The Dark Eyed Junco builds its nest on the ground or close to it. They kick around in the leaf litter looking for food. This little fella is a slate-colored Dark Eyed Junco and he is kicking around near some white Ghost Pipe flowers. I don’t know if he is as fascinated by them as I am but if he were he might be interested to know that the Ghost Pipe plant does not produce chlorophyll, it instead gets its energy from an underground fungi that gets energy from the roots of other plants. Ghost Pipe blooms in kind of hidden secret spots throughout the summer so it always is such a treat to find a patch. Now that fall is coming the plants are drying up, seeding out, and look like standing, dark, leaf litter.
This Dark Eyed Junco found a nice patch of Ghost Pipe. I imagine he exists during a warm, summer, day. Maybe during a time when all the other juncos and small birds are kicking around for seeds in the shady leaf litter too so the air is filled with chirps and cheeps of frenzied, satisfied, feathered friends.
You can have this little 4” x 6” snippet in time for your very own if you would like. It is a small acrylic on canvas panel painting which means it is perfect for propping in a window or on a counter top. It comes unframed so you can opt to frame it if you would like as well.
