Here are two of the ten monarchs we release this year. In under three minutes this video shows a monarch caterpillar transforming into a chrysalis, emerging two weeks later as a butterfly. Music “Emotional Underscores Vol. 3” by Yuri Sazonoff (SOCAN) “Can You Guess” and “Blessing”
“Migrating monarchs soar at heights of up to 1,200 feet. As sunlight hits those wings, it heats them up, but unevenly. Black areas get hotter, while white areas stay cooler. The scientists believe that when these forces are alternated, as they are with a monarch’s white spots set against black bands on the wings’ edges, it seems to create micro-vortices of air that reduce drag—making flight more efficient.”
“Monarchs begin leaving the northern US and Canada in mid-August. They usually fly for 4-6 hours during the day, coming down from the skies to feed in the afternoon and then find roosting sites for the night. Monarchs cannot fly unless their flight muscles reach 55ºF. On a sunny day, these muscles in their thorax can warm to above air temperature when they bask (the black scales on their bodies help absorb heat), so they can actually fly if it is 50ºF and sunny. But on a cloudy day, they generally don’t fly if it is below 60ºF.“
“Migrating monarchs use a combination of powered flight and gliding flight, maximizing gliding flight to conserve energy and reduce wear and tear on flight muscles. Monarchs can glide forward 3-4 feet for every foot they drop in altitude. If they have favorable tail or quartering winds, monarchs can flap their wings once every 20-30 feet and maintain altitude. Monarchs are so light that they can easily be lifted by the rising air. But they are not weightless. In order to stay in the air, they must move forward while also staying within the thermal. They do this by moving in a circle. The rising air in the thermal carries them upward, and their overall movement ends up being an upward spiral. Monarchs spiral upwards in the thermal until they reach the limit/top of the thermal (where the rising air has cooled to the same temperature as the air around it). At that point, the monarch glides forward in a S/SW direction with the aid of the wind. It glides until it finds another thermal and rides that column of rising air upwards again.”
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from one of two online articles. “The monarch butterfly’s spots may be its superpower” National Geographic, June 2023 and “Fall Migration – How do they do it?” by Candy Sarikonda, September 2014.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
We let our first monarch butterfly rest overnight, until noon of the following day.
Pam did better with tracking the monarch’s flight, so I used video. Thanks Pam!
I delay butterfly release when:
the forecasted high temp is below 65° F (18° C) or 60° F (16° C) if sunny and calm. When no other option exists, 50-59° F and sunny is borderline acceptable.
the forecast calls for rain. A light rain is not a problem for butterflies with day-old dry wings, but it’s not a good release option for first-day newborns.
the butterfly emerges too late in the day. I keep it overnight if the butterfly cannot get 3 hours warming of flight muscles in the sun.
there are storms in the forecast. I wait when there are less than four (4) hours of good weather projected. When extreme weather (like a hurricane) is forecast within twenty four (24) hours, I keep the butterfly safe until the storm passes. Twenty four (24) or more hours should provide ample time to find shelter from the storm.
I am not sure about a release. Keeping a butterfly overnight is acceptable. In fact, a butterfly’s wings are stronger on day two (2), providing better capability to escape predators. A butterfly can easily hang from the mesh cage roof overnight. I do not worry about feeding a butterfly unless a second night of shelter is necessary.
As the moment of emergence approaches, the skin of a Monarch chrysalis becomes translucent to reveal the butterfly compressed into that small space.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Our grandchildren spent the day with us, the last week of their summer before school begins. This July I had improved on my Monarch collection from 2022, when 9 butterflies were released, by two (2) caterpillars for a total of eleven (11) raised over several weeks to the chrysalis stage. When leaving to pick up the children for an outing one chrysalis skin had turned clear, a sign the enclosed butterfly is close to emerging. We returned from an outing for lunch to find this chrysalis unopened, so we checked now and then for progress. Four hours later, just as their Mom arrived for them, the grandchildren and everyone witnessed this event. What luck!!
“Migrating monarchs soar at heights of up to 1,200 feet. As sunlight hits those wings, it heats them up, but unevenly. Black areas get hotter, while white areas stay cooler. The scientists believe that when these forces are alternated, as they are with a monarch’s white spots set against black bands on the wings’ edges, it seems to create micro-vortices of air that reduce drag—making flight more efficient.”
