Okay. That white stuff out there is definitely snow. And yes, the days are still getting shorter. And even though I’ve had quite a bit of fun and success in the last few weeks finding living, crawling things outdoors, plus making an extra effort to up my birding game, I’m still worried about the lo…

Delightful! “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man.” ( :wink:)

I also like the Trillium leaves (one of the kind plants that can also be recognised when NOT flowering) And they surely support some pollinators and caterpillars and …?

[image] DianaStuder: support some pollinators and caterpillars and …? Ants. Their seeds are coated in a fatty substance that the ants love and take back to their nests for food. When finished, they’re dumped and… the species propagates. It’s a slow growing species though. A colony the size I…

Part of the reason why our fynbos survives fire, is ants taking the seed below.

How about plants that behave like animals and eat bugs? I had a bunch of Chinese mantis babies hatch where I kept Venus flytraps. They are awfully cute but they’re also invasive here, so I let the flytraps feast on them sort of as fertilizer for the plants. Now that’s schmecky - yumm! [image]

I’m in Winterland, too. My favorite “Promise of Spring” is right outside my windows. I can see them as soon as the leaves fall. (However,I refrain from looking at them while dealing with the fallen leaves) I’m sure you see them, too. Maple trees always set next spring’s buds, and the closer spring …

For any other Jewish iNatters here accustomed to Yiddish, this thread has a very different meaning!! Good call on adding a clarification.

I look forward every year to the blooms of the Mojave desert. I’ve explored these areas most of my life, but only in my adult years with an eye to the sudden and intense spring blooms of tiny, amazing flowers, and the desert tortoises emerging to scrounge for food. [cryptantha] [eriophyllum] [go…

[_AAA6988] Overnight lows have been in the 20s most of December and a few bugs are hanging on. I hope this cheers up the snow-covered folks.

Ah, spring. I eagerly await you. In the meantime, Have some ramps peeking out of the duff like harbingers of spring [original (3)] Toothwort [original (4)] Bloodroot. Spring ephemerals seriously get me way too excited, they’re so nice after the doldroms of winter [original (5)]

Observations that schmeck: comfort observations to survive the winter

Nature Talk

broacher January 13, 2023, 4:26pm 42

“Hail to thee blythe spirit!”

And while we’re hailing, here’s to the Canadian green (and okay, reddish) plants of… January?

Wait. Let me check the calendar again.

BONUS: all of these were lifers!

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Observations that schmeck: comfort observations to survive the winter

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