Tag Archives: Virginia

A Fun Guy

Large fungus

A bad pun, but a pretty (to me) image. I happened upon this fungus while strolling along the Potomac River at Ball’s Bluff park. There are large areas filled with the Virginia Bluebells. Part of the credit for preserving the Bluebells goes to Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy for removing invasive mustard plants. Thanks! It makes my photography easier. Ball’s Bluff National Battlefield Park is the home to many types of wildflowers. I’ll have to try and count the ones I have seen over the years.

My Bleeding Heart…

Bleeding Hearts and Virginia Bluebells

The Ida Lee park in Leesburg is the home of a garden of the Loudoun Master Gardeners. There is almost always something blooming there. Currently, the Bleeding Hearts and Virginia Bluebells are blooming (as well as others). Bleeding Hearts are one of my favorites. The flowers are so delicate and move in the slightest breeze. They also seem to glow when the light is right. A drop of nectar forms on the bottom of the blossoms attracting ants, bees, and other insects.

Spring Flowers

Columbine on the bluff

Each year I look forward to wandering the local parks and woodlands looking for wildflowers. This year I finally came across the Columbine I knew was there, but had not seen. While exploring the area for another flowering plant, I saw the Columbine clinging to a large rock outcrop. Getting into a better position for photographing the flowers, I came upon many more blooming plants. After about two hours, with the sun setting, I had to move on.

Columbine blossom

A Visit to a Turf Farm

Horned Lark

On a recent outing looking for birds, we stopped at a turf farm in Brambleton, Virginia. We were looking for American Pipits which had been sighted a few days before. Scoping the field we soon spotted both the lark and pipits. I was glad to have brought along my 600 mm lens which enabled me to capture good shots of the lark and pipits.