MIlwaukee – Page 2

Fiddlehead.

Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris var. “Papageno”), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The thrashiest bird.

I just made that word up. This gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) would not stay still for a photo.

Catbirds are in the Mimidae family, a group that includes mockingbirds and thrashers, so there are profound similarities of body plan and behavior among them. For one, they thrash (a lot!), stirring up the leaf litter in search of food. Like other mimids, they also compose songs made up of snippets and phrases of the songs they hear other bird species singing. And they famously make a call that sounds like a meowing cat. You can hear samples of catbird songs and calls here.

Gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I detected the scent of this shrub in the air long before I saw it, and it filled me with nostalgia for my garden back in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is one of the plants I left behind when I moved to Arizona. How does one describe a smell? To me the dominant aroma is spicy, like cloves, but sweet. It smells the way clove chewing gum tastes.

Koreanspice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mock almond (Prunus glandulosa), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Bleeding heart.

Lamprocapnos spectabilis at Boerner Botanical Garden, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Untitled.

Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa), at Boerner Botanical Gardens, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.