daffodils. Narcissus in this division have a corona (cup) that is split for at least one-third of its length. Within this division are collar types, division 11-A, and papillon types, division 11-B."

This one seems to be "Narcissus 'Papillon Blanc' "a mid to late season bloomer with white petals and a yellow and white cup."

I wish all mothers, from every species whereever you may be, a very Happy Mother's Day!

April Nature Sightings

This month has been uncommonly cold and unpredictable, and spring has been late to arrive. In the last few days up here on the Pocono Plateau we've encountered the most wildlife and botany so far.






Wild Turkey male
courtesy of whatbird.com

• Wild turkeys, mostly females but we spotted a group including a male displaying his full feathery regalia
• Black bear, spotted last night walking onto a neighbor's lawn, who saw us and stood up to a big tree, perchance to climb (we passed before he made his move)



Pileated Woodpecker
Photo courtesy of National Geographic

• A pileated woodpecker, calling and singing, and even drumming, up in the trees
• Goldfinch (female) at the thistle seed feeder I put up yesterday afternoon
 



White Breasted Nuthatch
photo courtesy Terry Sohl

• American Tree Sparrow
• Dark-eyed junco
• Black-capped chickadee
• White-breasted nuthatches (male and female)

Today on our walk we saw the beginnings of ferns, lush mosses and tightly furled dandelions. The rhododendrons that are indigenous, tall and lush up here are showing some buds. Ground pine is up. In our backyard, in the woody area beyond the lawn, a lone daffodil has bloomed. The bulbs were lovingly carried by my aunt from her amazing garden in Tennessee almost three years ago, and I planted them over two years ago. They failed to bloom until now.



Black Bear
photo courtesy abzorba.com



Note: I have not posted any of my own photos here but I definitely will in the future. My thanks to those who have posted gorgeous nature photos available through Google Image.