When we moved to Cape Cod a few years ago, I noticed this bit of yellow in the woods behind our house. I thought it was a piece of trash. Was I pleasantly surprised to see that it was a lovely yellow Daffodil! (Click on blog link to see other photo.)
How on earth did it get there? My neighbor and I think a squirrel must have brought it there when it was digging for nuts. Can you see it in the 2nd photograph? It’s right in the middle of the picture!
With the cold weather we’ve had the past week or so, I thought that it would be late in blooming this year. But, it’s about 3 weeks ahead of schedule from years past. Maybe from the mild winter that we had?
Pretty, don’t you think? (It’s a little droopy because the temps haven’t gotten much above freezing the past couple of days!) I sure am ready to put my winter parka away!
It’s amazing to see how green the forests are here on Cape Cod in the middle of winter. The Bearberry leaves, which you can see in the first photograph, still provide much green ground cover. (Click blog link to see other photo.)
I just did a bit of research and found that Bearberries will lose their leaves but not until mid-winter or later. I’ll have to take a similar photograph in a month or so and compare them.
You can also see all the new undergrowth of pine trees on the sides of the trails. So far this winter, our forest hikes have been pretty colorful!
I’ve seen so many of these bright red berries along my hikes recently. They are so pretty and so festive with Christmas right around the corner. Have you seen any red berries this winter?
There were some huge, very prolific Winterberry bushes on the way to Coast Guard Beach from Doane Rock via the small boardwalk. So pretty, don’t you think?
The berries on the Bearberry plants are bright red this time of the year here on Cape Cod. They make for a very festive carpet along the sides of the trails. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
In the early summer the tiny flowers on the Bearberry plants are bell-shaped and whitish pink with red stems and tips. The plant itself grows only about 1 foot high and and is very dense so that it looks like a carpet on the ground. In the late fall the flowers are now bright red berries.
I planted a very unique wildflower this past summer called the Japanese Anemone. I particularly like it because it doesn’t bloom until late August and blooms well into October. The flowers are such a pretty pink with yellow centers. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
About 2 weeks ago when I went outside to cut back my summer flowers I was greeted with a plant full of these puffy white things that looked like cotton balls waving in the breeze. I had never seen anything like it. I thought it was so cool.
And the yesterday I saw that all of the little “pods” has started to disperse their seeds, which you can see in the 2nd photograph. Have you ever seen a seed pod like this before?
I couldn’t believe that I was still picking enough wildflowers in my yard last week to put in vases and enjoy inside. Usually we have our first frost way before this time, but it’s been a mild fall until the deep freeze a few days ago. I quickly picked all of my remaining flowers and buds, hoping they will pop while inside in the warm temps.
Pretty, don’t you think?
Cape Cod blog stories on Cape Cod hiking, Cape Cod wildflowers, Cape Cod birds, Cape Cod beaches, Cape Cod butterflies and the great Cape Cod outdoors.
