Today, my wife Becky and I paid a short visit to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Visitors to Myrtle Beach can't help but notice the Palmettos planted around the city and other cities in the area.…
[caption id="attachment_5088" align="alignright" width="300"] Rangers Matt Grey and Chris Winton[/caption] Had an awesome time with Rangers Matt Grey and Chris Winton of Anne Arundel County Park and Recreation this afternoon scouting out the cactus at…
This is a working draft list of locations where cactus has been found in Maryland, excluding the Eastern Shore. (Eastern Shore sites may be added later.) If you know of a location not listed here,…
Despite some rain, heavy at times, had a awesome time today meeting up with Joe Metzger and Karyn Molines to foray the Parris Glendening Nature Preserve, Jug Bay. We hiked about one mile to an…
Last time we attempted to identify a Forget-Me-Not that was found growing in Oldtown Elkridge. (Click here to see the first part of the story.) After looking at the key, we narrowed the possibilities down…
[caption id="attachment_4821" align="alignleft" width="360"] Old Erie Canal (Clinton's Ditch) on left and the "New" Erie Canal on the right[/caption] This time we diverge from looking at plants. On our hike on the Butterfly Trail at…
Let's have some fun here. This time, we will focus on the difficulty in identifying the species of plants. I found a large patch of plants next to a parking area in "Oldtown" Elkridge. It was…
On the way home from work today, I took a bunch of pictures of two established colonies of Aesculus parviflora (Bottlebrush Buckeye) near our home. One of them was in the middle of someone's lawn and…
About 15 years ago, I spotted two colonies of white roses across the street from our house. They were not the Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) which had already mostly finished because blooming, and this rose…
This afternoon, I took a quick jaunt out to Lake Allen to take some pictures of the Eastern Prickly Pear, a type of cactus that is found on the Refuge. Its scientific name is Opuntia…
This morning a common snapping turtle was trying to cross the road in front of our house. I believe this was a female in search of a nesting site, and could be the same one…
Swamp doghobble (Eubotrys racemosa (L.) Nutt.) is a member of the Ericaceae (Heath Family) and is native in the USA along the Coastal Plain from Massachusetts to Florida to Texas. It lives in various habitats…
[caption id="attachment_2551" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dried flowers and fruit[/caption] Today while driving out of town (Spokane) I spotted something that looked out of place off to the left. It was several clumps of orangish colored vegetation…
While weeding our garden, my wife Becky spotted a welcome friend, an Eastern American Toad (Bufo americanus americanus). Eastern American Toads are frequently found around human habitations throughout the eastern part of North America. They…
I drove out to Lake Allen to see what was going on and noticed a large bird flying over the water looking for something. It had its legs and talons extended. Upon closer examination, it…
The Giant White Wakerobin (Trillium albidum J.D. Freeman) is member of the Melanthiaceae (Bunchflower Family) that is endemic to a limited area of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. It is found in mixed wood and…
One of the most fascinating things about the Bellevue Botanical Garden were the Licorice Ferns (Polypodium glycyrrhiza D.C. Eaton) growing on trees. It seems to prefer the Bigleaf Maple, like the ones I took pictures…
The Trillium-leaved Woodsorrel (Oxalis trilliifolia Hook.) is one of three endemic woodsorrels found in the Pacific Northwest. It naturally occurs west of the Cascade Crest in Washington, Oregon, and California. There are a few outlying…
I have not seen a chain gutter downspout before. I thought this one at the Tateuchi Viewing Pavilion in the Bellevue Botanical Garden was cool-looking. A couple of the pictures turned out okay, but the…