It is still winter, but on this sunny day when it was nearly 70 degrees (21 C), a single Cloudless Sulphur butterfly visited a patch of fading daffodils.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
February 21, 2024
Shades of Yellow
Tag Archives: Winter
More Pink In Winter
Despite some below freezing nights the Ornamental Apricot blossoms have continued their show.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 25, 2024
Red-shouldered Hawk
February 4, 2024
The Long White Bridge, Backside In Winter
Spanish Moss is beautiful, but it can be very harsh looking in winter when there are fewer leaves to absorb or reflect some of the light.
Here, I gave the view of the back of the Long White Bridge a nostalgic treatment to tone the light down a bit.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 25, 2024
Pink In Winter
One of the joys of living in the South Carolina lowcountry is the winter bloom of so many plants. The Ornamental Apricot is a marvel of pink on January days.
Spanish Moss was draped all over for an additional plus.
Crepe Myrtle trunks crisscross behind the Apricot tree.
Many of the specimens at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens are huge, and likely have been here for decades if not longer.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 12, 2024
A Touch of Yellow
Forsythia is not a real successful bloomer in the South Carolina Lowcountry. I suspect it just doesn’t get cold enough, and that’s ok with me! When I do see it the display is not the bold statement I’m accustomed to that heralds a New England spring.
I spotted some last week that put on a very modest display.
January 31, 2023
Alligator In The Knees
…and showing off his teeth.
Alligators will crawl out of the water and just plop down about anywhere, seemingly without a plan, even wound around some cypress knees.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you that Alligators aren’t active in the winter. It was a warm day, feeling like spring but still the middle of winter.
He just laid there as I was watching this pile of Yellow-bellied Sliders.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 1, 2023
January Jonquils
Now in my seventh January in South Carolina I remain delighted by the winter blooming jonquils that pop up in unexpected places. In New England these would be a sure sign that spring was right around the corner. Here, winter, although shorter, is just getting started.
Most of the ones I’ve seen this year are yellow.
These were along the heavily wooded “nature train road” at Magnolia Plantation.
Early afternoon last week some dappled sun was reaching the blooms.
Resurrection Fern, More Robust
A more healthy looking grouping of Resurrection Fern was nearby the Resurrection Fern, On Brick from my previous post. It was well shaded and the detritus buildup on the branch held much more water to revive the fern than the brick.
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
December 31, 2021
Resurrection Fern, On Brick
Resurrection Fern is the common name of the species Polypodium polypodioides, a plant that grows on the surface of other plants and trees, and is most well known on Live Oaks around the Low Country of South Carolina. It springs to life when it rains, then slowly dries up, appearing dead.
Conversation with New Zealand blogger Ms. Liz about her post of a fern at Exploringcolour.wordpress.com/ has inspired me to work on ferns today. I thought I’d start small.
These fronds are typically 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 centimeters) in length (National Wildlife Federation) and this particular collection was smaller.
The images in today’s post are of the fern growing on this brick wall that encloses a cemetery plot. A one inch (2.5 cm) plus rainfall the day before had worked its magic and the fern was looking quite lively. I suspect squirrels use this wall as a lunch spot accounting for the partially chewed Magnolia seed pod.
I’m using the term Resurrection Fern loosely here, as it appears to me there are multiple variations and I know nothing about more specific identification.
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
December 31, 2021
I’ve posted about this fern a few times and it’s not uncommon for it to appear in other images along side a bird. Other Resurrection Fern Posts