“Monarchs begin leaving the northern US and Canada in mid-August. They usually fly for 4-6 hours during the day, coming down from the skies to feed in the afternoon and then find roosting sites for the night. Monarchs cannot fly unless their flight muscles reach 55ºF. On a sunny day, these muscles in their thorax can warm to above air temperature when they bask (the black scales on their bodies help absorb heat), so they can actually fly if it is 50ºF and sunny. But on a cloudy day, they generally don’t fly if it is below 60ºF.“
“Migrating monarchs use a combination of powered flight and gliding flight, maximizing gliding flight to conserve energy and reduce wear and tear on flight muscles. Monarchs can glide forward 3-4 feet for every foot they drop in altitude. If they have favorable tail or quartering winds, monarchs can flap their wings once every 20-30 feet and maintain altitude. Monarchs are so light that they can easily be lifted by the rising air. But they are not weightless. In order to stay in the air, they must move forward while also staying within the thermal. They do this by moving in a circle. The rising air in the thermal carries them upward, and their overall movement ends up being an upward spiral. Monarchs spiral upwards in the thermal until they reach the limit/top of the thermal (where the rising air has cooled to the same temperature as the air around it). At that point, the monarch glides forward in a S/SW direction with the aid of the wind. It glides until it finds another thermal and rides that column of rising air upwards again.”
This video includes an interview with Michael Wills about raising Monarch butterflies and this stage of the lifecycle. Video by Pam Wills using an IPhone 8
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from one of two online articles. “The monarch butterfly’s spots may be its superpower” National Geographic, June 2023 and “Fall Migration – How do they do it?” by Candy Sarikonda, September 2014.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
After reading a New York Times article with the sub-title “A beekeeper in Savannah, Ga., found what turned out to be a yellow-legged hornet. State and federal officials, along with academic experts, are working to eradicate the species” I spotted this wasp foraging our flowers in Ithaca, New York. Its yellow legs caught my eye, although the apparent size (seemed larger in article photograph) and face and body markings seemed different. Using an Apple Iphone 14 ProMax I captured three macros from different angles, I attached them to an email to the local Cooperative Extension office. They gave me a quick response, confirming my suspicion this was a different “yellow-legged wasp.” The agent suggested it might be a “paper wasp” and directed me to a Cornell site were, for a $25 fee, an identification could be made.
Instead, this morning I found “insectidentification.org” with an excellent search capability. Under “Bee, Ant, Wasp and Similar insects that can be found in the state/territory of New York,” the third row from top spotted an exact match being the only Yellow-legged native wasp. I am going to respond to the agent with this identification as others in the area may have the same question, given the name of the invasive wasp.
“It is the Yellow-legged Mud-dauber Wasp (Sceliphron caementarium), also known as Black and Yellow Mud Dauber, Black-waisted Mud-dauber. Of the Latin species name, Sceliphron caementarium, caementarius means mason or builder of walls.”
“These are solitary parasitoid wasps and build nests made of mud. The family of sphecid wasps collect mud balls at puddle and pool edges for constructing nests comprised of up to 25 vertically arranged, individual cylindrical cells. Frequently, nests are built in shaded areas inside formations that are sheltered from the weather or from other environmental elements. These sites may be naturally-occurring, or man-made structures. Some examples are: under and inside various types of bridges, barns, garages, open-air porches, or under housing eaves. A female might take only a day to construct a cell requiring dozens of trips carrying mud. Females will add new cells one by one to the nest after each cell is provisioned. They provision these nests with spiders, such as crab spiders, orb-weaver spiders and jumping spiders in particular, as food for the developing larvae. Each mud cell contains one egg and is provided with several prey items. The wasp then seals the cell with a thick mud plug. After initial creation and covering of the clutch, this sphecid wasp uses more mud as a means covering and protecting the whole cluster of cells, thereby forming a smooth appearance, and a uniform nest. The entire nest may attain an area equal to, or larger than, the size of an average human fist.”
“After finishing a series of cells, she leaves and does not return. While consuming the prey and increasing in size, the larva molts several times, until it molts into a pupa. Once the pupa has developed into an adult wasp, the adult emerges from its pupal case and breaks out of its mud chamber.”
“Various parasites attack these nests, including several species of cuckoo wasps, primarily by sneaking into the nest while the resident mud dauber is out foraging.”
