Theme day: Medicine

The theme for April is medicine.  The purple dead nettle is a plant introduced from England for its medicinal properties.  It is supposedly an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.  (see here)

What more can you want!

 

Yellow Jessamine

Yellow Jessamine cascade down.

It is the state flower of South Carolina.

(See here)

 

Mallards

I think these are both male mallards.  The one on the top right looks a little unusual.

 

Pollen in the pond

A rainstorm washed the pine pollen into the pond.  I wouldn't like to be a duck right now.

 

Little Brown Jug

Deep in the leaf litter, the little brown jug flowers are hiding.  The plant is pollinated by ants.  (see here)

 

Hazelnut

The American Hazelnut shrubs are in full bloom.  

 

White azalea

First the pink azaleas bloom and then the white ones pop open.

 

Creeping Charlie

This little flower is an invasive plant from Europe.  British settlers brought it over for food and medicine.  It was used to make beer before the use of hops.  It has a few names: Creeping Charlie, Ground Ivy and Ale Ivy.

 

Tall trees

It's hard to show how tall the trees really are in North Carolina forests. 

 

Deep dive

The first tiger swallowtail I've seen this spring was deep into the azaleas.

 

Azalea season again

Azaleas bloom for profusely, but only for a few weeks.  It's worth the wait.

 

Pollen

Pollen season is on its way.  These Loblolly pines are ready to send out their yellow smoke.

 

Kayak

A lone fisherman on the lake.

 

Protector

The eagle was sitting in a tree near the nest this morning.  When a vulture flew too close, the eagle took off, chasing the vulture away.

 

Azalea season

The Azaleas are popping open.

 

Red bud

The Redbuds are blooming!

 

Spring is here

This neighborhood tree glows pink.

 

Cormorants

The cormorants at their usual posts.

 

Signals

The little clouds looked like smoke signals to me.

 

Reflection

A nice reflection on a calm day.

 

Lenten Rose

It's not a rose, but it does bloom at Lent.  Its other name is much less lovely...Hellebore.

 

pond cleanup

They probably could have waded out in the pond to pick up the trash, but they used the boat instead.

 

Evening sky

With all the trees around, we don't always see great sunsets.  But this one was amazing.

 

Morning sky

Early morning at the lake.

 

Heron

Here he is again!

 

Please

The please wall at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

 

Contrail

A dramatic sky.

 

Titmouse

Titmice are hard to photograph.  They rarely sit still long enough for focusing.  If you find more than one, it's called a "glee."