המועדפים של stockslager

This young red mulberry shoot was along a wooded portion of the Kreissl Trail at the Morning View Heritage Area. This species is uncommon around here. The invasive white mulberry is the one I typically see.

Both our local mulberries have distinctive young leaves with a variety of lobed shapes. Red mulberry leaves are generally larger than white mulberry leaves. They have a fuzzy surface, so feel rougher and are less glossy than white mulberry leaves, and they have much longer, attenuate lobe-tips than white mulberry leaves do.

I saw the smallest bit of motion in my peripheral vision before this moth landed on the new growth of barberry - nearly perfect camouflage. After getting my camera I had to rustle the bush to find it again and it temporarily landed on this nearby salvia.

At long last!! The fabled White Ladybug! At about 1 cm long, this was a large and handsome ladybug, and one totally new to me and my yard. It was wandering around on foliage in a bog barrel (a planter imitating a marsh) in the shady area behind my house. Mostly, it wandered around briskly from leaf to leaf, but it did stop twice at a Commelina flower to nibble pollen (I think).

Supposedly, these ladybugs prefer to feed in tree canopies. My bog barrel is at the edge of my woods, so I suppose the ladybug could come down from a nearby tree. I'm thrilled to have seen it.

We had hard rain last night, but despite that, my tiger beetle babies were fine. It did take a few hours in the warm sun before the second one had re-excavated its hole, but both were out and hoping for ants when I checked this afternoon.
As Cicindela sexguttata is the only tiger beetle I ever see around here (and they're common), that's my hypothesis for the species.

Hoping for a sighting of Red Crossbills as reported for this site. At least my third attempt, and the cluster of birders nearby was a hopeful sign.
But no! The crossbills had just flown off, and a Red-shouldered Hawk (193825430) seemed to be the cause.
Patience isn't my long suit, but it did pay off. So many crossbills! Moving all around the tree, but especially at the base of one large branch where there seemed to be a natural water dish for them. There was a bit of fussing and feuding; everyone wanted a drink now!
I'm not at all certain, but it looked like there might be some begging going on from one of this year's chicks. Seems late, but...? See photos 3-4.

I think Golden Rain Tree must be one of the new, up-and-coming invasives for our area. We have heavily fruiting, mature individuals planted all around our central plaza on the NKU campus, the strong northern Kentucky winds blow the pods into drifts here, there, and yon, and then the seedlings volunteer EVERYWHERE.
The large tree and fruit pictured here are cultivated, but pictured to provide ID traits and show where the volunteers came from. I'm tagging the babies as wild.

Most of February was weirdly warm here, and the salamanders have activated almost a month early. This gorgeous, glossy individual -- about 4.5" long and as fat as one of my fingers -- was in the sheltered, muddy spot under my trash bin. I'm not sure that I've seen this species in my yard before. I took a few quick photos and then returned it to a slightly safer spot in the yard.

Old township cemetery in the middle of ag country with hundreds of these orchids blooming. Absolutely incredible. Tons of Sceptridium dissectum var. obliquum (and rarely var. dissectum) intermixed with the orchids as well.

Was just reading about how many different species of beetles are supported by False Solomon's Seal. This is the first year several False Solomon's blooms have made it past the deer eating them earlier in the Spring. I think the colony of plants has finally expanded enough to satisfy the deer and now also the beetles. Keeping the honeysuckle and also the garlic mustard in check has dramatically increased the size of this colony of plants. It's probably the biggest success since the start of the backyard restoration project.

Didn't notice it was carrying a lizard (an anole, I think) when I took the pictures. It was too small in the camera's screen to see the lizard. I took a burst and happened to capture it eating the lizard in the air.