“Adults can be seen in mid-summer feeding on nectar at flowers, especially Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota), parsnips and water parsnips (Sium suave, Sium latifolium, Berula erecta). They have a low reproductive rate. Stings are rare due to their solitary and usually nonaggressive nature; however, nests are aggressively defended.“
“Like other solitary wasps, Sceliphron species are not aggressive unless threatened. They are sometimes regarded as beneficial due to their control of spider populations, though the spiders themselves may be beneficial in controlling pest insects.”
“This species is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as rock ledges, man-made structures, puddles and other water edges, cypress domes, in long leaf pines (Pinus palustris), and in turkey oaks.“
“S. caementarium is widespread in Canada, the United States, Central America and the West Indies, and has been introduced to many Pacific Islands (including Australia, Hawaii, and Japan), Peru and Europe, where it has become established in some countries of the Mediterranean Basin (Croatia, France and Corsica, Italy, Cyprus,Malta, the Canary Islands, and Madeira) and Austria, and Ukraine.“
“Sceliphron caementarium can reach a length of 24–28 mm (15⁄16–1+3⁄32 in). Their petiole is generally black and is about half the length of the entire abdomen, however the population in the desert southwest often has a yellow petiole. The thorax shows various yellow markings, while the abdomen is normally black, with yellow propodeum (typical of females). The eyes are black, the antennae are black, and the legs are yellow with black trochanters and femurs. Within the United States, it is the only species with yellow-marked legs. The wings are a tawny color.”
“In 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 crashed near Puerto Rico. The most probable cause of this Boeing 757 crash was a blockage in a pitot tube by a mud dauber’s nest.”
Around our home these mud-daubers favor hollows within our aluminum fencing.
Reference: text in italics and quotes paraphrased from Wikipedia “Sceliphron caementarium” and “Sceliphron.”
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
“Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle[a] that can carry cargo into Earth orbit, and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.“
“The rocket consists of a center core on which two Falcon 9 boosters are attached, and a second stage on top of the center core. Falcon Heavy has the second highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle behind NASA’s Space Launch System, and the fourth-highest capacity of any rocket to reach orbit, trailing behind the SLS, Energia and the Saturn V.“
“SpaceX conducted Falcon Heavy’s maiden launch on 6 February 2018, at 20:45 UTC. As a dummy payload, the rocket carried a Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with a mannequin dubbed “Starman” in the driver’s seat. The second Falcon Heavy launch occurred on 11 April 2019, and all three booster rockets successfully returned to Earth. The third Falcon Heavy launch successfully occurred on 25 June 2019. Since then, Falcon Heavy has been certified for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.“
February 6, 2018 fuel venting during fueling of the Space X Falcon Heavy 19 minutes 25 seconds prior to launch. The rocket hidden by the launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.Pam and Mike Wills in place at a prime spot for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch. Kennedy Space Center, Apollo-Saturn V Center. February 6, 2018. 00:10:49 before launch.February 6, 2018 fuel venting, fueling complete 1 minute 20 seconds prior to launch. The rocket hidden by the launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, 3 seconds prior to launch. The rocket hidden by the launch tower. The cloud is water released into the launch platform under pressure from the water tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch 2 seconds prior to launch. The rocket hidden by the launch tower. The cloud is water released into the launch platform under pressure from the water tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center loking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy engine ignition. The moment of engine ignition, the rocket hidden by the launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center loking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 1 second. Ignition visible, tower connections falling away. Rocket nose visible to right of tower lightening rod. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center loking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 2 seconds. Rocket lift-off fully underway. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 4 seconds. Rocket not yet clear of launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 5 seconds. A heron flies to the right of launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 6 seconds. Rocket is just clear of launch tower. At 230 feet in 6 seconds it is travelling at 26.1 miles per hour. A heron flies to right of launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 7 seconds. Rocket is clear of the launch tower. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 7 seconds. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 8 seconds. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 9 seconds. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center looking across the Banana River to Launch Complex 39A, 3.9 miles away.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 12 seconds. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 20 seconds. The rocket has rolled a few degrees, all boosters are visible. The Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 25 seconds. All boosters are visible. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 26 seconds. All boosters are visible. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 32 seconds. A boosters are visible. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 1 minute 11 seconds. The boosters have throttled back. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 1 minute 57 seconds. The cloud was formed from the throttled back boosters. The rocket is visible near center of frame. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 6 minutes 37 seconds. Firing thrusterrs of the two returning boosters are visible a bit above the center of frame. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 7 minutes 50 seconds. Both boosters visible firing thrusters between the SLS Launch Tower and NASA Vehicle Assembly Building. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center loking across the Banana River.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 8 minutes 2 seconds. Both boosters visible firing thrusters between the SLS Launch Tower and NASA Vehicle Assembly Building. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center loking across the Banana River.February 6, 2018 Space X Falcon Heavy, launch plus 8 minutes 3 seconds. Both boosters visible firing thrusters between the SLS Launch Tower and NASA Vehicle Assembly Building. Taken from Kennedy Space Center Apollo-Saturn V Center loking across the Banana River.
