Bluebird Eggs

First clutch of bluebird eggs of the season.

Creek Flow

We received 3.5 inches of rain overnight and at first light, I took a picture of the creek that I mentioned in my last post and placed it side-by-side with the previous photo. Judging by the evidence of deposited leaves and other debris, the creek would have been about a foot higher than shown in the picture during its peak flow at night.

A Short Stroll By The Creek

Behind our home towards the south is a wooded area. About 30 feet into the woods is a small creek that encircles the property and which only flows during heavy rains. To call it an intermittent stream would be an exaggeration. 

Along the creek in a sand bank, I spotted a partial raccoon track. Based on the size, it appears to be a front foot.

This tree with a beautiful mosaic of fungi was laying across the creek bed.

Just above one the creek banks I discovered a hollowed-out red oak that I had not previously noticed. The opening at the bottom on the inside was about 2 feet in diameter. Seeing it reminded me of one of my favorite books as a boy....My Side of the Mountain.

The Recycling Bird

Birds are known to use all types of materials for their nests. My boys found this one on the ground. In addition to the typical natural nest building materials, this particular bird chose to use some strips from plastic bags. Perhaps he wanted to protect himself better from the elements. :-)

First Snow

Last year we received no snow, which was a great disappointment. The temperatures this fall and winter have consistently been 10 degF above normal so I was not optimistic about snow this year either. However, on Christmas night, a blizzard was predicted for our general region. 

Some areas were predicted to receive well over 12 inches, and we were predicted to receive 4-6 inches. The prediction was quite accurate and we did receive around 6 inches. Friends in Southern Illinois confirmed the much higher snowfalls with one receiving 13 inches. The temperatures were in the upper 20's and the snow was heavy and wet.

White Spruce

Dogwood

Compost Piles

Squirrel Tracks

A Sluggish Thanksgiving

This morning I almost stepped on a marsh slug (Deroceras laeve) in search of a Thanksgiving Day meal.

A Quick Fossil Hunt

We visited my childhood home in the suburbs of St. Louis last week and we took a 10 minute detour to a creek that I frequently played in as a boy. I have many stories and fond memories of this creek and the surrounding woods. 

One characteristic that not many local folk are aware of is that the creek bed is rich in fossils. When I was 11-13 years old, I spent many a summer day with an equally enthusiastic friend, sitting on the gravel bars scouring the rocks for fossils. 

The vast majority of the fossils are coelenterates, bryozoans, brachiopods, crinoids, and very rarely, arthropods. Trilobites were considered the Holy Grail. Over a two year period, I found only one trilobite and it was small and incomplete. Later, whilst in college, I was telling a fellow biology student about this creek and he was quite skeptical. One afternoon, we made a visit and he was happy to find some nice specimens. Below are few that I found during my 10 minutes there. I really need to set aside an afternoon in the summer to do a more extensive survey of the area.

Cedar Waxwing Feast

I watched cedar waxwings quietly blanketing a black tupelo tree and devouring the ripe, blue fruit. 

Leave No Leaf Unturned

Thanks to Chris Rawlings at Invertebrates & More, I have been paying much closer attention to what is on the underside of leaves. (It always seems to come back to the importance of observation.) Here are some opened egg casings on a willow oak leaf. Probably from moth or butterfly larvae.

Green Brains

Green brains.....that is what my children call hedge apples. This time of year it is common in Kentucky to find the osage-orange trees (Maclura pomifera) dropping their hedge apple fruit. The fruit was named hedge apple both because of the large round shape (4"-5" diameter) and the fact that most osage-orange trees can be found along hedge and fence rows, and that is precisely where I stumbled upon this particular example.  

 As I cut open the fruit, it oozed a white sap quite profusely. This liquid dries very quickly into a sticky pitch-like substance which will not wash off with soap and water and would make a very effective water-proofing substance. I had to resort to mineral spirits to clean my knife. In the days of yore, hedge apples would be placed under beds to keep the spiders away. Scientific studies have shown that the sap of the fruit does indeed contain a substance which repels several insect species as effectively as our synthetic DEET insect repellent. However, you won't find me slathering the sap on my skin or clothing!