I visited the overgrown borders of a stream in a meadow in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania early in July to see what critters were in that long, narrow habitat jutting out from a bottomland woods. The small variety of plant species there, including silver maple trees, jewelweeds, reed canary-grass and stinging nettles, dominated the shores of that stream. That little waterway was fenced to keep cattle out, which is why it grew tall with bottomland vegetation.
I was only at that stream for an hour, but I saw a lot of interesting wildlife, much of it in that waterway. Three kinds of small fish, crayfish, water striders, bluet damselflies and black-winged damselflies were visible to me. And I heard several unseen green frogs belching and gulping along the shores of the stream. They were male green frogs calling to attract females of their kind into the water to spawn.
Small, mixed schools of black-nosed dace and banded killifish swam into the current in mid-stream. Both these species are common in the eastern United States, up to two inches long, eat invertebrates, streamlined to easily cope with the current and mostly brown to blend into the mud on the bottom of the waterway. These minnows are attractive and graceful while constantly undulating in place or swimming upstream into the current with little effort. However, herons, egrets, belted kingfishers, water snakes and other creatures prey on these small fish.
Dace have a black stripe running along each flank from nose to tail. And male dace have an orange stripe just under that black one and orange fins in May and June to exhibit their breeding readiness. Killifish always have dark, vertical bars on their flanks. Dace and killifish both spawn in the shallows of the streams and brooks they live in.
I saw a couple of brown and barred Johnny darters, which is a kind of fish with no air bladder to lift off the bottom of a stream or brook. Therefore, darters forever scan for invertebrate food on the bottoms of waterways.
I saw a crayfish crawling about on the bottom of the stream in its quest for decaying plant and animal material. It, too, is the color of the mud on the bottom, which camouflages this little crustacean.
Several water striders were skating across the surface of slow-moving parts of the stream. These insects have huge feet which broadly distribute their minimal weight so they don't break the surface tension of the water and sink into it. Their middle pair of legs propel them forward and the front pair grab land invertebrates that fall helpless on the water's surface. Striders are dark-brown on top, which camouflages them before the bottoms of waterways.
Male bluet damselflies resembled tiny, thin streaks of blue on plants near the stream. And a few male black-winged damselflies danced in sunbeams over the stream. The beautiful black-wings do have four black wings and thin, iridescent-green abdomens. Both these species of damselflies spawn in the shallows of small waterways like this one.
A few, pretty red admiral butterflies landed on some of the stinging nettle plants. They were female red admirals laying eggs on nettle leaves, the only food of their caterpillars.
I also saw and heard a few types of small, nesting birds among the silver maples, tall grasses and "weeds" along that little waterway. Those birds included a song sparrow along a shore of the stream, a pair of northern cardinals, a few tufted titmice, a pair of gray catbirds and a pair of eastern phoebes.
Song sparrows like to be along the shores of small waterways that flow through thickets of shrubbery. The cardinals and catbirds were nesting somewhere in the shrubbery near the stream. The titmice probably were a family that grew up in the nearby woods.
But the phoebes were the most interesting pair of birds that day along that little waterway. For years a pair of phoebes have been nesting in a cradle of mud and moss of their own making on a support beam under a small bridge along the edge of the adjacent woods. The pair of phoebes I saw that day regularly foraged for invertebrates in the thin strip of silver maples and other plants along the small stream I was watching. Some of those invertebrates were fed to their young under the bridge.
It is amazing the variety of adaptable wildlife that can be experienced in a thin strip of overgrown vegetation along a small waterway in a human-made meadow. Other little corners of habitat, natural or built, can be just as favorable to wildlife. Readers can enjoy checking on overgrown places near their homes to see what wildlife is living in those wild spots.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Creatures of Woodland Brooks
Another one of my favorite habitats to visit in southeastern Pennsylvania in summer is some of the cool, clear, freshwater brooks that tumble musically over rocks in shallow stretches and swirl into deeper, slower pools or "holes", all in the shade of deciduous woods. Several kinds of creatures live about those crystalline holes with slower currents where they don't have to expend as much energy as they would when coping with swift water.
The first life I usually see around those stream pools is the intriguing, mid-air dancing of male black-winged damselflies. Those dragonfly relatives are striking with their iridescent-green abdomens and four black wings they hold upright when at rest on a streamside leaf or twig. And they are particularly handsome when dancing, with wings fluttering like those of butterflies, in shafts of sunlight in the shady woods. Those male damselflies are courting females of their kind as a prelude to their spawning in woodland streams.
