{"id":530,"date":"2013-06-06T23:20:51","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T03:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sicloot.com\/blog\/?p=530"},"modified":"2014-04-07T01:05:46","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T05:05:46","slug":"a-walk-in-the-arboretum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sicloot.com\/blog\/2013\/06\/a-walk-in-the-arboretum\/","title":{"rendered":"A Walk in the Arboretum"},"content":{"rendered":"

I took photos of a wealth of natural life at the Arnold Arboretum yesterday. Among the birds, dragonflies, frogs, and plants, only one of the subjects was accessioned: Wilson’s spiraea (Spiraea wilsonii<\/i>).<\/p>\n

\"Wilson's
Wilson’s spiraea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Quite a few wildflowers were in bloom. Both white clover (Trifolium repens<\/i>) and red clover (Trifolium pratense<\/i>) are in the legume family. A close look at the flowers reveals the common pea-flower shape. Both plants are native to Europe and nearby lands.<\/p>\n

\"White
White clover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Red
Red clover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also native to Europe, the ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare<\/i>) is in flower.<\/p>\n

\"Ox-eye
Ox-eye daisy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our fourth plant — surprise! — is also native to Europe. This one is highly invasive, however. Black swallow-wort (Cynanchum louiseae<\/i>) is a vine with opposite leaves and small, dark flowers.<\/p>\n

\"Black
Black swallow-wort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana<\/i>) is a native plant, beneficial to local wildlife<\/a>. Another plus: edible fruit!<\/p>\n

\"Common
Common strawberry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I saw this eastern chipmunk between some magnolia trees and a stream. Chipmunk must be synonymous with cute.<\/p>\n

\"Eastern
Eastern chipmunk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found a white-breasted nuthatch upside down on a white pine branch.<\/p>\n

\"White-breasted
White-breasted nuthatch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A flock of cedar waxwings was picking the fruit off a Sargent cherry (Prunus sargentii<\/i>) tree. I observed an odd behavior: one waxwing handed a cherry to another waxwing, who handed it back. This went on for a little while until one of the waxwings swallowed it. <\/p>\n

\"Cedar
Cedar waxwings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apparently this is courtship behavior<\/a> and the birds are of opposite sexes. I managed to get a shaky video of one of the exchanges.<\/p>\n