While I was outside feeding my wild things I noticed what looked like an odd colored leaf in the underbrush. I looked through my telephoto lens to see it was a very early pipevine flower (Aristolochia littoralis). Usually it’s well into July before I start seeing these flowers and for the most part things have been blooming later than usual this year. It was quite a surprise, but a pleasant one. The pipevine gets its name from these unusual flowers that are shaped like a Dutchman’s pipe. I wouldn’t exactly call these flowers beautiful, but they are definitely very cool looking and they are great for the pipevine swallowtail butterflies and caterpillars.