Flowers are reproductive organs of plants. They produce eggs and pollen. Flowers form into "fruits" after pollination and fertilization.

Many shrubs and trees flower early in the Spring to ensure successful reproduction.

Pasque flowers are one of the earliest perrenials to bloom in my garden in the Spring.

Tulips store excess starch in underground storage structures called bulbs. Animals like deer and squirrels love to eat tulips.

Robins lay 3-4 eggs in a clutch. The eggs are light blue/green. The nest consists of grasses and weeds held together with soft mud carried by the bill of the female. The inside is lined with fine grasses. (note: These are wooden eggs.)

Cyanocitta cristata

Both male and female Blue Jays help to build their nest. They commonly nest in the forks of coniferous trees. This one had fallen from a spruce tree. They usually have 3-5 olive colored eggs with dark brown/bluish spots. Eggs are incubated for 17-18 days, mostly by the female.

These giant fungi grow in August and September in open fields. They reproduce by forming millions of spores and can grow up to 20 inches in diameter.

Lichen is a pioneer organism which can grow on almost anything. It is growing on the shingles of an old shed.

Slugs are herbivores that protect themselves from predators with sticky "slug slime."

(Pterourus glaucus)

Adults feed in groups and take nectar from a variety of flowers.

Leaves change color due to a combination of shorter day length and colder temperatures. Chlorophyll (green pigment) is broken down which reveals other pigments like xanthophyll (yellow) and carotine (orange).

Goldenrod gall flies are parasites on goldenrod stems. A fly will lay an egg in a stem and the egg becomes a larva. The larva then secretes hormones which cause the stem to swell. The larva spends the winter hibernating in the gall and pupates in Spring to become a fly which will lay eggs in goldenrod stems.

These trees have split apart due to the weight of wild grape vines.

The trunk has split into three from the weight of grape vines.

(Branta Canadensis)

Their aerodynamic, “V” shaped migratory formation is a common sight in spring and fall. They save energy and can glide more when in this formation. All of the birds flap and glide together.

(Danaus plexippus)

Monarchs are the only butterflies that migrate like birds. Adults overwinter in pine forests in Mexico. They slow down their metabolism and live off food reserves stored in their cells. In spring, they head north and reproduce along the way, laying eggs on milkweed. The offspring return to the same place in Mexico that their parents overwintered! Now, that is AMAZING!

Monarch butterflies lay eggs on milkweed. Milkweed is what makes the monarchs poisonous to predators.

Each milkweed pod is a fruit which contains hundreds of seeds. Each seed has its own little fuzzy "parachute" which enables it to be dispersed by wind.

Rose hips are fruits that form from rose flowers. They provide food for birds in the winter.

Snow cover in winter protects plants and animals from cold winds.