Magical Mayapples

The Mayapples at Ashland are blooming! This is very exciting because the flowers that bloom on these "umbrella plants" actually bloom underneath the umbrella, making them hard to see.

See how well they hide? And they are so pretty!

When I was little I used to look into the Mayapple stands and wish I were a little mouse. Then I could run around in a cozy Mayapple forest!

Mayapples are an important part of a Eastern Box Turtle's diet. In fact, the Box Turtle plays a huge role in spreading Mayapples. It eats the fruits (or 'apples') and poops out the seeds. Other animals consume the seeds, or avoid the plant altogether because of its toxins.

And here are a few more pictures from last week's White Clay Creek State Park excursion. Enjoy!

Snakey!

April caught this cute little Garter Snake in White Clay Creek State Park today. It was very fast and hard to catch! April had to wash up in the Creek after the snake left foul-smelling musk all over her hands. :P

Check Out these Herps!

On the mission to photograph all the beautiful wildflowers at Ashland, April and Arthur found some more lively specimens to take note of.

This Red-Spotted Newt was caught bare-handed by April in the Ashland marsh. Isn't he cute?

This beautifully colored Eastern Box Turtle was just crossing the path when we came by. The red eyes indicate it's a male turtle. This guy is fully grown, but we're not sure how old he is. He was missing the toes on his right hind foot, but he seemed to make full use of his stump (see last photo)!

April Flowers at Ashland

April and Arthur went out "wildflowering" at Ashland Nature Center this morning. Here 's a gallery of what we found!

This is a Lesser Celendine, an "alien" flower from the Eastern world.
A beautiful Wood Violet blossom...

These are Virginia Bluebells...

They come in pink, too!

This, if we're not mistaken, is a Wood Poppy.

This is a type of Henbit.

Here's some Wild Mustard...

This is a pretty little Spring Beauty.

And a Jack-in-the-Pulpit!

Carolina Elfins

These cute little Elfins were found flitting about the woods near the top of Occoneechee Mountain in Durham, North Carolina on April 3rd. We figured we must have been the only visitors who knew what the "Brown Elfin Trail" really meant. Elfins are tough to photograph, but Arthur got some great high-resolution shots of the little guys.

Click the pics to enjoy - you can even see the wing scales!

The common Brown Elfin:
The not-so-common Pine Elfin:

















To learn more about the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, click here.

Brandy-Butters!

The following beauties were photographed at Brandywine Creek State Park in New Castle County, Delaware, in July 2009. You can click the pictures to get a nice HD view. Enjoy!

American Copper:

Gray Hairstreak:

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