Tag Archive | Nature

A Holly Without Thorns

In sandy woodlands growing in moist soils along the periphery of bogs and wetlands is a evergreen shrub in the holly family that has no thorns. It is Inkberry holly. It lives in eastern North America from Nova Scotia south to Florida where it is often found in dense colonies. Its shiny dark green leaves […]

The Holly That Loses its Leaves

The Holly That Loses its Leaves

When people think of holly they envision a shrub or tree with glossy green prickly leaves and bright red berries. There is a species of holly that is deciduous and loses its leaves each winter and it is called winterberry holly. This holly has crayon green leaves and berries that are green at first, but […]

Goldfinches Prepare for Winter

Goldfinches Prepare for Winter

Winter is fast approaching and many birds are preparing for its arrival. Many song birds have already started their journey to the southern U.S., Central and South America where insects abound. The birds that remain behind to face the winter must bulk up on as many seeds as they can find to form a fat […]

The Shrub That Blooms in the Fall

The Shrub That Blooms in the Fall

It is late October and woodlands and the colorful autumn leaves are littering the ground. The woodlands are beginning to look barren as winter approaches. It is at this time that a shrub blooms providing some color to the barren landscape. It has many small spindly yellow flowers on branches devoid of leaves. It is […]

The Red Tree

The Red Tree

One of the most beautiful things to see in fall wetlands is the orange-red colors of autumn leaves from the red maple tree. This tree’s buds and flowers are red, its two-winged sumara are red tinged and it has red petioles. Red maple is also called swamp maple because it grows in wet woodlands and […]