Welcome

To all those interested in the natural world. Please add your sightings.

In the woods we return to reason and faith-Emerson

Best-Lynn

Friday, July 25, 2025

American Germander, Cup Plant, Loon and chick

American Germander, AKA Wood Sage, favors shores and moist thickets.
Thickets and stream banks host Cup Plant which is native to North America but introduced in New England.
Shortly after this picture was taken the loon passed the fish to its chick. John

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Hairy Spurge, Golden Hedge Hyssop, Buttonbush

Hairy Spurge favors fields, roadsides and waste places.
Golden Hedge Hyssop, AKA Pert, is a plant of low sandy shores.
Wet places are home to Buttonbush. John

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Teasel, Partridge Pea

Fields and roadsides are home to Teasel, an introduced species.
Partridge Pea favors sandy soil often along roadsides. John

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Small Water Plantain, Culver's Root, Oleander Aphids

Small Water Plantain is found along muddy shores.
Woods and meadows are habitat for Culver's Root.
Milkweed hosts brightly colored Oleander Aphids. John

Monday, July 21, 2025

Steeplebush, Purple Milkwort, Large Coralroot

Low grounds, fields and pastures are home to Steeplebush.
Purple Milkwort grows in moist meadows and similar locations.
Large Coralroot is a woodland species. John

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Ditch Stonecrop, Hairy Willow Herb, Monarch Caterpillar and Egg, Pearly Wood Nymph

Wet ditches and swamps are habitat for Ditch Stonecrop.
Damp thickets and waste places are home to Hairy Willow Herb.
A few Monarch caterpillars can be seen on milkweed along with Monarch's eggs.
A moth called the Pearly Wood Numph posed nicely while I took several pictures. This moth's resemblence to bird droppings is thought to protect it from predation. John

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Wild Sensitive Plant, Burdock

Sandy soil, often along roadsides, is home to Wild Sensitive Plant.
Burdock is a common weed of waste places. John

Friday, July 18, 2025

Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain, False Pimpernel, Tansy

Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain is a diminutive woodland species.
Wet places are home to False pimpernel.
Tansy, a garden introduction, is now a common roadside and vacant lot inhabitant. John

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Common Sow Thistle, Orange Grass, American Lotus, Red Milkweed Bug

Common Sow Thistle thrives in fields and waste places.
Barren grounds are home to Orange Grass, AKA Pine Weed.
Ponds and slow streams host American Lotus.
Red Milkweed Bugs add their bit of color to the world. John

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Tiger Lily, Tall Blue Lettuce, Jimson Weed

Tiger Lilies persist around old home sites and have escaped from gardens to roadsides.
Moist thickets and clearings are home to Tall Blue Lettuce.
Jimson Weed, AKA Thorn Apple, is an ill smelling poisonous alien that crops up in waste places. John