Hey there,
It’s the last Sunday off for good behavior in the Blogging A to Z Challenge. Take a gander at the website, if you haven’t done so yet in April, and hop to some of the other blogs. If you’re into science, look for the ones with a ‘SC’ after their names.
And on to today’s mystery!

You’re leaping along through the woods and come across a patch of these red leaves. What are they?
Back later for your guesses and the answer!
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As one of our regular readers guessed, this plant is poison ivy!

The new leaves emerge red tinged, changing to a shiny green in a week as they grow to full size. Here, and in may woodsy places around the east, the vines are traveling underground and sending up new shoots–everywhere! The oil in the leaves only seem to affect bare skin, not fur, like we squirrels have. But as many of you readers may have discovered, the oil can transfer from fur–ours or a dog’s–to bare skin and cause an allergic eruption.
So beware! If you see this red blush over the ground the spring, change your route! And encourage your dog to do the same.
By the way, if the vine you are seeing has five leaves, it’s Virginia Creeper. Leap back to some of our very popular posts on this other native vine, here.