Both the thin, brown larval damselflies on stream bottoms and the adults in the air consume small invertebrates.
Little groups of water striders, which are a kind of insect, "skate" across the surface of stream pools. Their long feet act like skis to distribute their minimal weight so they don't break through the water's surface tension and sink into it.
Striders' middle pair of legs work together to row these insects over the water's surface and their front pair catch land invertebrates that tumbled helplessly onto the water.
Striders are dark on top, which camouflages them against the bottom of streams. And they are white below, which makes them hard to see from the bottoms of streams.
Schools of black-nosed dace and individual brook trout, brown trout or rainbow trout live in some of the near-pristine streams and their holes in the cool woods. All these handsome fish ingest a variety of invertebrates in the clear water. And they all are mostly brown on top, which blends them into the bottoms of the waterways they live in. However, mink catch and eat some of the trout.
Several kinds of small, brownish critters live camouflaged under and between stones on stream bottoms, including Johnny darter fish, crayfish, mayfly larvae, stonefly larvae and water pennies. All these creatures need good water quality and their presence in a waterway indicates exactly that. Darters have no air bladders to give them lift in the water, so they rest between rocks on the bottom of streams where they eat tiny invertebrates and fish eggs. They move about in short spurts across the bottom.
Crayfish are a kind of freshwater crustacean that hides among stones on stream bottoms. They venture out, mostly at night, to feed on decaying plant and animal materials. Raccoons and mink consume some of the available crayfish.
Mayfly larvae, stonefly larvae and water pennies, which are round, brown and a kind of beetle larvae, are all fairly flat so they don't get swept away in the current and can slip between stones to hide from fish and other predators in the water. The mayfly larvae and stonefly larvae eat tiny invertebrates while the water pennies scrape alga off the rocks they cling to.
As larvae and adults, up to three kinds of lungless salamanders, including red, two-lined and dusky salamanders, live under stones along the edges of woodland brooks and streams where they consume invertebrates. Not having lungs, these amphibians take in oxygen and expire carbon dioxide through their moist skins and mouth linings.
Louisiana waterthrushes, which are a species of birds, build cradles and raise young in notches in streambanks in the woods. And they patrol the stony edges of little waterways in woodlands to pick invertebrates like mayflies and others from under small stones to feed themselves and their young.
Waterthrushes bob and dance as they walk along the edges of woodland waterways to get food. I think that rhythmic action is a form of camouflage as they mimic woody debris bouncing in the current along the edges of the waterways.
When along brooks and streams in summer woods, look for some of these interesting, little creatures. They make time in those lovely woodlands more enjoyable.
The first life I usually see around those stream pools is the intriguing, mid-air dancing of male black-winged damselflies. Those dragonfly relatives are striking with their iridescent-green abdomens and four black wings they hold upright when at rest on a streamside leaf or twig. And they are particularly handsome when dancing, with wings fluttering like those of butterflies, in shafts of sunlight in the shady woods. Those male damselflies are courting females of their kind as a prelude to their spawning in woodland streams.
Both the thin, brown larval damselflies on stream bottoms and the adults in the air consume small invertebrates.
Little groups of water striders, which are a kind of insect, "skate" across the surface of stream pools. Their long feet act like skis to distribute their minimal weight so they don't break through the water's surface tension and sink into it.
Striders' middle pair of legs work together to row these insects over the water's surface and their front pair catch land invertebrates that tumbled helplessly onto the water.
Striders are dark on top, which camouflages them against the bottom of streams. And they are white below, which makes them hard to see from the bottoms of streams.
Schools of black-nosed dace and individual brook trout, brown trout or rainbow trout live in some of the near-pristine streams and their holes in the cool woods. All these handsome fish ingest a variety of invertebrates in the clear water. And they all are mostly brown on top, which blends them into the bottoms of the waterways they live in. However, mink catch and eat some of the trout.
Several kinds of small, brownish critters live camouflaged under and between stones on stream bottoms, including Johnny darter fish, crayfish, mayfly larvae, stonefly larvae and water pennies. All these creatures need good water quality and their presence in a waterway indicates exactly that. Darters have no air bladders to give them lift in the water, so they rest between rocks on the bottom of streams where they eat tiny invertebrates and fish eggs. They move about in short spurts across the bottom.
Crayfish are a kind of freshwater crustacean that hides among stones on stream bottoms. They venture out, mostly at night, to feed on decaying plant and animal materials. Raccoons and mink consume some of the available crayfish.
