All posts in category wildflowers

friday at black marsh and environs

Black Marsh Wildlands Area, Edgemere, Maryland, USA. © 2017 S. D. Stewart

Little Blue Heron at Black Marsh Wildlands Area, Edgemere, Maryland, USA. © 2017 S. D. Stewart

Eastern Box Turtle at North Point State Park, Edgemere, Maryland, USA. © 2017 S. D. Stewart

Rose Pink (Sabatia angularis) at North Point State Park, Edgemere, Maryland, USA. © 2017 S. D. Stewart

Spicebush Swallowtail at North Point State Park, Edgemere, Maryland, USA. © 2017 S. D. Stewart

Eastern Cottontail at North Point State Park, Edgemere, Maryland, USA. © 2017 S. D. Stewart

Not depicted: (1) the Eastern Ratsnake that beat a hasty retreat from the trail it was attempting to cross when it sensed my approach; (2) the White-tailed Deer fawn that bolted from its hiding spot adjacent to the trail as I came upon it; (3) the 30+ other species of birds I saw and/or heard.

2 Comments

by sean on August 4, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in birds, breathing rights, butterflies, eastern box turtle, eastern cottontail, eastern ratsnake, escape, fridays, friends, little blue heron, mammals, nature, parts of the whole, photography, reptiles, somewhere else, spicebush swallowtail, swamps, wildflowers

Posted by sean on August 4, 2017

https://sd-stewart.com/2017/08/04/friday-at-black-marsh-and-environs/

texas trip

Unfortunately, Em El and I were sick with colds during part of our time in Texas, she for longer than me. They were not debilitating colds, but they were an inconvenience (and still are, as we continue to slog along through their end times). We still soaked up plenty of family time, and I even picked up three (!) new life birds, all within the Dallas city limits. Important lesson: never underestimate the value of urban birding! At White Rock Lake, I found an American White Pelican snoozing on a log and a flock of Franklin’s Gulls gathering overhead. These birds were just passing through during migration. The next day I observed a couple of Harris’s Sparrows feeding on seed outside the fantastic Trinity River Audubon Center. This bird is a winter resident in north Texas. None of these birds are easy to find in Maryland, as they are nonresidents and only rarely vagrant in the northeast U.S. during migration.

Other than occasional birding and lots of chilling with the family, Texas involved a lot of eating. Of course we had to sample the best of what the Dallas area has in the way of vegan fare! These included the always delicious Spiral Diner; the newly spruced-up under new ownership 100% vegan Asian buffet, Veggie Garden; a new one for me, Kalachandjis (Dallas’ longest serving vegetarian restaurant, which begs the question of why they never brought me here before!); and a new one for everyone, D’Vegan (specializing in vegan Vietnamese cuisine- soooo good). We also ate plenty of Mexican food naturally, including vegan migas from a new place in Dallas.

Here are a few photos. I took less than I thought. I blame the sickness. Or maybe I was just trying to live these moments, not document them.

The first few are from Trinity River Audubon Center. The wildflowers are Texas Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa).

Sign on the wall at Veggie Garden Restaurant in Richardson, TX:

Maneki Neko (“Beckoning Cat”) statue at D’Vegan Restaurant in Dallas, TX:

1 Comment

by sean on April 13, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in birding, birds, dallas, food, native plants, restaurants, texas, travel, urban nature, vacation, veganism, wildflowers

Posted by sean on April 13, 2012

https://sd-stewart.com/2012/04/13/texas-trip/

the sound of drilling gets me down

Today they are repaving the street, thus deeming it unfortunate that this is the first Friday in a long long time that I’ve actually been home all day. Numbered among the factors that kept me at home instead of out romping in the forest and field with the birds were: (1) logistical difficulties, (2) general malaise, and (3) the crash that comes at the end of migration (it’s just knowing that there will be far fewer birds out there, while most of the ones that are there are busy with family duties). Even though I didn’t go out in the field, I did enjoy a bit of home birding. I was happy to see some robins and mockingbirds gulping down wild cherries from both the tree out front and the weeping cherry out back. And this morning a catbird’s constant song made the sounds of road resurfacing much more bearable. Even a house finch stopped by to sit on the power line and sing his cheerful song, as a couple of goldfinches flew by in the background (haven’t seen many of them in the neighborhood this spring).

In general, though, I found that I did not enjoy being home all day. I was restless and agitated, and while I did complete a few tasks I had wanted to, for the most part I languished unproductively. I did not write the reviews I planned on writing (that are due in just over a week). I tried but couldn’t bring myself to critique other people’s work, especially when I have absolutely nothing to show of my own, so really, what right do I have to criticize others when they are at least making an effort? But whatever…it’s really neither here nor there what I did with my day.

As promised here are a few photos from last week, the first two of which are from Soldier’s Delight Natural Environmental Area.

One of the blue-eyed grasses from Iridaceae, the Iris Family (I did not have my wildflower field guide with me, and the photo doesn’t allow for definitive identification of all the necessary field marks, but I think it’s either Sisyrinchium angustifolium or atlanticum).