Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Whiting Road

So, another trip to Whiting Road.  I did a hodgepodge of things, this time.  First I went to the little swamp across the road, then I walked the part of the Red Trail that goes through the Great Meadow.

The swamp was a treasure trove of new flowers.  I was glad that there was no one around to see me teetering on the edges of the culverts, trying to get good shots of some of them.

Boneset


Narrow Leaved Willow Herb

 Blue Vervain


And, then, sitting on a log, having a nice little snooze, were these three Mallards.





 From the swamp, I went over to the Red Trail.  There weren't as many new flowers there, but I was very surprised to see an Aster blooming already.  Can Fall be far behind?


The Goldenrod are in full bloom.   Identifying them is hard, because there are so many different kinds.  But, the main thing that took my attention was how many honeybees there were on each of them.  A sight that I love to see.


There were a couple of obviously different Goldenrods there, too.  I don't know what kind this is.


 But, I think that this might be Showy Goldenrod.

There were some other things to see, also.  The Wild Cherries are ripe.  I was very surprised that these trees weren't mobbed with birds.

I was on the lookout for Butterfly Weed, because a couple of you mentioned that I was more likely to find Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars on them than on Milkweed.  Here's one that has developed seedpods.  The show their relationship with Milkweed.


And, success!  I'm sorry for the quality of this picture.  I was so disappointed when I got home to see that every single one of the pictures that I had was blurry.  But, I wanted to show you that I did find my caterpillar!


After I found my caterpillar, I hiked back to the car.  I'm sorry to say that those weeks when it was too hot and humid to hike took their toll.  I was pooped and my feet were killing me.  But, hopefully, the weather has broken, and I will get back to my regular routine, and get my strength and stamina back quickly.

10 comments:

Terry said...

It's nice to find someone else who enjoys swamps and marshes. When I was doing field work for USGS, I was entranced by the swamps. My coworkers thought I was crazy.
Anyway, you might enjoy the blog at
http://www.swampthings.blogspot.com/

Sharon said...

Is it really cooler up there now? Our temps are a tad better, but the humidity still makes it so miserable.

You going to bring some cocoons home later so you can watch them in the spring?

Nice walk!

Ellen Rathbone said...

Hooray - you got your caterpickle!

Cat said...

Hot weather does a number, doesn't it? I love the picture of the caterpillar... I agree with you about the cherries, I have yet to get more than a few from our trees, the birds are way faster, and able to get higher up in the tree than I can...

Cat

Tina said...

great pictures, love the bee pictures.

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Hi Louise! Once again, great pictures, especially the Goldenrod! I didn't know there were different varities of it. I HAD it blooming by my house, but then the yellow-jackets were all over it, so it went away.

Gerry's Soap N Stuff said...

Hi Louise, I enjoyed the hike and the pictures. Gerry

Vicki Lane said...

I love the very Name od willowherb. Thanks for the picture!

barefootheart said...

Lovely pictures, interesting walk! We used to have a chokecherry tree. Some years the birds didn't seem to notice it, and other years it would be full of robins. Is your Butterfly Weed ...swamp milkweed?

Lori Skoog said...

Gorgeous photos Louise.