Good morning Friday...oh and Saturday too.

I'm giving up on the weed fight. The neighbor's on the other side of the fence don't cut the huge meadow [we used to cut it a long time ago for them and we pastured our mares on it].

The invasive species that keeps drifting onto our land is maddening. This particular area, I would love to have as a 'yard' or picnic area. Right now the mules keep the grasses down and this spring I twice weed whacked the invasive plants. It is too hot to go after them right now with the dew point and temps being the same...along with 80-90% humidity. 

It is like breathing through a wet washcloth pressed to your face.

I may have it professionally brush hogged next year a couple of times and eventually try to reseed this area into a yard. 

Ok. 
I can dream, right?

That swing is one I made last year and I still use it. 

In the afternoon I went out to assess the storm damage from the last few days. One huge old oak came down in one of the sections of the forest without damaging anything. 

I found the mules in the darkest part of the forest where it felt much cooler than anywhere else. It was tolerable.

Some of the downed logs from many years ago were sprouting slime molds and beautiful coral fungi.

I went further into another section that is above the creek and found the 'ridge trail' completely blocked by an old cherry tree that came down. The tree took several smaller trees with it.

Come this fall when the weather is more conducive to working outdoors, I'll take my saw and just make a re-route around the fallen tree through the brambles. I'm not going to pay someone to come back out with a bulldozer and redo the ridge road. I'll let the next folks who own this place do what they wish. 

I can get by with deer trails for my adventures.

The moth below is called a Blessing Moth [common name]. They are pretty beautiful and I don't see them very often.

Our friend Jason, the Geologist is coming for a weekend visit. Both Rich and I are really looking forward to it. Jason can cook a fantastic meatless meal and his company is always interesting.

We had a busy busy Friday but things look quieter for the weekend. Jason is not one we have to entertain. We can just hang out and enjoy.

Have a nice quiet weekend.

One morning walk...

I do love morning walks, although they are more erratic than they used to be as I have my husband's things to attend to before I can go. I don't get to hike out for morning sunrises any more. That was such a huge pleasure for me for many years.

An interesting result of that is I've noticed a tree/bush that I have missed somehow. 

It has the most amazing flowers and wonderful scents in the spring. How it came to be here is a mystery. Probably seeds spread from birds?

The flowers are tiny but profuse and the smell is heavenly. While I was trying to get a good shot of the tiny flowers I kept hearing a noise. I looked around for bees, then recognized the sound.
Humming birds, they were darting in and out of this bush like little bombers.

The best I can figure it to be is the Sweet Olive Bush  Autumn Olive.

 

I searched for other flowering shrubs along the gravel road and found that the Nanny Berry Bush was starting to show blossoms.

I have actually enjoyed following this bush through its phases last year. The hard part was being able to recognize the leaves and shape of the bush which is crowded in among other brush along the ditch on this dead end gravel road.

By September the berries form and are bright red against the green leaves. By fall, the leaves turn read and the berries turn black-purple.

Last September--->

Nanny Berry Bush when the berries turn black.

The Highbush Cranberry bush is slowly opening its flowers. It also is located in the ditch alongside the dead end drive.

Even the grasses are flowering.

And the Dandelions are fading away sending their seeds flying on the lightest of breezes.

A missed sunrise
new surprises...

Dandelion Wishes....

Wow...

Monday was such an incredible day. I woke up just before dawn. As is my routine, I go out to check the fence lines.

I've been trying to ID grasses so this bejeweled grass head caught my eye.

I don't know what grass type it is. I have to admit that I am horrible at ID'ing common grasses.

I spent about 10 minutes or so just trying to get a good shot of the droplets of dew. In the left side of the photo there is a mosquito that has had a meal sitting on the grass!

You might have to click on the photo to see it. This skeeter probably is the same one that was chewing on my forehead while I was trying to manually focus on the droplets.

I don't know what kind of bee this could be. I looked up 'tiny green bees' and ended up with an answer that ID'd it as a sweat bee. Apparently they also love nectar from flowers. I learned from an Entomology site that hunting for insects is best done in the early -- early mornings. Look for insects waiting on plants where the morning sun will shine and warm them up.
 

When Charlie and I got back from checking the forest fence, the sun was breaking up the fog over the neighbor's meadow. This is the view across the fence from us to the east. That tree was heavy last year with apples. 

This is one of my favorite wild apple trees.

Looks like I'll have lots of apples again this August to pick and juice up for jelly!

Another view through the fence line to the east. Monday was going to be hot and humid.

Not only did Monday feel hot and humid, it felt like ... as my Grandmother would say:

It is going to storm.

As is happened, the storm did edge around us and dump on a town about 10 miles away with heavy rain, wind, and hail.

We lucked out.

It was Tuesday that it was so 'stupid' hot, that I stayed inside and read a book.

Buggin' is Distracting

Well, searching for grasses leads to searching for wildflowers

leads to finding cool insects...

leads to being more curious about everything...

and then I forget to do other important things like...

leaving the cleaning for later...laundry maybe can wait....

But then I get back at it. 
You know, mowing, cleaning, making supper stuff, hanging out laundry...

and then I stop and see... 

the bumble bees...

working on the sage plant flowers on the porch...

a little bit later, I drop my basket of clothes and sit to watch a Red Admiral..

he/she is fluttering about on a Forget Me Not flower...

another flutter-by...attracts my

eye...

a Silver Spotted Skipper...

