White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) in our yard.
Detailed information from Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Sunday, February 07, 2016
Smoky Sky
Our neighbor was burning off some of his land, filling the afternoon sky with heavy smoke.
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Thursday, February 04, 2016
Ozark Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis)
Last week Jo, Rusty and I made our annual trek down the creek to where Ozark Witch Hazel grows.
The text below originally appeared in a post published on January 24, 2008.
The more common species of witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) grows throughout eastern North America. It blooms in the late fall. Hamamelis vernalis is native to the Ozarks region. It blooms during the late winter and continues until early spring and is usually found in gravel or rocky stream beds or at the base of rocky slopes along streams. The flowers tend to be more reddish and have a spicy aroma.
Witch-hazel has many traditional uses. It was the wood of choice for "dowsing" -- finding underground water (or sometimes other valuable objects) using a Y-shaped branch. Extracts from the leaves, twigs, and bark were used to reduce inflammation, stop bleeding, and check secretions of the mucous membranes. Astringent skin care products made from American witch-hazel are still available from Dickinson's.
Although I will probably never be at the right place at the right time, I'd really like to witness witch-hazel seed dispersal. Over the next year after blooming, two shiny black seeds develop in a woody capsule. The capsules mature at about the time the following year's flowers open. Then, the capsules split so explosively that they eject the seeds up to twenty-five feet away from the mother plant.
The more common species of witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) grows throughout eastern North America. It blooms in the late fall. Hamamelis vernalis is native to the Ozarks region. It blooms during the late winter and continues until early spring and is usually found in gravel or rocky stream beds or at the base of rocky slopes along streams. The flowers tend to be more reddish and have a spicy aroma.
Witch-hazel has many traditional uses. It was the wood of choice for "dowsing" -- finding underground water (or sometimes other valuable objects) using a Y-shaped branch. Extracts from the leaves, twigs, and bark were used to reduce inflammation, stop bleeding, and check secretions of the mucous membranes. Astringent skin care products made from American witch-hazel are still available from Dickinson's.
Although I will probably never be at the right place at the right time, I'd really like to witness witch-hazel seed dispersal. Over the next year after blooming, two shiny black seeds develop in a woody capsule. The capsules mature at about the time the following year's flowers open. Then, the capsules split so explosively that they eject the seeds up to twenty-five feet away from the mother plant.
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Wednesday, February 03, 2016
A Different View
The view from our neighbors house. Our road as it heads on up toward the main county
road. Neighbor's house is on top of hill. His view of the surrounding countryside is
much better than ours. Still, when the weather is nasty and the wind is blowing,
I'm glad we're sheltered down in a hollow.
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