All of the sudden we’re seeing more sunny days but it’s still cold enough to keep the snow from melting very fast. The word is we’re going to see warmer days next week. A few days above freezing will get the sap flowing in these maples.
In spite of the snow the poplar sunburst lichens (Xanthoria hasseana) are looking good. This one has grown quite a bit since the last time I visited it and is now about an inch in diameter. The round fruiting cups, called apothecia, are where this lichen’s spores are produced. This lichen never seems to be affected by the weather.
These photos are of the same lichen but the photo on the left was taken when it was moist from rain and snow and the photo on the right was taken after it had dried out. This is a good example of why serious lichen hunters look for them after it rains. The color change due to weather conditions can be dramatic.
I thought this white shield lichen was very beautiful, but is it really white or has it changed color because it has dried out? That is the dilemma facing people who enjoy finding lichens. The only example of a white shield lichen I can find is called pleated white lichen (Diploicia canescens), which can be white, bluish white, or grayish white. I don’t know whether or not the one in the photo is that lichen.
Jelly fungi also go through drastic changes due to weather conditions. On the left side of the photo are black jelly fungi (Exidia glandulosa) when very dry and on the right side are the same fungi after a good rain. The difference is pretty amazing. When dry they look like black crust fungi and when wet like small black pillows. I find them mostly on alder bark.
The berries on this smooth carrion flower (Smilax herbacea) vine haven’t been touched by either bird or animal. This plant gets its common name from the way the flowers smell like decaying meat but even so, it is said that song and game birds, along with raccoons and black bears, eat the berries. Native Americans and early colonists ate the roots, spring shoots and berries-all said to be odorless- but after smelling its flowers I think I’d have a hard time eating any part of this plant.
I drove by a spot that had several crab apple trees planted in a row and each tree was full of cedar waxwings. This soft, not quite sharp photo was the best I could do out of the window. I thought I probably didn’t have much time and sure enough, just after I came to a stop and took a couple of quick shots they all flew off.
The cedar waxwings reminded me of last year when I visited this waterfall and inadvertently got between a cedar waxwing and the silky dogwood berries he wanted. He kept flying directly at my face, pulling up at only the last minute. Some readers suggested that he might have gotten drunk on the fermented berries. There is a lot more ice built up on the rocks at the base of the fall now than there was then!
This is a tire print from a large front end loader that was used to move snow. I liked the tread pattern.
The buds of the horse chestnut are some that can fool you into thinking that they’re swelling from sap flow, but they stay this way all winter. This tree lives in a local park so I don’t know its name but it has beautiful pink flowers each June.
Across from the horse chestnut is a native yellow, or tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). This photo shows what is left of the seed head once most of the seeds have fallen.
Finding sawdust (bill dust?) like this on the snow can only mean one thing-a woodpecker was here.
This hole is small and round rather than large and rectangular, and the sawdust on the snow is made up of fine particles rather than large, torn shreds, so I know this wasn’t a pileated woodpecker. One of the smaller ones made this hole and even excavated a chamber that leads down into the heart of this dead tree. Woodpeckers mate from March through May, so this might be an important bit of wood work.
This milk white, toothed polypore (Irpex lacteus) looked fresh in spite of the snow and below zero temperatures. According to Mushroom Expert.com this is a resupinate mushroom. Resupinate means upside down, but in the case of mushrooms, according to The Journal of Wild Mushrooming, it means it is a “fertile surface with its back attached to or intergrown with the substrate.” In other words it looks like a crust fungus with teeth.
This is a closer view of the teeth on the milk white, toothed polypore. I think they were frozen solid. The Irpex part of the scientific name means “a large rake with iron teeth” and lacteus means “milky.”
Commonly we stride through the out-of-doors too swiftly to see more than the most obvious and prominent things. For observing nature, the best pace is a snail’s pace. ~Edward Way Teale
Thanks for stopping in.
Your white shield lichen is Physcia caesia! Those round blue mounds of soredia are distinctive.
Thanks for that Megan. I had quite a time with that one.
I’ve never seen a sunburst lichen, but it’s aptly named, and it must also be a comfort during your New England winter. The toothed polypore reminds me of bats hanging from the roof of a cave.
Thank you. Yes, lichens always add a welcome bit of color to an otherwise black and white world in the winter. Poplar sunburst lichens are one of the most colorful. That’s one way to remember what a toothed polypore looks like!
The cedar waxwings next to the glistening crab apples are beautiful.
Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.
What amazing photographs. I love your lichens. Especially the sunburst one. I’ve never seen anything like it. Wonderful.
Thank you. That poplar sunburst lichen grows on tree bark and is one of my favorites.
Cedar Waxwings are my favorite! We used to have a huge holly tree loaded with berries. The waxwings would flock to it and become quite drunk and comical.
I think they must eat just about any type of berry. I wish we’d see more Baltimore orioles, another fruit eater. They used to be everywhere when I was a kid.
