Top Photo: Wetlands with ice and a sprinkling of snow. When it snows here in the Piedmont, it’s always a rush to get out to photograph the uniqueness of the event. It doesn’t snow often and when it does the snow is usually gone within a day or two. Sometimes it’s gone within hours. Snows here are short and sweet. Here’s some photos from this morning (Saturday 1/29/22) before it all disappeared. And finally, three dinosaurs. Enjoy it while itRead more
Posts tagged: #japonica
Bees, Butterflies et al. of the Day
Top Photo: Honeybees at Fatsia Japonica on the Dino Trail. Today’s unusually mild temperatures have activated insects like it was a day in May. Look in the the vicinity of blooming flowers, you’ll see them. The honeybees above were very busy taking nectar and whatever pollen they could from the simple umbel flowers of fatsia. Everywhere I turned today I saw insects going about their business. Fly species, wasps, and of course, bees and butterflies were literally buzzing about anyRead more
The State of Fatsia
Last month the fatsia alongside the trail on the Dinosaur Trail was blooming and abustle with activity. Insects, such as False Honey Ants, Yellow Jackets, Honey Bees, various flies and other nectar loving late season six-legged creatures were intently gathering the sweet nectar from the plant. This evergreen shrub is an East Asian species. It’s hardy to zones 7-10 or 8-10 depending upon which source you reference. Here in Durham we’re just about on the line between zones 7 andRead more
November Settles In
November is the time of year in our area when most of the leaves finally come tumbling down. The mornings are often shrouded in fog or mist which tends to saturate the colors of the foliage that remains until the wind and rain render bare even the hardiest vegetation. Although many plants have ceased production for the year, others are just getting started. Fatsia, or Japanese Aralia, is now blooming on the Dinosaur Trail. It attracts many late season insectsRead more