Nature or Nurture?

Jack and Jilly have done it again. Remember this picture?

That's Jack on the left and Jilly on the right. They're siblings, born here after their mama showed up pregnant and just a few weeks away from delivering. Once in awhile, we feed them Special Kitty moist cat food in the pouch, as a treat. The other cats have been offered the same treat, but they give the impression that they can take it or leave it. Not so with Jack and Jilly. They looooooooooooooooove it. It doesn't matter where they are in the house - they could be sound asleep in a closet upstairs in a bedroom - the second they hear me shaking the pouch down before opening it, they are Johnny-on-the-spot.

They're pretty mannerly, not like these cats on YouTube. Jack and Jilly share until its all gone and walk away. I just fed them their treat a little bit ago, and if the crossed tails in the photo above wasn't cute enough, look at this one:


Do you suppose this tail synchronization thing is genetic?

30 Years Since The Big One

I remember it like it was yesterday. But it's been thirty years since our part of the country got hit by the Blizzard of '78. The 'B' is capitalized because it was a major event and around here, you don't even have to give the year it happened when you mention it in conversation. If you were an adult living in the midwest and experienced it, you know just what blizzard that was.

I blogged about it last year at this time and I won't repeat what I wrote then. You can just go here and read it. But on this very cold morning (it's 2°F at 10:30 a.m.) I'm remembering it all the same. Our local news has been having reports all week from citizens recalling their experiences.

My girls look at the pictures and hear us talk about it and they wish they'd been around to see it. We've not had a snowstorm like that one in the thirty years since and I don't know if I'll experience one like that ever again. But with all the crazy weather we've had in the last few years, maybe they will.

Wildflowers - A Favorite

I don't know that I've ever seen a wildflower blooming in winter around here, but there are plenty come spring. Last April, we took a walk through the woods near our house and there were all kinds of wildflowers growing. Purple trillium, spring beauty, wood violets, Dutchman's breeches, trout lilies, Virginia bluebells.

Dutchman's breeches have the cutest blooms that look like pantaloons, hence the name. The Virginia bluebells have the most incredible ruffly purple-blue-magenta skirted blooms. The trout lilies and the trilliums look handsome with their mottled foliage. But the bloom that fascinates me the most is that of the wild ginger.

It grows abundantly along the rivers and creeks and deep in the woods here. Last spring, I transplanted about ten plants into our shade garden, at the base of the honeysuckle trellis. The heart-shaped leaves are pretty enough, but you need to get down and look under the leaves to see the really beautiful and unusual blooms that appear in April and May:

Asarum canadense

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join Elizabeth Joy at Wildflower Morning as she marks the time
until spring with weekly wildflower themes.