Common Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis

Common Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis

 

Hiding in the autumn leaves

 

Halloween is the celebration of all things spooky. And, for many folks snakes are included among their lists of spooky creatures. (In fact, the fear of snakes,

Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta

Painted Turtle

Chrysemys picta

Moseying towards the driveway

Sometimes nature's critters will be waiting right outside your backdoor, like this painted turtle. One morning when I got up early to photograph birds and flowers, I found this little guy moseying towards the driveway. He was very patient with me and didn't run away as I moved him

Tribute to Thoreau

Tribute to Thoreau

 

Since discovering and devouring Henry David Thoreau's magnum opus, Walden or Life in the Woods has been formative in how I view and try to understand my natural surroundings. As I ramble across the acres of Paradise, through fields, woods, and wetlands I try to keep Thoreau's perspective close to heart. To see the world with all the wonder he saw it with. Thoreau never travelled extensively or to exotic lands. Instead, he spent two years in the backyard of his hometown admiring all the beauty and phenomena of local nature. He knew that the "universe is wider than our views of it." Especially the universe found right in the backyard. This is what this photographic census is attempting to achieve; to prove that on a small parcel of land, beauty and wonder can be found if we just truly open our eyes and look beyond and deep within the routine, familiar backyard.

Acres of Paradise

Beyond & deep within routine

Black Raspberry, Rubus occidentalis

Black Raspberry

Rubus occidentalis

 

Summer hasn't truly begun for me until I can taste the sweet, tart fruit of the black raspberry plant. And, after a well earn day of working in the summer sun there is no more tranquil way to unwind than to go foraging. In my part of the Catskills, this tasty fruit begins to appear in early July and continues to fruit to the end of the month.

The black raspberry is related to the more famous red raspberry and blackberry but its unique taste has earned it its own right. The fruit tends to be smaller, seedier, and tarter than the other two species. But where I wander they are bountiful and make up the backbone of my foraged fruits. And, like all (non-poisonous) berries, they are good for one's health.

When foraging for this berry it's best to wear long sleeves and long plants because one will have to dive into masses of thorny, sticker branches to get the finest fruits. But all that hard work and those bleeding scratches pay off for that one delicious little berry! Take note, if one waits too long, the birds will greedily snatch up the fruit leaving none behind. And finally, remember, black bears also like berries!

Fellow naturalist, Dave Spier, has more information on and appreciation for the black raspberries here.

The darker, the tastier

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_occidentalis

http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-Raspberries-and-Blackberries-Apart