Category: Seasons

The Queen of Shrubs

The easy-to-grow and fragrant lilac was brought from Europe to New England by the early colonists. Today this “Queen of Shrubs” is ubiquitous in Massachusetts.

Better Homes and Gardens notes that:

“Lilacs are known for their hardy nature and long lives—many lilac shrubs live to be more than 100 years old. Because of their life span, they often survive longer than the home of the gardener that planted them. So, if you’re on a country road and see a few seemingly-random lilac bushes, there was most likely a house or farm there in the last century.”

A Tree for All Seasons

This was originally posted in February of 2018.

The Baldwin apple tree in my yard is an old American variety and provides large greenish-red apples every other year.

But that’s only a start. Because it is larger than most apple trees, it is also a center for shade on a hot summer day, a hide for the the birds, an elegant statuesque centerpiece for the yard, and a winter frame to view the yard from a different perspective.

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Ice World

Winter has transformed the Wildlife Pond at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA. The beaver lodge has a chunky white coating, while other areas of the pond sparkle with ice ranging from rough and jagged to windblown and smooth. The red and gold vegetation at the pond edges lends a delicate frame to this “ice world”.

Winter Friends

Winter birds such as the white-crowned sparrows and dark-eyed juncos have been appearing at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA. Surprisingly, I spotted an eastern bluebird still hanging around with them. Perhaps he belongs to a group that has wintered here in recent years.

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Winter Guest

This White-Throated Sparrow watched me warily from a nearby bush on a recent walk. It only visits in Winter, spending the other seasons in more northern woods. I think that its “lore” (the bright yellow spot near its eye) stands out just as much as its white throat. Unfortunately, I did not hear its unusual call: a slow whistle following the cadence “Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”.

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Before the Lights Came On

Tower Hill Botanical Garden in West Boylston, MA is well known for its astonishing winter color and light show most evenings during the holidays.

As I hiked the trails there this afternoon, I was immersed in the blue of Mr. Wachusett, the reds and oranges of the winter berries and the golds of the Wildlife Pond. Even the emerald of the famous Moss Steps sparkled with an overlay of red leaves. Throughout my walk, I was treated to a vibrant palette of colors even before the electricity was turned on!

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#OptOutside

I was surrounded by a colorful group today as I opted outside for Black Friday. The Summer birds are long gone, but my Winter feathered friends enlivened the landscape with flashes of red, white, gold and blue.
A bonus: it didn’t take me long to find these birds. They all visited the bird feeders within the space of a half an hour as I sat quietly watching.

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