Springing

Hepatica with a Soldier Beetle.
 I watched, this beetle grab a 
tiny insect and eat it!

Forest Drama!

 Rue Anenome with dew drops on it at Tainter Hollow

These flowers are so tiny that many people never see them while walking on a trail or path through the woods.

They are not showy or exceptional in colors, but in some areas they cover the forest floor for a few weeks each year.

I found these and the Virginia Blue Bells emerging in a place called Tainter Hollow. There is a tract of DNR land open to the public for trout fishing. It runs along Tainter Creek and has one trail that is mowed out and back, but one can wander around fairly easily in the spring. Once summer arrives, the growth around the creek is over 4 foot tall.

No shots of the Bluebells as they were merely an inch tall. My Bluebells at home are much taller and get more spring sunshine.

I walked over in the late evening to where I had some daffodils planted and thought I'd grab a few shots with back lighting. Instead, I got distracted by all of the action on the daffodils.

Here is a Mustard White butterfly which is not to be confused with a Cabbage White. The Mustard White only feeds and pollinates native plants. The Cabbage White is the one we all curse in our vegetable garden.

I have no idea what these insects are, but they were all over the place!

And out in the forest, tiny bees were visiting the Virginia Pinks which a lot of folks call Pink Beauties.

The bees are awake and the flowers are emerging. These flowers will soon disappear and more will take their place.

It has been very warm for this time of April, but I'll take it and enjoy it while I can.

July is done!

 

July was intense. 

Dry, smokey, moody, dusty.

We had company, we had drought, we had storms and we had intense heat.

We mowed the yard for the first time in July on the 24th. Since then we have had some rains and some parts of our state and the surrounding Midwest had intense storms.

I went on two kayaking trips and decided it was something I would love to do A lot more. I even went on line to learn more via reviews. I'd definitely love to get Charlie to go with me. He would need a lifejacket. After all, I taught him to ride the 4 wheeler with me, so perhaps we can manage a kayak together.

Most of my outdoor activity was in the early morning or late evenings. I managed to ride for a little bit almost each night [except when it was unbearably hot].

August is looming around the corner. What does it have in store for us?

Shorter days and the thought of entering fall? Hot and dry or cooler and wet? Who knows?

I can't stop time, so I will make the best of August and prepare for what follows.

Birds, Bees, Fungi, and the Surprise!

Beautiful rains.

The only way to make it rain? I set out a Lego Aztec Minifigure to do a Raindance when the clouds moved in.

After the rain quit the first time, I put on boots and headed out to the creek bottom. It was just a joy to see wet leaves and water in the creek.

As I moved along through the tangled brush and briers I noticed some pinkish peachy colors on a log. On close inspection I was so excited!

Its common name is Wrinkled Peach Fungi, its scientific name is Rhodotus Palmtus. Yikes, I prefer the Wrinkled Peach name. It is so delicate and beautiful. And... ---> not edible.

This is the bottom side.

From the top.

I found some Oyster Mushrooms too.  The Slugs were really into them. 

On the same log in the creek bottom that had the beautiful peachy fungi, I found Bear Scat.

 Ewwww. The slugs were all over that too!

I went back home to get out of my hot clothes and report the bear scat findings. It wasn't exactly fresh. There has been a bear in the area for the past few summers [don't know if it is the same one or not]. However the bear uses the creek as a pathway to get from the berry patches on one neighbor's land to the wild apple trees on the west side of our land. 

Back home the humming birds were going nuts on the Bee Balm.

These two photos are a combo of shots. It is the same bird taken in rapid fire and composited so a person can admire how quick these guys are!

They spent a lot of time going to the Bee Balm and then back to the feeders. They really argue quite a bit!

My favorite bird is this guy, the Ruby Throated Hummer.

See his tongue???

8 seconds of him watching for intruders!

The bees were insane on the Bee Balm, but I didn't want to sit or stand in the hot sun and watch them so I opted for some shots of the Humming Birds instead.

HAH!

After I finished chores, an older Cadillac came creeping down our driveway. I was all set to give them a 'What For' thinking some old fart was lost or it was a pile of Jehovah's Witnesses.

