Before the Big January Snow

Local closed up church

I believe this is a Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) sitting in holly (Ilex sp?)

Dried hydrangea stalks (Hydrangea sp?)

Grass stalk (sp?)

Dried stalks

Branch close-up

Trees and sky

Sweet gum tree seed pods (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Looking up

Unknown blue drupes

The meteorologists were all predicting snow for the next day (January 21, 2014) here in Pennsylvania, so I wanted to get out and take some ‘before’ pictures.

A number of plants still look pretty striking if stark during the fall and winter seasons. However, it is also more difficult to identify them without their flowers, leaves, or fruits. Nearby, there is a very nice looking church built in 1923 that apparently has been sold, but hopefully will not be torn down. There are some holly bushes/trees around the church and I caught a gray bird which I believe is a Northern mockingbird flitting about the branches. Further down the road there is the South Ardmore Park which has more in the way of playing fields than wildlife, however there are some nice trees and it’s more open than elsewhere about town. A line of sweet gum trees have left behind a brown carpet of their seed pods on the parking lot.

Check back for the ‘after’ pictures of the snow!

New Year, New Pictures

Tiny spider on sculpture

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) berries with blurred dog

Sun behind what I think was the silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

Evergreen and winter sky

Droplets hanging from Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)

Dried up hydrangea blooms (Hydrangea sp?)

Japanese maple seed hanging on (Acer palmatum)

Well after a bit of a break due to holidays and inclement weather, happy 2014! I took a trip down home to Delaware for the weekend and snapped some shots around the house. I also took a trip to the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge for which I’ll do a separate post.

Here’s to an exciting new year of nature photos!

Year in Nature Photography – Day 193

More from the backyard, apparently wordpress has updated and provided new gallery settings. I rather like this circle format.

Year in Nature Photography – Day 184

Bad shot of a groundhog (Marmota monax)

Citrona™ orange wallflower (Erysimum x allionii ‘citrona orange’)

Hydrangea ‘pee gee’ (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’)

Lawn ornament and possibly shining clubmoss (Lycopodium lucidulum)

Caught a really bad picture of a groundhog. Also what might be shining clubmoss growing around a lawn globe. Took a picture of a hybrid cultivar call Citrona™ orange wallflower and a ‘Pee gee’ hydrangea blossom. I should note that the scientific name for the hydrangea may be off due to nurseries using ‘pee gee’ for other varieties besides ‘grandiflora’

Year in Nature Photography – Day 92

A couple of shots of two of my Grandmother’s Hydrangea bushes.

Pink Hydrangea (Hydrangea sp?)

Blue Hydrangea (Hydrangea sp?)