wordless Wednesday #1

snakefly

He's baaaaaack! Looking in on me from the office window. Seriously, I doubt this is the same individual from March 11, 2010.

dark-eyed junco ~ 04/07/10 ~ at home

dark-eyed junco perched on coast Douglas fir
Junco hyemalis perched on Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesiiPinaceae

I've been trying to capture one of these on camera since last fall. I believe this is the Oregon form. They love the pine next to our balcony (I'll ID this tree later) and appear to feed on it. They make a mess of my planters by tossing soil everywhere.

blossom ~ 04/07/10 ~ at home

unknown flowering fruit tree
outside our bathroom window
Rosaceae

This tree was already blooming April 2 when we returned home from Rome. I believe it's strictly an ornamental as I've never seen any fruits from it. Based on last year's pic, dated April 21, 2009, and our anniversary hike at Garland, I'm guessing the blooms all around are early this year.

ps 02/11/12 - After reviewing all my blossom posts, I'm starting to suspect this may be an apple tree, with very small apples. The blooming time seems about right. The ground squirrel that likes to sit on the rocks outside our Bay facing windows frequently munches on small apples in late autumn and early winter. We've wondered where it gets its apples, because other than this tree there are no blooming fruit trees around the park.