Icicles on the bank of the Ashuelot River

Well, the Ashuelot River does not run through Dummerston, but i saw these fascinating icicles in Swanzey NH on Christmas Day.

Cheryl Wilfong

Sightings on Canoe Brook Road

I know this isn't the usual nature sighting, but i couldn't resist :)

Cheryl Wilfong

12-20 Grouse Locust

12-20
Grouse Locusts ( Short-horned Grasshoppers) were active - if a bit lethargic- early this afternoon.
John

11-27 Snow worms

11- 27
Some cutworms and earthworms chose to take their chances atop the snow this morning. Snow would not seem to be a good medium for wither … but … ?!?!
John

cutworm

earthworm

Beautiful Buck

We had a moose in our front yard on October 24. Probably the same moose that John saw in the West River 3 weeks earlier?

On Friday, this beautiful buck visited my garden.







And, in other news, Bill is training chickadees to eat out of his hand.

10-6 Moose

10-6
Late this morning a visitor stopped by, had a drink of water and ate some leaves.
John

8-16 Definite Tussock Moth caterpillar

8-16
A caterpillar called the Definite Tussock Moth caterpillar rests on a twig.
A good crop of Dwarf Enchanter's Nightshade carpets wet places.
A colorful little Garter snake waits patiently for me to leave.
John

Definite Tussock Moth caterpillar

Dwarf Enchanter's Nightshade

Garter snake

8-15 American Yew

8-15
The bright red berry-like cones of American Yew seem almost translucent.
The greenish-white flowers in long branching groups of umbels mark
Spikenard.
Silverrod is starting its flowering. Silverrod is the only white goldenrod.
John

American Yew berry

Spikenard

Silverrod

8-14 Three-seeded Mercury

8-14
Large leafy bracts and clusters of tiny flowers tucked in the leaf axils make Three-seeded Mercury easy to identify.
A colorful Tachinid Fly paused just long enough for me to takes its picture.
John

Three-seeded Mercury

Tachinid fly

8-13 Bur Marigold

8-13
Bur Marigold, AKA Beggar's Tick, are flowering.
Colorful, but not positively identified, galls line an Oak twig.
John

Bur Marigold

Gall on Oak twig

8-11 Dead Man's Fingers

8-11
Although they start out white in the spring, the fungi called Dead Man's Fingers turn a carbon black by late summer. They grow on the stumps of Maple and Beech.
John

8-10 Hog Peanut

8-10
The tiny paired flowers of Hog Peanut drape grasses and weeds.
Panicled Tick-trefoil lurks along the edges of dry woods.
A juvenile Great Blue Heron looked for lunch in the field behind my house.
John

Hog Peanut

Panicled Tick-trefoil

Great Blue Heron

8-9 Carrion berries

8-9
The grape-like fruits of Carrion Flower drape thickets.
Two species of Calligrapha beetles posed nicely while I took their pictures.
John

Carrion Flower fruit

Calligrapha Beetle

Calligrapha Beetle

8-8 Turtleheads

8-8
Aptly named Turtlehead can be found in wet ditches and along shores.
Diminutive Canada St. Johnsworts flourish in damp lawns and low places.
A male Northern Walkingstick perched on a Black Locust. We routinely see these insects in even numbered years but find none in odd numbered years.
John

Turtlehead

Canada St, Johnswort

Northern Walkingstick - male

8-7 Galls

8-7
Grape Phylloxera galls make a grape leaf nearly identifiable and Willow Cone galls look as if they should e in evergreen forests rather than on river banks.
Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars devour milkweed leaves one after another before they go their individual ways.
A Red-spotted Purple/White Admiral Complex basked in a patch of sunlight. The two butterflies are varieties of the same species and often interbreed.
John

Grape Phylloxera galls

Willow Cone gall

Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars

Red-spotted Purple/White Admiral

8-6 Locust Treehopper

8-6
A Locust Treehopper - one of many thorn mimicking hoppers - perched on a goldenrod.
In the woods, Three Bird Orchids were at their delicate best.
John

Locust Tree Hopper

Three Bird Orchid

8-5 Suphur Polypore

8-5
Sulphur Polypore makes the base of a tree seem to blaze.
Rough Hawkweed is in flower along road sides and in old fields.
A Red-tailed Hawk perch hunts from a utility pole.
John

Sulphur Polypore

Rough Hawkweed

Red-tailed Hawk

8-4 Large Cranberries

8-4
Along the West River, in an area inundated by every freshet, Large Cranberries are setting fruit.
John

Large Cranberry