Yellow-spotted salamander was taking a night-time stroll across the porch on Friday night.
Seeing spots
Red and green
Red tips stand out in this cushion of lichen.
Most of the red tips are about the size of a pinhead.
Tiny as they are, the bright red of these fruiting bodies really stands out against the gray-green of the lichen clump.
Sprout
Jelly fungus
Climbing a ridge off the beaten path, I was struck by the glow as the noontime sun backlit an orange jelly fungus growing through a slit in the bark of a dead tree. Seems that no matter how many times we traipse the ancient woods, there is always something new.
Jelly fungus oozes from the bark of a dead tree.
Like some orange quartz crystal jutting from a stone, this jelly fungus bursts from a slit in the tree bark.
In this image, you can see where the fungus is emerging from a slit in the bark.
Signs of spring
About nine days ago, Arkansas saw record low temperatures. Today, the sun is shining and the mercury hit 69 degrees by mid-afternoon. It’s the perfect day for a photo safari and time to take to the deer trails and old logging road in search of spring.
Tiny Houstonia blooms spangle the re-awakening “lawn.”
The first rock violet bloom looks a bit droopy after days of rain.
Cardamine is an early bloomer in a late-starting Arkansas spring.
Birdland
Been a while since we posted. We had a couple rounds of heavy winter weather and being trapped away from home for days at a time. Nice to be back home. Between bouts of wintry mix, the birds came out and did what birds do.
One of several bluebirds availing themselves of sumac seeds.
Red-tailed hawk takes flight over the office parking lot.
Tufted titmouse in tree with open hickory nut. He flew the half-nut into the tree and spent a few minutes brunching on it before knocking it to the ground and flying away.
Sparrow on his takeoff roll.
Yellow shafted Flicker in the sumac.
The (Urban-Wildlife) Interface 