Details create the big picture.

~Sanford I. Weill

Back in the day, I worked for a truly remarkable visionary, Mary Ann Brittain. I learned a lot from her and (I think) we made a good team for the museum as educator/naturalists. I remember when I first started going on the road with her to do school grounds workshops all over the state, I was amazed at how she could take a long nap in the car (as I was driving), arrive about 15 minutes before the workshop, get out and race around the school building, and then be prepared to take a group of teachers out and show them what they could find and use to teach all sorts of subjects outside their classroom walls. Of course, I also figured out that I had to be sure to bring the essential supplies or they might get left behind. We soon came up with a moniker for ourselves – Broad-brush Brittain and Detail Dunn. Well, over the years, I learned some of her techniques for quickly assessing the potential subjects to share with others out in the field. I’m afraid I also started relying on others to help take care of the details (yes, Melissa, I know).

Though I occasionally (okay, maybe more than that) forget the details of a task, I still find the details of nature extraordinarily fascinating and beautiful. So, here are few up close looks at some details of spring in our yard. See if you can guess what each thing is before looking at the list at the end of the post. After your first guess, try to match a name on the list to a numbered photo (the names are not in the same order as the photos). Some are pretty obvious, others maybe not. Expect more of these nature in detail images in coming posts. Meanwhile, get outside and look closely at what nature is sharing each and every day.

#1 (click photos to enlarge)

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

The photos above show details of the following (match an ID with a number – answers tomorrow).

• Golden Alexander flowers
• Muscadine grape tendril (a threadlike part of climbing plants that attaches to or twines around another object to support the plant)
• Azalea flower buds
• Dwarf Crested Iris flower bud
• Sensitive Fern spore-containing structures on last year’s dried fertile fronds
• Spotted salamander eggs one day prior to hatching
• Tendrils of Cross Vine
• Cluster of Eastern Tent Caterpillars
• Red Buckeye flower
• Foamflower
• Silk highway from Eastern Tent Caterpillars
• Dandelion seed head