Buttercups are familiar to most people with their distinctive shiny five petals. That flashy luster helps reflect sunlight to warm up the reproductive parts of the flower which are held above the yellow petals.
Episode 179: Buttercups
Episode 178: Alder Leaf Beetles
The alder leaf beetle can be found on alder shrubs now, though it is a surprise to me that no one calls this a “sapphire alder beetle” given their flashy color.
Episode 177: Cherry Blossoms
Now is the time to sniff out your local wild cherry thicket so you know where to return once the fruits are ready this summer. Look for the long clusters of cherry flowers, a harbinger of a good jelly-making season to come.
Episode 176: Goldthread Blooming
Goldthread is a diminutive member of the buttercup family that is primarily at home in moist, mossy woodlands. The star-shaped flowers of goldthread emerge from a single stem held slightly above the leaves. Each flower displays five to seven pure white petals encircling a clump of yellow stamens.
Episode 175: Moss
Even now as deciduous leaves are developing by the day, beginning as a pale spring green, I still find myself drawn to the deep greens that so many mosses provide. To understand mosses, it is important to understand the difference between vascular and non-vascular plants.
Episode 174: Wild Strawberry Flowers
There is one overlooked flower that announces the estimated arrival date of the first rubies of summer: the wild strawberry.
Episode 173: Beltane
May 1st marks the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice on a day known to many as Beltane.
Episode 172: Violets
Violets are beginning to bloom now. These delightful wild edibles trick ants into doing their bidding.
Episode 171: Dandelion Greens
Dandelions, those yellow-flowered asters of lawn, field, and garden that turn into irresistible round seedheads aching to be blown into the wind, offer us some of the first nutritious spring greens. But to find them, you have to get moving outdoors and tuned into the seasonal signs that tell you when and where to find them.
Episode 170: Kingfishers
Eagles and ospreys seem equally at home hunting in both salt and freshwater, but there is also one bird, notably smaller though on par with those notorious piscivores in their fish-catching ability, that is now returning to the area after a winter farther south: the belted kingfisher.
