What is that?

What is that? How could this possibly work? Nature consistently fills us with awe and wonder. Here we check in on some of those curiosities that catch our attention and make us do the naturalist shuffle (the take-your-time observer’s hiking pace). And sometimes, until we know, we come up with our own names and theories. Guidebooks, naturalists, iNaturalist and Merlin Bird ID apps usually lead us to the answers.

Afrochicks. These cute li’l round fuzzy headed birds are all around our homesite. Nice dos. So… we dub you afrochicks. Turns out they are Eastern Phoebes, so named because their call commonly sounds like, “Phoebe, Phoebe.” Of course, when you hear it all. the. time. you start add a certain tone to it. “Phoebe! Phoebe!” Did she surprise you? What did she do now? Pay attention, Phoebe; someone is calling your name! We are delighted to spot so many birds in the park: cardinals, doves, vultures, sparrows, chickadees, goldfinches, phoebes, and our state virtuosos, the mockingbirds. Are we becoming birders? Our binoculars do sit ready in the window.

These trees are bare in winter. What then is that patch of green? That Christmas romance favorite, that pretty parasite, that mistletoe! Unlike ball moss, which clusters in our trees to gather its needs from the air, the mistletoe attaches to branches and draws in water and nutrients from the trees.