I thought the picture of the cedar waxwings was great. We have had these birds show up a couple of times and I have been planting everything I can think of other than a cherry tree to get them to hang around more. The carrion flower berries I thought at first were black chokeberries. The name alone would be enough to put me off.
The cedar waxwings seemed to be enjoying those crab apples!
The carrion flower is a vine so it’s hard to confuse it with anything else but you’re right-the berries do resemble those from a few other plants.
I’m glad you’re getting some sunny days there. If lichen look better in the wet ours should be in tip top condition right now 🙂
That’s true, your lichens should look great, but it wouldn’t hurt them to dry out for a bit.
Nice collection of photos. Great to see the cedar waxwings. I used to get them in my apple tree about this time of year but we have been so infested with squirrels they eat all the apples so no cedar waxwings. 😦
Thank you. I noticed that the crab apples that the cedar waxwings were eating were quite small-smaller than mine by half. Nobody seems very interested in the larger ones.
Fantastic picture of an inch wide lichen. You should be like the archaeologists and put a ruler in all your close ups so we can get a view of the scale. (Don’t do it, it would spoil the pictures!)
Thank you. An inch is actually fairly big for a lot of the lichens that appear here. I’ve thought about using a ruler but I ended up at the same conclusion.
Greetings! Your posts are wonderful. I can hear the scrunch underfoot and feel the bite in the air – transported for some wonderful moments to your stomping grounds in NH. I walked a coffee farm here in Oahu and forward a picture of life from the Sandwich Islands….
And a closer look-
Thank you. It sounds like you’ve been here before. The scrunchy snow and bite in the air have been constants this winter.
I don’t think you can add photos to the comment section. At least, I can’t see them. You can always email them though, by clicking on the “contact me” tab.
Your cedar waxwing photograph is lovely and has an oriental feel about it despite the northern subject! We cut down another ash tree from the border to give us more light and I was examining all the lovely lichen on the branches and thinking you’d have a field day identifying them. I just appreciated their colours and form.
Thank you. I can see what you mean about the cedar waxwing shot. I hadn’t noticed it before.
I’d love to see the lichens on your trees, but I’m not sure if I could identify them. I’ve noticed that the lichens in the U.K. are very different than what we have here and I’d guess that yours are probably the same.
I’m putting lichens on my list for scrutinizing when weather allows. Great blog! Always enjoy!
Thanks! Lichens are an endless source of fascination for me, especially in winter when they’re more easily seen.
I also liked the comparison photos, that really helps. It was also nice to the waxwings, I haven’t seen any here this winter, must be too cold for them here.
I hope that the big storm didn’t bury you, it missed us for the most part. The forecast is for a burst of spring, then back to the deep freeze for the end of February/first of March.
If I remember correctly, male woodpeckers start working on a nesting cavity first to try to lure a female, then she takes over to finish the work he started. It’s that time of year, now if the weather would only cooperate.
Thanks Jerry. I don’t know the habits of waxwings but I went back at about the same time of day the next day and didn’t see a single one. Since there were still plenty of crab apples I thought it was odd.
We got another foot of snow, which means I’ll be shoveling the roof again today for the third time this winter.
I didn’t know that about woodpeckers-interesting. They sure have been busy this winter. I’ve never heard them pecking so much.
I enjoyed the lichen pics!
Thanks! That poplar sunburst lichen is one of my favorites.
I really like the posting today. The blue sky provides a kind of cheeriness that is so often lacking in winter shots, which tend be be gray and gloomy. Your shot of the cedar waxwings is awesome–it looks like a painting. They are such striking birds. Your show your artistic side in your image of the tire treads–the shot has a really cool graphic feel to it.
Thanks Mike. I agree, blue skies do help us get through the winter gloom. They’ve been rare this winter, but we seem to be seeing a few more each week now.
I like the sleekness of cedar waxwings. I was surprised to see so many of them in those trees! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many at once.
I was also surprprised to see that tire tread looking so untouched. Usually they get run over by a hundred others, but since it was a survivor I thought it deserved to have its picture taken.
All i could think of throughout this post was the Robert Frost poem we all memorized…”whose woods these are I think I know, his house is in the village though…”
beautiful poem and so apt for this post. I absolutely LOVED walking snowy nature trails in the sparkling sunshine and hearing the faint (and sometimes not so faint!) sounds of thaw! Spectacular isn’t it?
great post! i particularly love the small woodpecker hole you found.
Thanks! Yes, it is spectacular out there, especially on sunny days. The woodpeckers have been busy this winter!
Great post. I really like the comparison photos, what a difference some rain can make. I also really like the tire print in the snow, wonderful abstract.
Thanks Laura. It really is amazing how a little rain can change some things. That’s what can make identifying them so difficult. That tire print really cuaght my eye.
Especially liked the bird picture and the woodpecker hole.
Thank you. It seems like woodpeckers have been especially busy this winter. I hear them all the time.
I do so enjoy reading your blog. I couldn’t believe that the sunburst lichen was only an inch across.
Thank you Susan. Yes, those lichens are quite small but they are visibly growing. Most lichens grow so slowly that it’s hard to tell!