These beautiful, little, white Starflowers are blooming along the trails now. Each flower has 7-9 pointed petals and 7 long stamens. They are a tiny plant (4″-9″) with 1/2″ to 3/4″ white flowers which grow solo or in twos.
They like to grow in the cool, dry woods. I’ve seen them at Wiley Park, Beech Forest Trail and the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill, as well as the Wellfleet Bay Wildife Sanctuary.
Beautiful little wildflower, don’t you think?
Yesterday morning was one of those days when you looked outside the window, it looked gorgeous. But when you went outside, it was frigid. The temp was 34 degrees but with 35 mph winds, it was pretty cold.
I thought a walk in the woods at Wiley Park might be a bit warmer. It definitely was, but the biggest surprise was when I got to the beach, it was secluded from the wind and was quite warm. No wind, no waves… ahhhh… perfect!
This was a first for me … seeing my first Ruddy Duck at Wiley Park. What treat! Another bird species that I can add to my Life List.
“Ruddy Ducks are compact, thick-necked waterfowl with seemingly oversized tails that they habitually hold upright. Breeding males are almost cartoonishly bold, with a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut body. They court females by beating their bill against their neck hard enough to create a swirl of bubbles in the water.”
They are uncommon in this area in the winter. I guess I was lucky!