It wasn't!

It was our friends from Missouri who had traveled north to see the Northern Lights and then were quite disappointed by their accommodations and the weather.

More on that after our weekend is done....

HOT Afternoon

After mowing the hill and sweating out buckets [yeah, the little mower is self propelled but it doesn't propel well UP a steep hill], I decided to chill out and sit on the back step in the shade.

I could have gone inside and cooled off in the AC but I don't like spending summer days in the house.

I reserve days indoors for rainy days and frigid frightful snow days.

I noticed a lot of activity near the old outhouse. The Bumbles were very active along with tiny bees.

I decided to go grab my mega zoom lens and set it on a tripod. I pointed it at the plants and simply watched. 

I don't know what this butterfly is. Maybe someone will recognize it. I noticed that it seemed quite battered. 

I'd heard a segment on the radio regarding hot weather and insects. Apparently Hot Weather makes the insects' metabolism speed up and thus they are very active during hot spells.

This butterfly is caught with a downward wing stroke which I thought was pretty cool. I used what is called a High speed setting which takes 11 shots per second. Wow! Imagine that!
Usually I toss all but one of the shots taken that way. 

It is cool to get an unusual shot like this. I always imagined butterflies with their wings up.

I've been lucky enough more than once to catch a Bumble coming in for a landing. 

Let's play Where's Waldo with the Hummingbird!
This bird kept resting inside the plants. It was hard to spot him/her.

Learning to be patient is paying off.  

Here is a Ruby Throated Hummer tasting the bee balm. 
I think I will let the Bee Balm take over this section around the outhouse and move other plants this fall.

I grabbed two plants last year from my neighbor who has a huge disdain for flower beds and gardens.

Lucky for me, the former neighbor had planted so many beautiful plants around the house. I have been able to dig some up and add to my collection.

Here is the Hummer playing hide 'n go seek again!

Some Tweety Birds I caught while watching the patch of Bee Balm:

Goldfinch

House Finch?
Purple Finch?

Not sure!

A huge surprise! The Orioles

have not left yet!

Fledgling and Parent?

C130 skimming the tree tops. 

Not a bird in the wild sense!

The C130's from Fort McCoy fly low over head just skimming the tree tops. 

I bet you are wondering about what the mules think of it.

Not much. They rarely even lift their heads. They will look up when choppers come through doing the same thing. 

Charlie is not so calm about it. He thinks we are being invaded by 100's of UPS trucks or perhaps the world is ending.

Today looks like another muggy and hot day. That means I get my outdoor work done early and do more very late. 

Looks like we will have rounds of heavy and possibly dangerous storms tonight. Oh goody! Not.

Stay cool and comfortable.

Birds and the Bees, flowers and ...

The humming birds don't mind me sitting near their feeder in the morning while having coffee. In fact the bold one doesn't mind me standing next to the feeder. He just zooms in and gives me a look as if to ask if I'll keep filling the feeder.

The bluebirds come around each morning and evening but never very close. So this is the zoom at 300mm. It is soft and not tack sharp, but I don't mind as the distance was about 100+ feet from where I was.

I was delighted. I took a photo of the resident Catbird, but she isn't very pretty and she was just in the yard.
The Orioles were easy last year, they hung out on the humming bird feeder. This year I think the Catbird has chased them into the trees a bit further out. I can see them flipping about in the Buckthorn woods and in the far off apple trees, but they have tended to stay in the upper canopy and hard to 'shoot'. Hmmm.

My next quandry was 'how' to make the bird shot interesting? Well, that certainly is a challenge as birds don't pose. But I'll keep working at it.
We saw a red bird a couple of days ago that was not a Scarlet Tanager, nor was it a Cardinal. We think it was a Summer Tanager. But could it be? They are not usually in this area. 
I've seen the bird a few times since and the song is similar to the Summer Tanager. However, to be sure I really want this bird to stop and show itself!

Tuesday afternoon Charlie and I decided to see how the forest and creek looked. If the mules were better browsers, they would have tons of food.

