Rain, Rain, Go Away

I've been very remiss about posting the last few weeks while catching up on office work during all this rain. I did get out briefly with my camera last week and got these shots.

Some lovely arrowwood in bloom. This plant is fairly pervasive on Cape Cod.Jack-in-the-Pulpits are not uncommon but they are often overlooked because they are so well hidden beneath the big umbrella like leaves that shade them. They may be mostly gone by now. Unfortunately their big bloom time was during all the rain.
Bullfrogs don's mind a bit of rain. They don't mind a lot of rain either, especially if there are frequent enough breaks for flying insects to be up and around. Bullfrogs aren't picky eaters, though and will eat just about anything that moves if they can fit it into their mouths, even other frogs.The omni present and ivasive multiflora rose has just about finished blooming along all our roadsides.

The blue eyed grass is one of my favorite little plants. It only blooms for a day and is so subtle and sweet.

Let's hope all this soggy weather ends soon! Summer has begun.

Please check my website here for my summer schedule of outdoor art classes and nature tours for families.

A Walk Along the Dunes

at Sandy Neck on the West Barnstable side...

is a beautiful way to spend a late spring afternoon. 

The bayberries are just starting to form....

The black cherries are in bloom everywhere....

The dunes themselves seem to shimmer......

Signs of deer passing through are everywhere......

And the hudonia or poverty grass is in bloom....

Who could ask for anything more?

Cape Cod Beaches

are especially wonderful on sunny spring afternoons. These shots are from Long Beach in Centerville.

Piping plovers are on their nests and watching warily as people pass by. Horseshoe crabs are beginning to lay their eggs. Beach plum is nearing the end of its bloom while rosa rugosa is just beginning hers. Willets are nesting in area salt marshes and feeding along the edge....

Every beach is busy now with birds and other animals either nesting or preparing to nest. It's a great time of year to go exploring before the summer crowds set in.

More Signs of Spring

Canada Mayflower, also known as false lily of the valley, is just about to come into bloom.

In the ponds, signs of the first water lilies and their blooms are just appearing.
Sun streaming through still mostly leafless trees give light to the early bloomers on the forest floor. I love the soft green "mist" that seems to be everywhere as the tiny leaves that will become the cool shade of summer burst forth.
Each tiny leaf reaches to the sky, following the light and warmth of the sun.
Spring on Cape Cod takes its sweet time getting here but when it arrives it is sweet indeed!

Spring Finally Arrives on Cape Cod!

It was a beautiful morning for walking and I took a quick walk over at the Skunknet Conservation area between errands and got to try out my new camera! Ovenbirds were calling like crazy and I got this dark picture of one singing above by zooming way in and hoping for the best. I am really just trying to figure this new camera out but am very excited about the possibilities it seems to have for photographing all sorts of things on my nature walks.

I found my first lady slippers in bloom.

 Also, sarsparilla is coming up all over. It looks very much like poison ivy at this stage but note the bracket of 3 branches. It also has a little flower ball coming up just underneath it in many cases.Starflowers are among my favorite spring flowers and they are just starting to bloom almost everywhere there's a sunny woodland floor.

This big old white pine seems to be standing guard over this huge area of Canada mayflower and starflowers. In another few days they should all be in bloom. Once the leaves all fill out overhead the spring flowers of the sun dappled forest floor will fade away until it is time once again to announce that spring has arrived at last.

Snake in the Grass

Some days you can look for a snake all day and not see one and others you can be thinking of anything but a snake and it will appear right in front of you like this one.

Garter snakes are very common snakes on most of Cape Cod but especially in the Upper Cape and Mid Cape areas. Many people refer to garter snakes as garden snakes or even gardener snakes. They may be found in your garden but they love to live near water where they can prey on small frogs and fish. 

Garter snakes give birth to live young. We had several new born garter snakes at a nature center I worked for several years ago and we fed them earthworms at first. They may have been tiny snakes but there was nothing tiny about the way they hunted and attacked those worms. They were efficient and effective predators even then.

This garter snake was taking in the sun and watching the water's edge while I was photographing the baby swans.

There are no poisonous snakes on Cape Cod although some might give you a good bite if you grab them the wrong way.

Babies!

Look who had their babies this week! Baby ducks are called ducklings and baby geese are goslings. Do you know what baby swans are called?

This lovely family is at the Smiling Pool at the Thornton Burgess Society in East Sandwich. Both the male and female swan look after the little ones. There are many predators in and around the pond that would love to eat a little swan for dinner so the parents are very protective. If a swan hisses or swims toward you, back away! A swan can break a man's arm if it is angry and close enough. These babies are so little that the parents are bringing them very close to shore to feed. Sometimes you'll see the parents pulling up greenery from the bottom so the little ones can feed on the surface. In another few weeks the little ones will be able to poke their heads and necks around under the water just like their parents but for now they need a little help.

The family is ready to move on now.