We were treated to a serenade from our state bird, the mockingbird (Mimus polygottos). This one sure lived up to its Latin name meaning "mimicking many tongues." She sang non-stop for 30 minutes and I did not hear the same sound twice. There is a couple that make a nest in this tree every spring.
Can you guess what this is? 
Here is another clue.
If you guessed a lunar moth, you were right. I found this visitor today stuck to the side of the dumpster at our local dump site. Isn't she a neat looking bug. I just had to bring her home and get a few pics before letting her loose.
Tabitha's tulips are up. Unfortunately, they are in beds full of weeds and leaves. I just did not have the desire to get with the gardening scene today. Gary and I worked yesterday replanting two rows of potatoes and this morning greasing and changing oil on all the tractors after a trip to the dump first thing this morning.
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) shown above and below made his appearance with the grackles this morning as predicted. This is another particularly nasty bird that happens to be the only "brood parasite" in North America. The female does not make a nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nest of other birds, which end up raising the cowbird chicks along with their own chicks. So the cowbirds do not invest any time or energy raising their own young. What a "mean" or . . . "smart" bird! Let me think about that . . . someone else pays to raise your kids. . . umm.
The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a pretty bird with an annoying call. I can remember seeing a lot more of them growing up than I do now; but then again, I spent a lot more time where these birds hung out such as in my dad's apple trees, pear trees, cherry trees, fig trees, and mulberry trees. I would climb up in these trees and eat whatever was ripe at the time and so would these blue jays. Speaking of blue jays, did your mother ever use the expression, "naked as a jay bird"; mine sure did. Where did that saying come from? It is certainly an American expression and there are several ideas on the matter. For example, a "jay" was a term used to describe a country bumpkin that was visiting the big city; this rube didn't know where or even that there was a proper place to cross the city streets, so being from the country these jays just crossed where ever and whenever they wanted to get to the other side. . . hence they were guilty of "jay walking." It could be that these country bumpkins were so poorly dressed compared to the city folks that the expression, "naked as a jay bird" was born. I have my own theory. There are some birds that are called precocial, meaning they hatch out of the egg with their eyes wide open and covered in at least a full set of down feathers. Everyone has seen baby chickens and ducks covered in yellow down and running all over the place as soon as they break out of the eggshell. Turkey, quail, grouse, and many other birds are precocial. However, Blue jays are what we call altricial birds, which means their young are born blind and without feathers. They look like little plucked chickens. I can remember looking at these blue jay chicks in their nest many of times and they were "naked as a jay bird."
The pictures above are from one of our nature walks. The top picture is of bracket fungi and the second picture is what is commonly called "reindeer moss" (Cladonia sp.) although it is not a moss at all. It got its name from the fact that way up north reindeer and caribou will dig down in the snow to find this fungus (really a lichen which is a fungi and an algae) and eat it to survive. The bottom two pictures were taken last Sunday as Adam and I were headed to the driving range at the DeGray Golf course. As they are doing everywhere else, these Canadian geese (Branta canadensis) are slowly, but surely taking over the golf course. 
Salamander eggs.
A skipper.
Above are pictures from our lawn. The tiny pink-striped Spring beauties and even smaller, white and blue Bluets are always the first flowers to bloom in the Spring. I can remember as a kid laying out on the ground the first warm day of spring and enjoying these tiny plants. Yes, I know it is weird, but I have always been like that about the natural world. Everything was interesting to me and still is!
Although I had to originally plant these hyacinths, they still comeback every year for us to enjoy. I like the blue ones the best.
Bradford Pear Tree in full blossom.
Tulip tree buds now open.