The creek was dry in two places. Just mud and rocks. I haven't seen that way since 1996. The upper pastures were brown and crunchy yet the mules seemed very disinterested in hay. Obviously they are finding something to eat.

We walked along the rocks and I heard some noises in the tall grass. I spotted what I thought was a dragon fly. This took about 6 tries before I got this. Creeping up on these damsel or dragon flies are not easy! Thank goodness for the better reach of the lens combined with the EM 1!

212mm focal length

The find of the day was The Blessing Moth, also known as Haploa Clymene. Also called the Spiritual Moth, Jesus Moth, and other names. Seriously. I have never seen one before. This was pretty cool.

215mm

I did spot some white but just passed it off as bird crap. But I turned around for a closer look. And there it was. I was thankful for the long reach again. Yes, it did take more than one try, but I think I got it. Some sort of legend says it brings you good luck.

I didn't know it at the time but I did say to Charlie that we really needed some rain.

And no wandering in the summer is complete without bees and flies.

I have no idea what is happening here on one of my white Petunias.

And it wasn't the clearest shot, but I was not going any nearer!

300mm [softer focus at this length]

Wasp and fly? Huh. It shall remain a mystery.

Now I wonder if the Blessing Moth was able to bring the rain we so badly needed? We had two inches overnight. It came down a bit too hard, but we will take it.

Dam Hike and Forest Wandering

The photo above is the very infamous Dam Tower. Bill was marveling at its construction and how out of place it looked. There is a lot of great history and some NOT so great history of how this reserve came to be.

Local historian Brad Steinmetz has written a book on it. He also updates his blog about LaFarge once in a while. I find it interesting because I know the area fairly intimately now that I've lived here for nearly 30 years. I married a local so that affords me 'local' person status.

The Dam that Never Was is pictured here in a photo around 1975 when the dam project was stopped.

There is no photo of what it looks like now. But the dam tower is where Bill was standing. We are so happy the reserve exists. And on the other hand we keep in mind the heartache of those who lost their homes and farms to eminent domain so many years ago. The dam tower stands as a reminder of this controversy that still exists today.

We looped around the ponds close to the visitor center. Bill had never hiked these trails yet. We were able to see some Sandhill Cranes.

Geese and Turtles

We really enjoyed the casual walk along the river bottom. It was warm yet because it is so dry here now, there were no bugs! Charlie had a tough time with the heat and the tall grass. He did ask for a 'lift' and I obliged. 

We took a rest at covered bridge #18 and ate apples which we both shared chunks with Charlie. He is foodie dog. He will eat whatever a human eats that includes lettuce and tomatoes!

We found blood roots and a variety of wildflowers growing in the shadier areas. 

When I got home Rich asked me if I'd go out and look for Morel mushrooms. There probably wouldn't be any, it is early and it is very dry. Dry enough to have a Red Flag Warning for Saturday.

However, who am I to turn down a chance to muck around in the forest? I put my macro lens on my camera and filled a water bottle. The best things in life are being able to wander about the creek and the land without any chore that needs doing. 

No watch...
and I left my cell phone at home. 

I really didn't want to be checking the time anyway.
Within ten feet on either side of the creek, things are bright green from the moisture in the air. Away from the creek the forest looks pretty dry and the dominant color is still brownish. 

Ferns are beginning to uncurl and seek sunlight using the moisture trapped under the heavy layers of dead leaves that cover the soil.

At least there is that.

On the ridges and fields dust devils are whirling about.

But on the rocks in the creek I found some moss preparing to spread its spores.

I found Bishop's Caps but no Morels. 

Near the top of the ridge the wild strawberries were blossoming.

In the summer pasture I found so many things going on with insects. I waited forever for this ant to pull up his/her head but it was so busy collecting pollen!

And then...

Hello Bee !
I took a lot of shots to get one I liked.

And a side view of this little creature.

I never paid much attention to insects until the last few years when I decided that it would be a fun challenge to photograph them. I have been inspired by some incredible work I've seen others do.

There it is.

Being curious again.

I liked wandering. I found nothing but neat little things.