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

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

7-31 Wild Clematis

7-31
Wild Clematis and Wild Cucumber drape riverside thickets. Nearby a Monarch butterfly caterpillar explores the leaves of Virginia Creeper.
John
Wild Clematis

Wild Cucumber

Monarch caterpillar on Virginia Creeper

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

7-30 Yellow Avens

7-30
Yellow Avens is flowering along the banks of the West River and Northern Green Orchids can be found in damp woods.
John
Yellow Avens

Northern Green Orchids

Monday, July 29, 2019

7-29 Blue Curl

7-29
Blue Curls, a little delicate mint family member, is starting its flowering. It favors dry, sandy even salty locations.
In thickets, head-high Woodland Sunflowers raise their flowers over competing weeds and shrubs.
John
Blue Curl

Woodland Sunflower

Sunday, July 28, 2019

7-28 Partridge Pea

7-28
Partridge Pea is opening flowers.
Parasitic Pinesaps are pushing up through layers of shed needles and other detrius.
 Lance-leaved AKA Grass-leaved Goldenrod can be found on dry banks and in old fields.
John
Partridge Pea

Pinesaps

Lance-leaved Goldenrod

Saturday, July 27, 2019

7-27 Great Chickweed

7-27
Great AKA Star Chickweed is in flower and a white flowering Chicory lightens a nearby roadside. Chicory flowers may be white, pink or blue.
John
Great Chickweed

White Chicory

Friday, July 26, 2019

7-26 Common Arrowhead

7-26
The white three-petaled flowers of Common Arrowhead grace muddy edges, Mad-dog Skullcap favors similar habitats and Steeplebush is usually not far away.
John
Common Arrowhead

Mad-dog Skullcap

Steeplebush

Thursday, July 25, 2019

7-25 Whorled Milkwort

7-25
Whorled Milkwort, American Germander (AKA Wood Sage) and Spotted Spurge were all flowering along the West River this morning.
John
Whorled Milkwort

American Germander

Spotted Spurge

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

7-24 Wild Geranium

7-24
Wild Geranium can be found in old fields.
Black Nightshade which has white flowers favors damper edges.
White Baneberry, AKA Doll's Eyes, and the closely related Red Baneberry have both set fruit.
John
Wild Geranium

Black Nightshade

White Baneberry (Doll's Eyes)

Red Baneberry

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

7-23 Wild Sensitive Plant

7-23
Wild Sensitive Plant, a State listed rare species reacts to touch.
Velvet Leaf is a pest in agricultural fields
Slender Cottonweed, an invasive which is slowly marching north on I91, is occasionally found along Rte. 5.
John
Wild Sensitive Plants

Velvet Leaf

Slender Cottonweed

Monday, July 22, 2019

7-22 Catnip

7-22
Catnip and Woodland Agrimony are in flower and the nymphal husks of Dogday Harvestflies (cicadas) hang on trees while the flies that emerged from them shrill from the treetops on hot afternoons.
John
Catnip

Woodland Agrimony

Dogday Harvestfly nymphal husk

Sunday, July 21, 2019

7-21 Purslane

7-21
the little yellow flowers of Purslane are open for only a few early morning hours and a moth called the Beautiful Wood Nymph waits out the daylight hours on a convenient leaf.
John
Purslane

Beautiful Wood Nymph moth

Saturday, July 20, 2019

7-20 White Turtlehead

7-20
White Turtlehead is flowering in swamps and wet ditches.
Galinsoga, AKA Quickweed, is a pest in cultivated areas.
A White-tailed Buck enjoys a mouthful of greenery even while contemplating flight.
John
White Turtlehead

Galinsoga

White-tailed buck

Friday, July 19, 2019

7-19 Northern Willow Herb

7-19
Northern Willow Herb and False Pimpernel are both flowering in wet areas.
Monarch caterpillars fed on young milkweed while a monarch egg waits to hatch.
John
Northern Willow Herb

False Pimpernel

Monarch egg on Milkweed

Monarch caterpillar on milkweed

Thursday, July 18, 2019

7-18 Wild Basil

7-18
Wild Basil is starting to flower.
One of three bur producing docks, this one possibly Woolly Burdock, is in bloom.
John
Wild Basil

Burdock

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

7-17 Creeping Spearwort

7-17
Weak creeping stems and tiny yellow flowers make Creeping Spearwort easy to identify.
Black seed clusters help identify Black Medick.
One-sided spikes of small yellow-green flowers mark Ditch Stonecrop.
John
Creeping Spearwort

Black Medick

Ditch Stonecrop

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

7-16 Helleborine

7-16
Our only on-native orchid, Helleborine, is starting to flower and Ragged Fringed Orchid is up although deer truncated in this instance.
John
Helleborine

Ragged Fringed Orchid

Monday, July 15, 2019

7-15 Hairy Willow Herb

7-15
Hairy Willow Herb is flowering in areas with water saturated soils.
Water Lobelia prefers standing water.
John
Hairy Willow Herb

Water Lobelia

Sunday, July 14, 2019

7-14 Hemp Nettle Hemp Nettle

Hemp Nettle is flowering in waste places and carnivorous Inflated Bladderwort floats on spokelike modified leaves while dangling insect traps in the water.
John
Hemp Nettle

Inflated Bladderwort

Saturday, July 13, 2019

7-13 Silverrod

7-13
Siverrod -the only goldenrod that's not golden - is starting its flowering season adn Spotted Wintergreen is not far behind.
John
Silverrod

Spotted Wintergreen