Native to Europe, introduced to North America in the 1860s as an ornamental, and now, a harmful invasive that has really colonized Charles River Peninsula. Forms a dense ground cover. Tiny flowers that start lime-green and yellow, and age to red. Poisonous sap.
Cypress Spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias)
There are stone steps leading from our driveway up to the yard, and one day, a turtle was positioned vertically against the bottom step, with one arm mightily extended onto the top of the step, ready to hoist itself up. I went in to get a camera, had to answer the phone, and by the time I got back, she had gone to plan B. (This is how slow I need wildlife to move for me to be able to take their picture.) Anyway, I think this is a red-eared slider, which is the kind of turtle that people have as little pets, and so many have been released, they are an invasive species in the Northeast. They have green skin and yellow stripes, and a red stripe on each side of the head. They are omnivores, and must be submerged to eat. This one was about 10″ in diameter and was coming from the pond, and still had pond vegetation on its shell. Where was it going?
Red-eared Slider (Pseudemys elegans)
From AF Lorie, I heard about a citizen science enterprise called Project Budburst, which is loads of people picking a few plants to monitor, and inputting the data on their website to be compiled and charted. I picked forsythia and red columbine in my own yard (pictured), and the assignment is to note when they leaf, flower, etc., to help understand the effects of climate change. Phenology: the study of the timing of seasonal biological events like migration, mating, flowering, budburst.
The first sounds heralding the arrival of spring: 1. The snarling, metallic, tiny weed-whacker sound of the beard trimmer. That’s B shaving his winter beard because it’s the vernal equinox, and like all the other creatures compelled by their DNA to respond to the seasons, he must shed his winter coat. 2. Spring peepers! This year I first heard them March 28. (Last year it was March 12.) They are “chorus frogs,” and can live in breeding groups of several hundred. Their bodies can be less than an inch long or up to about 1.5 inches. It’s only the males that make the sound (to attract their women). They hibernate under logs and leaves, and can survive being mostly frozen. Then in spring, you hear them especially in vernal ponds and other temporary wetlands. They lay their eggs in the water, and then live on land the rest of the year, feeding on insects. I’m sorry this photo is just a thawing pond with no actual frogs to look at, but here’s a video that shows some Connecticut peepers in action:
Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer)
We first noticed the skunk cabbage emerging on February 16. Even though there had been a blizzard and there was snow everywhere else, this is a protected swampy spring-fed area, and the shoots were emerging up through the ooze, looking very primordial and eager to get on with it. This is their bloom, before they leaf out later in spring. From Wikipedia: “Eastern Skunk Cabbage has contractile roots which contract after growing into the earth. This pulls the stem of the plant deeper into the mud, so that the plant in effect grows downward, not upward. Each year, the plant grows deeper into the earth, so that older plants are practically impossible to dig up.” (I started this blog with photos from this location last March.)
Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)
Bonus picture: except for down in the swamp, the snow blanket prevails.
Before it was conservation land, Charles River Peninsula was a meadow where dairy cattle grazed, and this shagbark hickory stood at the top of the rise overlooking the scene. A big limb came down previously and revealed that it was partly hollow … so it was not a surprise and yet, a very sad sight to see that a September windstorm had taken it down. 
Someone had tucked wildflowers into the gash… Below, the scene last summer. We’ll miss it.
I never got a good shot of the poison ivy when it was in bloom. But now it’s really drawing attention to itself with color. Many songbirds eat the seeds and fruit. Bears, rabbits and deer eat the foliage with apparent immunity–in fact only hamsters and primates are known to have allergic reactions to it! Of course, it is identifiable by its three leaves, regardless of other variables– it can be a shrub, a trailing or a climbing vine. The poison is urushiol, a compound found in the sap. Urushiol oil can still be active for years after the plant is dead, so an old vine is still poisonous. Also, mangoes are in the same family, and people who are sensitive to poison ivy can have a similar reaction to mangoes. Jewelweed is a natural remedy for poison ivy. Native. Virtually unknown in Europe. Anacardiaceae family.
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
These are the flower heads. They turn bronze in the fall, and yellow in winter. Pretty stuff — can be dried. Note there is a spring flower that’s also called wild oats (sessile bellwort). Native.
Spangle Grass, Northern Sea Oats, Wild Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
The good thing about being a neglectful gardener is, suddenly you discover a robust new weed right in your own yard. (Actually, I guess not everyone would consider that a good thing.) I had been waiting for this to bloom, but as it turns out, for pilewort, this is full bloom. Also called fireweed because it likes disturbed areas, especially where there’s been a fire. Animals avoid eating it because the foliage is bitter and bad-smelling. Composite family. Native annual.
Pilewort, Fireweed (Erechtites hieracifolia)
