Thistle - Non-Native Invasive
Sunflowers
Colorful Sap from a Damaged Cherry Tree
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Bumble Bee on Lamb's Ear
Dead Nettle - Non Native Invasive
Fungi (Species?)
Barn Owl Fledglings
Preying Mantis
Wingstem
Fungi (Species?)
Berries in Bloom
Who Lives Here?
Honey Locust Seed Pods
Chickadee
Chicken of the Woods
Black Walnuts
Toad
Wheel Bugs
Box Turtle
Fallen Maple Leaves - Winter Refuge for Insects
Magnolia
Fungi (Species?)
Black Walnuts
Snapping Turtle
Back of a Swallowtail
The Secret Garden is on land that was once a large dairy farm. Over the years, the land was damaged by buildings, heavy farm equipment, monocultures, and the animals. We hope that over time the land will recover and there are signs that it is happening. The plants, birds, and other critters in these photographs show that a diverse ecosystem is emerging. As you can see, there are still non-native invasive plants that will be difficult to eradicate. So, we pick our battles and, for now, leave those that do the least damage. But there are also wild and unruly native pioneers that are rebuilding the soil while sheltering and feeding our native wildlife. And every year, there are more! The best thing we can do to help nature thrive is provide food and shelter in the form of native plants. Even a tiny balcony garden makes a difference.
Toad
Fungi (Species?)
Goldenrod (Doesn't make you sneeze!)
Wild Grape Vine
It wouldn't be Spring without Crocuses!
Wild Turkeys
Dogwood and American Fireweed
Black Vultures
Shed White Tailed Deer Antler
Cicada
Honey Bee and Native Bee
Fungi (Species?)
Tree Stump and Fungi
Bud on a Maple Tree
Black Vulture Baby
Bessbug (Odontotaenius disjunctus)
Fungi (Species?)
Bones (Fawn?)
Blue Jay
Fungi and Tiny Insect (Species?)
Sycamore Bark
Poke Berry
Dandelion - Make a Wish!
Cicadas
Dogwood
White Tailed Deer - Doe and Fawn
Spider Web
Garter Snake
Lichens
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Bird on Hackberry
Large Tolype Moth
Broken Black Vulture Egg
Wood Sorrel
Burdock - Non-Native Invasive
Rosy Maple Moths (Dryocampa rubicunda)
Snail
Spider Web
Shaggy Mane
Northern Flicker Feathers
Spider Web
Chickory - Non Native Invasive
Barn Owl Feather
Ghost Pipes
Sycamore Leaf
White Tailed Deer - Buck
Barn Owl
The Wild Garden
A Very Big Sycamore Leaf
Fleabane and Bees
Adult Black Vultures
Two Nests in One Tree
Fungi (Species?)
Ornamental Grass
Non Native but Shelters Dozens of Birds
Honey Locust Flowers - Small but Fragrant
Tree Stump and Fungi
Fungi (Species?)
Fungi (Species?)
Grape Hyacynth - Non Native
Tree Frog on a Sycamore
Milkweed and Monarch
Poke Berry
Where the Deer Walk
Wheel Bug Nymph
Blackberries Ripening
Young Black Vultures
Wine Berry Stem with Thorns - Non Native Invasive
White Tailed Deer
Front of a Swallowtail
Smart Weed or Knot Weed - Non Native Ivasive
Rat Snake
Wine Berry - Non Native Ivasive
Fleabane
Young Buck
Black Locust Seed Pod
Apple Blossoms
Spider Web
Box Elder
Honey Locust Thorns
Barred Owl Pellet with a Crow's Foot
Eastern Click Beetle (Alaus ocolatus)
Assassin Bug/Wheel Bug Killing a Honey Bee
Cardinal