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ers are the color of rotting meat which may account for the fact that flies are its main insect visitors flies tend to feed at a single flower until satiated which is not conducive to cross pollination and thus most fertilization of blue cohosh is the result of self pollination the fruit of blue cohosh is blue and cohosh is from the algonquin word meaning rough which refers to the appearance of the plant s roots native americans treated a wide range of afflictions with blue cohosh including gallstones fevers toothaches and rheumatism the most common use of its rhizomes or underground stems was as an aid to speed and ease childbirth 64 of midwives surveyed in 1999 reported using blue cohosh to treat women before or during childbirth it is still used today but less frequently due to the risk of severe complications naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 27 2026 categories april blue cohosh spring wildflowers uncategorized tags caulophyllum thalictroides 2 comments eastern cottontails giving birth eastern cottontails which have far surpassed new england cottontails in number in the northeast give birth early in the spring to a litter of 3 6 rabbits the courtship ritual which leads to copulation is quite impressive i ve only seen it once about 50 years ago but it remains as crystal clear as the day i witnessed it the male cottontail approaches the female who faces him and then greets him with jabs or charges him the male then runs towards the female urinating while doing so if the female is receptive she proceeds to jump over the onrushing male this courtship dance game of leapfrog is repeated several times before mating takes place three to seven litters are produced over a breeding season the mother cottontail makes a warm nest by scraping out a shallow depression in the ground and then lining it with finely shredded leaves and grasses and a large amount of fur that she has removed from her belly and breast the fur not only helps keep the nest warm but its removal exposes the mother s teats and makes them more accessible to her young photo by sadie brown naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 24 2026 categories april courtship rituals eastern cottontail mammals new england cottontail uncategorized tags sylvilagus floridanus 5 comments earliest spring wildflowers protect themselves in april when the earliest spring wildflowers emerge temperatures can fluctuate dramatically and the winds can be chilly two of our earliest flowering plants that are well equipped to deal with these conditions are hepatica anemone americana and a acutiloba and bloodroot sanguinaria canadensis the soft downy hairs that cover the flower stalks as well as the new young leaves of hepatica help to conserve warmth and protect the plant from extreme changes in temperature when bloodroot emerges a single leaf envelops the flower bud protecting the delicate pink flower stalk as well as the bud from the wind conserving warmth naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 20 2026 categories april bloodroot ephemerals spring wildflowers uncategorized 6 comments who benefits from woodpeckers hard work besides woodpeckers as mentioned in a recent post this is time of year when woodpeckers are excavating nesting cavities once a woodpecker s young are raised and have fledged the entire family abandons the cavity but its usefulness is far from over as shelters cavities are prime property for all kinds of animals they are off the ground and thus easier to defend from predators and they provide protection from the elements because woodpeckers typically excavate a new cavity every year and rarely reuse an old one many species of birds mammals reptiles amphibians and insects have access to ready made homes a multitude of species of wildlife rely on the holes left behind by woodpeckers for nesting roosting and shelter squirrels owls salamanders wood ducks bats nuthatches grey treefrogs mergansers animals incapable of making their own cavities benefit from the weeks of work that woodpeckers devote to creating them photo female pileated woodpecker removing wood chips during cavity excavation naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 17 2026 categories uncategorized 4 comments boxelder bugs emerging from hibernation with the warmer weather adult boxelder bugs boisea trivittata are emerging from hibernation and congregating on the sunny side of trees buildings and rocks just as the buds on boxelder trees are starting to open they suck sap from the leaves tender twigs and developing seeds of the tree they are named after with their piercing sucking mouthparts inflicting little damage to the trees in mid july they move to female boxelders where they lay eggs in bark crevices bright red juvenile boxelder nymphs hatch in a couple of weeks come fall these bugs congregate on the south sides of trees and buildings before settling into protected hibernacula such as attics cellars and other protected areas naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 13 2026 categories april boxelder boxelder bugs bugs insects invertebrates 2 comments skunk cabbage marauders skunk cabbage s ymplocarpus foetidus is one of the earliest flowers to emerge in the spring due to its ability to create its own heat a process called thermogenesis the maroon speckled spathe a hoodlike modified leaf or bract and the flower bearing nob like spadix within the spathe appear before the green leaves all parts of the skunk cabbage plant contain calcium oxalate crystals which cause a burning sensation when ingested because of this skunk cabbage is considered inedible at least by most humans there are however several creatures which are either unaffected by the crystals or are simply hungry enough to tolerate them the flowering parts of the pictured remains of a skunk cabbage were probably eaten by a hungry black bear or snapping turtle emerging from hibernation or possibly a muskrat or canada goose photo by sadie brown naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 10 2026 categories april black bears canada goose flowering plants muskrats skunk cabbage snapping turtles spadix spathe thermogenesis 12 comments male white tail yearlings starting to disperse while females remain with their mother pictured are a doe and her two yearlings who were grazing on the first green shoots of spring grass while fawns are weaned around 2 to 4 months of age they remain with their mother through the fall and winter to learn foraging and survival skills when males are a year to a year and a half old they disperse establishing new ranges as far away as 20 miles female yearlings often remain with their mother for up to two years departing when she gives birth in the spring naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 6 2026 categories april dispersal of young mammals uncategorized ungulates white tailed deer 1 comment red bellied woodpeckers excavating cavities approximately 20 of the songbirds in the northeast are cavity nesters some like woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters they create their own holes secondary cavity nesters such as eastern bluebirds use existing empty holes as a rule most cavity nesters begin nesting earlier than open nesters as cavities offer shelter while open nesting birds tend to wait for foliage coverage red bellied woodpeckers have been extending their range north and west since the early 1900 s and have reached southern new england and the champlain valley of vermont and new york they generally select dead trees or dead limbs in live trees and characteristically return to the same stub or limb to nest in successive years excavating a new cavity beneath the previous year s cavity initially a process of mutual tapping takes place where the male taps the tree softly and shows his mate a prospective site or the beginnings of an excavation if she approves she joins him in tapping giving him the green light both male and female then proceed to excavate a cavity roughly 9 13 inches deep after 20 minutes or so of excavating inside the tree the woodpecker fills its beak with the miniscule wood chips it s produced and appears at the entrance hole opening its beak wide as it flicks the chips into the air quickly it disappears back into the hole and repeats the process until the wood chips are gone and it s time to do some more excavating eventually its mate appears and there is a changing of the guard most cavities are completed within a week or two and an average of four eggs are laid within the next week naturally curious is supported by donations if you choose to contribute you may go to http www naturallycuriouswithmaryholland wordpress com and click on the yellow donate button share this share on facebook opens in new window facebook share on x opens in new window x share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin email a link to a friend opens in new window email print opens in new window print like loading posted by mary holland april 3 2026 categories april cavity nesting birds eastern bluebird nests primary cavity nesters red bellied woodpecker secondary cavity nesters uncategorized tags melanerpes carolinus 11 comments older entries naturally curious email subscription enter your email address to 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