Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Red-bellied Woodpecker

 photo IMG_0349_zps652ec876.jpg

I had been cutting wood in my back yard and stopped to rest after the gas ran out of the saw. After about 5 minutes the birds starting coming back into the area. I saw Blue Jays, Robins, many House sparrows, a few Blacked Capped Chickadees. Then I noticed this Red-bellied Woodpecker. I trained my camera to the spot and zoomed to 300 mm. This wood pecker was content to stay there for a while and I got many photos. This seems to be the best one.

 photo IMG_0354_zpsfd10777b.jpg

Here the wood pecker has just taken off by jumping off the limb. He has not opened his wings yet.

Canon EOS REBEL T3
F-stop f/5.6
ISO-200
1/1600 sec
280mm

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Lichens

 photo 56572fb1-e4a9-4c24-8f3e-9ef058ff7326_zps5ab9139a.jpg

Here is a shot of lichens growing on a branch.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Firewood 2

 photo IMG_0338_zps33253df6.jpg


I decided to split the wood and move it. But as I got the wedge started into a chunk of wood the wedge just bounced out of the wood after I slammed the sledge down on the wedge.

Splitting was out of the question for now. So plan B is to cut the wood into chunks and roll them up to where I want to stack them. Then in the summer I plan to split what I can.

The problem with splitting wood in the summer is it gets hot.
The heat makes the work that much harder. Be that as it may that is what I will do.

After I moved all I wanted to pick up and roll to the pile. I got my saw and started cutting. What a difference I was making in the environment of sound. Instead of wind and a few birds chirping in the pre-spring afternoon there now was a roar. The bar was cutting through the wood and chips were flying. After a while when I cut a section I would roll it to the stack and go back and cut another one. When the saw ran out of gas I looked at the clock and decided that was enough for the day. I had moved a significant amount of firewood to where I wanted it stacked. Tomorrow will be another day and I will continue my work.


 photo DSC098833_zps66778bd2.jpg

Here is the photo in mid January and the article I wrote then.


Monday, March 10, 2014

Pine Sap

 photo IMG_0304_zps6cb97ec6.jpg

Sap seeping out of recent pruning from pine tree.

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Lightening Shreds Wood Fibers

 photo IMG_0305_zpsf3485092.jpg

Walking in a park I saw a tree scared by lightening. Looking closer I noticed the wood fibers were shreded and seperated down the path of the strike. The tempature of lightening can reach 50,000 degrees F. Yet when you look at the wood, there is no sign of being burned.

 photo IMG_0306_zpsc2ef3403.jpg

Friday, March 07, 2014

Shumard Oak Bud

 photo IMG_0246_zps3a2355a7.jpg

 Shumard oak  tree bud above and the tree below. There is another tree that limbs low like this one I should visit to see if it is the same species.

   photo IMG_0243_zpsa3d4eb36.jpg

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Winter Bud of Eastern Red Bud



 photo 080916b1-ca38-4928-abbd-df5e73b8da76_zpsb2729063.jpg

Small bud on the end of the twig. But there will be beauty in the Spring.

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Sentry Crows

 photo IMG_3076_zps2d6f919e.jpg

 Crows One easy ID of crows and other birds like crows, is a black bird that has wing tips that are seperated.

Monday, March 03, 2014

Hophornbeam Twig and Lenticles


 photo IMG_0099_zps4c25e9b3.jpg

Here is a close up of Hophornbeam twig. The white spots on the twig are lenticles, which are used for the plant to let air to escape from the tree. They are for gas exchange.

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Black Cherry Bark

 photo IMG_0259_zps35a871e3.jpg

 Here is a photo of the bark of a young Black Cherry tree. The horrizonal lines are lenticles. These lenticles continue to show up on the bark of mature Black Cherry trees.

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Crab Apples in February

 photo IMG_0258_zps66ac2252.jpg

Crab Apples still on the tree in February.

Maple Bud

 photo a88ee8ed-9d5e-4d28-9319-43a51e6d74f1_zps3fad367b.jpg