A cardinal swoops into my view and now I have to sit on the porch bench and watch him...

I go back to grab the sheets off the line and checked on my shady wildflower garden. I have to stop again...

more time watching and wondering...

I find the Ultimately Coolest Bug ever...

on a Coreopsis flower...waiting...waiting for a victim...

The Assassin Bug or
Ambush Bug

I watch this insect and wonder why no one has modeled a science fiction creature after this amazing looking insect.

close up...cropped....

I spy...

another type of fly...

on a Hosta Leaf...

time to get back at it...

beds to make, laundry to fold..

but dang, buggin' is a lot more fun...

If it were not for my dad, I may have never picked up this hobby...

Wonders...

Nature is always surprising me at every turn with odd things to find.

After our last heavy rains [more expected this weekend], I found this white stuff on a large chunk of wood.
It looked like frost at first. 

No, it wasn't. It was some sort of slime mold. Eeeks, that name sounds horrible, but little slime molds that can be found in the woods are pretty neat and some are just odd looking and beautiful. I've found some incredible brilliant colors of slime molds growing on wood over the years.

Nature just keeps me smiling!

In my shady wildflower garden, I found these beautiful tiny pink flowers. The flowers themselves are no larger than a pencil eraser.
When I looked at the photo on my laptop, I found this!

Imagine! I found a Katydid Nymph and I wasn't even looking! Katydids make a lot of noise in late summer. I found it interesting that over the years I probably confused Katydids with Grasshoppers as they are very similar.

I found a much more common insect when I was pulling weeds. I was so pleased to see the Yellow Swallowtails fluttering about in the same garden.

I found this insect resting on some Oxeye Daisies in the morning pasture. One of the best ways to find summer insects is early in the morning. According to Insect People, find flowers or places that the bugs will rest in the night to catch the early morning sun and warm up.

Mystery Insect

I suspect that it is some sort of fly but who knows???

Meanwhile, in the pasture, I found beautiful but not so nice weeds. The land to the east and west of me do not do any weed control or mowing. Such is the nature of our wild woods and meadows. Both neighbors at one time had cattle which really cut down on many unwanted plants.

However, there is nothing to do about it, so I make the best of it. 

Oxeye Daisies are pretty
with dew on them.
Many mornings, they have 

cool insects resting on 

their petals.

I cut these down, but they love to 

grow on the fence between

or properties.

Nightshade

Multi flora Rose
Actually, the mules will eat blossoms 

and leaves off these

if there is nothing else

left in the pasture

to eat.

Sheeps Sorrel?
pretty, but not useful

for 

grazing.

From slime molds to insects, to dew drops on plants. Nature keeps me wondering.

I really do enjoy my walks and am glad that I stop to look now at everything I can find. Grasses, bushes, trees, and even slime molds can be beautiful.

PS~~ Mica update. She is walking normal now with her diaper cushion and shows no sign of lameness. Her abscess is healing nicely and we do a daily foot wash and wrap for now.

Mules in the Meadow

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.

Flutterbies and bugs

Last year I planted petunias and verbenas in the annual garden by the kitchen window. It looked great, but I noticed that the butterflies and bees preferred the Zinnias further away from my house down in the veggie garden.

So this year I took seeds that I'd gathered last year and seeds from Aurora and tossed 4 O'clocks and Zinnias in my small annual garden.

You will notice some Marigolds mixed in and those were all leftover seeds from the year before. I picked up the seeds that had fallen on the ground and poked a few here and there.

What a surprise my willy nilly casting of seeds gave me this year.

I think the butterfly below is a Black Swallow Tail! I've learned patience this year. A LOT of patience!

To get a bright back lit photo of a butterfly takes a ton of patience and waiting. 

The butterflies like to hit up the flowers when it is warm and sunny, then all of the insects are going crazy in a sense.

I even planted 3 sunflowers within close proximity of the house. In years past, Rich would complain about the sunflowers blocking his view of the driveway. I made sure that he could see the driveway, but also see the sunflowers.

This year he stands at the kitchen sink window and gives me a commentary on what is happening in the flower garden.

I planted sunflowers over a few different weeks in hopes of having more blooming time. The insects and the Goldfinches have been having a hay day with those huge flowers.

And there are all sorts of secret things hiding in the Marigolds. Crab spiders love hiding between the petals of a Zinnia or Marigold to wait for an unsuspecting 'meal' to come along.

The bees, butterflies, and spiders are all having a blast in my tiny garden. 

I'm collecting seeds from the 'Wildflower' Garden I planted in another section of the yard. I recognize the Bachelor's Buttons, the Marigolds, and some of the others, but some flowers evade ID. I think they are pretty, so I am gathering their seeds to toss in another section of the yard that I mow [hubby won't mow it over then!] next year.

I'm fairly sure that I will surely miss this riot of color after the first frost this year.

The flowers have brought me a lot of joy this year, as well as practicing with my camera.

I planted Nasturtiums because my friend in Alabama says these were her absolutley MOST-est favorite flower when she resided in the North. She says they do not survive the intense heat of the far south.

They were not always my favorite flower, however, I am reconsidering them as they have added beautiful mounds of brilliant color around my porch where the ground cover was sparse.

Apparently they too, attract spiders!

The humming birds are still either here or passing through. They are all over the 4 O'clocks in the early morning and early evenings.

I'm pretty lucky to have all this activity just outside my door.