המועדפים של cobrien207

Both subsp. americanus (native to North America) and subsp. australis (introduced to North America) are found at this site, sometimes growing intermixed. In the photos the former is indicated with an “N” and the latter with an “I”. On the date I visited this site, 16 September 2019, these are the differences I observed with living stems between the two subspecies:

•Relative stem height: subsp. americanus usually shorter, subsp. australis usually taller.
•Relative stem spacing: subsp. americanus usually more dispersed, subsp. australis usually denser (rarely solitary).
•Stem breaking: subsp. americanus fibrous and hard to break off, subsp. australis often breaks off easily.
•Stem color (lower/older internodes): subsp. americanus red and often shiny, subsp. australis yellow-green and not shiny.
•Stem texture (lower/older internodes): subsp. americanus smooth, subsp. australis minutely ridged.
•Stem & leaf sheath dots: subsp. americanus often present, subsp. australis absent.
•Leaf condition: subsp. americanus has lots of senescence, subsp. australis generally are healthy.
•Margins of upper leaves near panicle: subsp. americanus finely serrated, subsp. australis coarsely serrated.
•Sterile stems more abundant than fertile: subsp. americanus yes, subsp. australis no.
•Panicle branches for panicles of similar length: subsp. americanus fewer, subsp. australis more.
•Panicle branch spacing: subsp. americanus farther, subsp. australis closer.
•Flowering status: subsp. americanus finished flowering, subsp. australis flowering.

There probably are other characteristics I overlooked that distinguish these two subspecies from each other. Perhaps these characteristics listed above hold up at other sites in North America. I don’t use leaf color to tell them apart because although some clones of subsp. australis are strongly blue-green, some clones of that subspecies are more green or yellow-green. See this observation for an illustration: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/30610594

Observation of P. australis subsp. americanus from this location: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32878566

Observation of P. australis subsp. australis from this location: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32888630

Many "horns" visible in third shot and others. Seeds about 1.1mm diameter. I could only find one size and color of seeds. This genus is tricky as herbarium specimens don't look the same. The key features dry up and become fragile and fall off. This appears to be the second INat observation in Massachusetts though I'm expecting a couple more to come in from the Vineyard. The basal protrusions on the pericarp is not clearly (if ever) pointed out in the keys but was taught to me by Canadian botanist David Mazerolle. Currently status is Special Concern in the state, but @karro_frost and I have been searching for this frequently but not finding it. I've only seen plants shown to me on the Vineyard by @gpalermo and @margaretcurtin. We don't have many recent records in our database either. It should move to T or even E status. Will never be globally rare as this species is common in western US salt flats.

Mrs. Dee lost her mate, Mr. Dee earlier in the year, but with help, all seven dispersed, amply grown. She soon started a rare second brood with her new mate, Wally, but he was gone before hatching, so only this one fledged.

Hole size was able to keep the non-native invasive house sparrows from entering the nest box, but depth was inadequate to keep out his head and prevent injury to mother and chick.

This was the second year in a row that she was attacked. The previous year in spring, nest location unknown, she arrived one day with a bare spot in the middle of her head, a busted toe(her right middle, seen here raised, not gripping) and Mr. Dee, her mate and my profile pic, also had an injured toe. I believe he may have saved her life from an aggressive house sparrow.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68456803

Many people in my neighborhood feed birds indiscriminately, giving rise to a huge population of house sparrows competing for insects during breeding season, stealing newly excavated nest cavities, and even food out of the mouths of native birds. Sometimes they feathers too or instead, frequently giving local chickadees black dimples:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68457469

Please refrain from subsidizing invasive animals!

This shrub reminded me of Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, but it seemed not quite the same. I realized that the flower clusters had lost their petals, and I was looking at sepals--duh! Poking around references and images on iNaturalist, it looks to be:
Chokecherry - Prunus virginiana
Important characters

• twigs glabrous (both virginiana and serotina)
• flowers in elongated clusters of 20+ (both virginiana and serotina)
• sepals blunt (acute in serotina), obvious in detail image of flowers here
• leaves deciduous, widest above middle (egg-shaped), about 2X as wide as long (more than 2X in serotina, widest at middle)
• sharp teeth point out toward leave tip (incurved, more blunt teeth in serotina)
• petioles usually with two glands near blade (visible on one leaf here, indicated in one image; (both virginiana and serotina)
• petioles reddish (both virginiana and serotina)
• midrib bare underneath (often hairy in serotina; not photographed here and not noted by me at the time)

References

• Duncan and Duncan, Trees of the Southeastern United States (Univ. Georgia Press, 1988), p. 191 (fig. 261), p. 295 (key), 297 (text)
• Newcomb and Morrison, Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Little, Brown; 1977), pp. 314-15
• Petrides, Field Guide to Eastern Trees (Houghton Mifflin, 1988), plate 36, p. 170
• Swanson, Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Southern Appalachians (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1994), p. 229, fig. 83

Poor little guy was in the middle of a busy intersection, and cars were just speeding on by him. I got out of my car and carefully shooed him into a corner off the road, but something was clearly wrong as he was trying to fly away, but couldn’t. Another kind driver pulled over and grabbed a big box from a local restaurant and we put a blanket over the bird and put them in the box and brought him to the Schuylkill Center’s wildlife clinic, where he is now. They said he has a severe parasitic infestation and is emaciated. Hope he’ll make it!

I was walking and saw the fox in the field. I kept my distance (camera looks closer than I was) and observed. Fur missing from tail and some patches of thinned fur on back/neck and possibly on hind legs. Eyes remained squinted. The fox appeared to be hunting and may have caught something as some of my other unshared pictures show it chewing/licking something but I can't confirm what it was, if anything. After a few minutes of observing, the fox began running toward me and I stayed still believing maybe it was a bluff charge. The fox did not stop running toward me so I began walking backwards quickly down the road and yelled loudly to stay away. The fox ran into the woods but continued following me closely, parallel to the road. Eventually I got back home and I think the fox might have stopped pursuing once it hit the edge of the field. I thought I kept an appropriate distance but clearly the fox did not appreciate my presence and might already have been behaving abnormally from illness.