“Falcon Heavy was designed to be able to carry humans into space beyond low Earth orbit, although as of February 2018, SpaceX does not intend to transport people on Falcon Heavy, nor pursue the human-rating certification process to transport NASA astronauts. Both Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 are expected to eventually be superseded by the Starship launch system, currently being developed.“
“On 6 February 2018, after a delay of over two hours due to high winds, Falcon Heavy lifted off at 20:45 UTC. Its side boosters landed safely on Landing Zones 1 and 2 a few minutes later. However, only one of the three engines on the center booster that were intended to restart ignited during descent, causing the booster to be destroyed upon impacting the ocean at a speed of over 480 km/h (300 mph).“
“Initially, Elon Musk tweeted that the Roadster had overshot its planned heliocentric orbit, and would reach the asteroid belt. Later, observations by telescopes showed that the Roadster would only slightly exceed the orbit of Mars at aphelion.“
Have you wondered, “What is ‘pileated’ about a Pileated Woodpecker? The Latin word Latin pileatus means capped, so the adjective refers to the red “cap” the bird wears. Pileated Woodpeckers mmainly eat insects, especially carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries, including poison ivy berries. Pileated woodpeckers often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant colonies. They also lap up ants by reaching with their long tongues into crevices. They may forage around the sides of human homes or even cars and can be observed feeding at suet-type feeders, as you can see below.
Our Resident Pileated Woodpecker enjoying a suet meal one spring evening
Usually, pileated woodpeckers excavate their large nests in the cavities of dead trees. Woodpeckers make such large holes in dead trees that the holes can cause a small tree to break in half. The roost of a pileated woodpecker usually has multiple entrance holes. In April, the hole made by the male attracts a female for mating and raising their young. Once the brood is raised, the birds abandon the hole and do not use it the next year. When abandoned, these holes—made similarly by all woodpeckers—provide good homes in future years for many forest songbirds and a wide variety of other animals. Ecologically, the entire woodpecker family is important to the wellbeing of many other bird species. The pileated woodpecker also nests in boxes about 4.6 m (15 ft) off the ground. The large cavities made by pileated woodpeckers during their nesting process not only serve as a home for the birds but also play an essential role in the forest ecosystem by contributing to nutrient cycling. Woodpecker cavities can lead to increased soil nutrient levels and microbial activity, providing a nutrient-rich environment for other plants to grow.
A pileated woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round and is not migratory. They defend the territory in all seasons but tolerate floaters during the winter. Drumming is most common during courtship and to proclaim a territory. Hollow trees are often used to make the most resonant sound possible. The pattern is typically a fairly slow, deep rolling that lasts about three seconds.
Pileated woodpeckers have been observed to move to another site if any eggs have fallen out of the nest—a rare habit in birds. The cavity is unlined except for wood chips. Both parents incubate three to five eggs for 12 to 16 days. The average clutch size is four per nest. The young may take a month to fledge. The oldest known pileated woodpecker was 12 years and 11 months old. Predators at the nest can include American and Pacific martens, weasels, squirrels, rat snakes, and gray foxes. Free-flying adults have fewer predators but can be taken in some numbers by Cooper’s hawks, northern goshawks, red-shouldered hawks, red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, bald eagles, golden eagles and barred owls.
Reference: “Pileated Woodpecker” Wikipedia
Images and Video Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Bombylius major (commonly named the large bee-fly, the dark-edged bee-fly or the greater bee fly) is a parasitic bee mimic fly. Bombylius major is the most common type of fly within the Bombylius genus. The fly derives its name from its close resemblance to bumblebees and are often mistaken for them.
Bombylius major exhibits a unique flight behavior known as “yawing” and plays a role in general pollination, without preference of flower types. The fly does not bite, sting, or spread disease. However, the fly uses this mimicry of bumblebees to its own advantage, allowing close access to host solitary bee and wasp nests to deposit its eggs. After hatching, the larvae find their way into the nests to parasitically feed on the grubs.
Flight
It has been discovered that the fly is capable of a unique behavior, which was discovered with the use of a high speed camera. In this behavior, the flies are seen to rotate around a vertical axis as they fly (this action is known as “yawing”). However, it is still unknown what can cause this behavior to be triggered and what purpose it serves, but a proposed explanation includes mating habits. Here is an illustration of “Yaw” in the context of an airplane…substitute the fly body with head facing forward (to left).
The Bombylius major bee-fly is a common, generalist floral pollinator, meaning that it does not give preference to one flower over another, instead pollinating a wide variety of plant families and species. The fly uses its proboscis to carry and transfer the pollen. The species is a dominant pollinator within its community, sometimes even pollinating up to two thirds of the local flowers. In addition, Bombylius major will visit and pollinate plants that attract few other species. Some types of flowers, for example Pulmonaria officinalis, will be almost exclusively pollinated by Bombylius major, with other species contributing a negligible amount to that plants pollination. Some flower species, such as Delphinium tricorne, are even specifically adapted to the fly in terms of color, shape, and form. If given the choice, Bombylius major will have a consistency in plant choice.
Flower Attraction
Long distance floral attraction is governed by optical sense, with color being the most important factor. The flies are typically more attracted to blue and violet colors, and occasionally yellow, over orange and pink. However, short distance floral attraction is based on the fly’s olfactory sense.
Sunbathing Activity
The fly is mostly active during day hours when the weather conditions are warm and sunny. Bombylius major is attracted to sunnier places and is more likely to pollinate these areas, with a larger average of flower visits in areas of higher amounts of sunshine. The fly will hide in the trees during the night and usually dart away from a cast shadow and occasionally hide in clean washing brought in fresh from the washing line and fly out causing unsettled behavior in the discoverer.
Flower Description
Claytonia caroliniana is a flowering, woodland perennial herb. It grows from March though June and is one of the earliest spring ephemerals. The plant grows from spherical underground tubers in light humus. They sprout and bloom before the tree canopy develops. Once the area is shaded, the plants whither leaving only the tuberous roots underground.
The plant is edible, but its usability is limited due to difficulty harvesting and the small quantities each plant produces. Its tuberous roots are edible and rich in starch and can be cooked or eaten raw. The leaves can be eaten as well. The tuberous roots are eaten by eastern chipmunks and white-footed mice.
Source: Wikipedia “Bombylius major ” and “Claytonia caroliniana. Direct quotations are in italics.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
After spreading 15,000 square feet of crabcrass/fertilizer and before attending a frigid first baseball game of a grandson, I capture eight photographs of five different flowers from our home.
More about the Magnolia, from Wikipedia: The name Magnolia first appeared in 1703 in the Genera of Charles Plumier (1646–1704), for a flowering tree from the island of Martinique (talauma). It was named after the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
More about the Hydrangea, from Wikipedia: Hydrangea is derived from Greek and means ‘water vessel’ (from ὕδωρ húdōr “water” + ἄγγος ángos or αγγεῖον angeîon “vessel”), in reference to the shape of its seed capsules.
More about these Quince, from Wikipedia: Although all quince species have flowers, gardeners in the West often refer to these species as “flowering quince”, since Chaenomeles are grown ornamentally for their flowers, not for their fruits.
More about Forsythia, from Wikipedia: The genus is named after William Forsyth (1737–1804), a Scottish botanist who was a royal head gardener and a founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society.
More about Forsythia, from Wikipedia: Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white and yellow (also orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting colored tepals and corona.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
I read the New York Times on our porch on a spring Sunday afternoon, taking a moment to capture these fair weather cumulus clouds. Visible are Ithaca’s East Hill, downtown, and a forsythia bush in flower.
More about the flowers, from Wikipedia: Forsythias are popular early spring flowering shrubs in gardens and parks, especially during Eastertide; Forsythias are nicknamed the “Easter Tree”, the symbol of the coming spring.
More about this view, from Wikipedia: Cumulus clouds can form in lines stretching over 480 kilometers (300 mi) long called cloud streets. These cloud streets cover vast areas and may be broken or continuous. They form when wind shear causes horizontal circulation in the atmosphere, producing the long, tubular cloud streets. They generally form during high-pressure systems, such as after a cold front.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 