Mayfly larvae, stonefly larvae and water pennies, which are round, brown and a kind of beetle larvae, are all fairly flat so they don't get swept away in the current and can slip between stones to hide from fish and other predators in the water. The mayfly larvae and stonefly larvae eat tiny invertebrates while the water pennies scrape alga off the rocks they cling to.
As larvae and adults, up to three kinds of lungless salamanders, including red, two-lined and dusky salamanders, live under stones along the edges of woodland brooks and streams where they consume invertebrates. Not having lungs, these amphibians take in oxygen and expire carbon dioxide through their moist skins and mouth linings.
Louisiana waterthrushes, which are a species of birds, build cradles and raise young in notches in streambanks in the woods. And they patrol the stony edges of little waterways in woodlands to pick invertebrates like mayflies and others from under small stones to feed themselves and their young.
Waterthrushes bob and dance as they walk along the edges of woodland waterways to get food. I think that rhythmic action is a form of camouflage as they mimic woody debris bouncing in the current along the edges of the waterways.
When along brooks and streams in summer woods, look for some of these interesting, little creatures. They make time in those lovely woodlands more enjoyable.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Cow Pasture Streams
The slow-moving, deeper parts, "holes", of clear, running streams in sunny cow pastures in southeastern Pennsylvania are one of my favorite habitats to experience in summer. Those waterways don't always appear so, but they are full of attractive, adaptable and interesting creatures of several kinds.
Bluet damselflies, green darner dragonflies and white-tailed and twelve-spotted skimmer dragonflies are some of the first critters noticed at these streams. These common members of the dragonfly family are often obvious because they zip through the air over streams, ponds and meadows in pursuit of flying insects to eat, and mates. Bluets are tiny, thin strips of blue, white-tails have white abdomens and twelve-spots have 12 black and white spots on their four wings, two white and one black on each wing. And the three-inch-long green darners have green thoraxes and blue abdomens.
Females of each kind of damselfly and dragonfly spawn eggs in the slower sections of these streams, and in ponds. The brownish nymphs of each species feed on aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles and other small, water critters on the bottoms of those waters until they morph as winged adults and escape the water for life in the air when we see them, sometimes in abundance.
Female mallard ducks raise broods of ducklings on ponds and some cow pasture streams. The young consume invertebrates to grow rapidly, while their mothers concentrate mostly on plant life.
A type of bug called water striders walks on the surface of water in stream holes, and ponds. These insects are dark on top and silvery below, which blends them into their stream habitat. The six legs of striders spread their slight weight over the water's surface tension to the extent they don't break through it; sort of like the use of snowshoes on snow. Their pair of middle legs propel them across the surface of the water and their front legs capture land invertebrates that fell helpless on the water's surface.
A variety of fish congregate in the slower holes in meadow streams, including Johnny darters, black-nosed dace, banded killifish, white suckers and carp. All these fish species are basically brown, which camouflages them against the stony or muddy bottoms of the streams. Darters have no air bladders to hold them in mid-stream, so they lie on the bottom where they ingest tiny invertebrates and other small critters. Schools of dace and killifish, often in mixed groups, hunt invertebrates in mid-stream. White suckers and carp consume both plant and animal material, but mostly off the bottoms of the streams. The different foods in different parts of streams reduce competition for food among these fish species.
Looking like tiny lobsters, crayfish, which are a kind of freshwater crustacean, live under stones and patches of vegetation on the bottoms of flowing waterways. But sometimes they can be spotted moving over the bottoms of those streams in search of bits of plants and animals.
Muskrats, which are rodents that resemble big meadow mice, dig holes into stream banks at the normal water level, then dig uphill in those banks. Muskrats eat cattail roots, grass and other kinds of vegetation growing near water.
Great blue herons, great egrets, green herons, mink and raccoons patrol some of these pasture waterways to get food. Coons get mostly crayfish and frogs, while mink capture those same foods, and some of the larger fish. Herons and egrets snare all those creatures, and mice in the meadow. Interestingly, herons and egrets dunk the mice they catch in water to slick the rodents' fur so they can swallow them more easily.
Some herons, coons and mink live and rear young near some cow pasture streams. Herons build stick cradles in trees, raccoons live in burrows in trees and the ground and mink live in abandoned muskrat holes in stream banks and in muskrat burrows of those muskrats they killed and ingested.
Belted kingfishers and rough-winged swallows both dig nesting burrows near the tops of stream banks. The kingfishers catch and eat small fish while the swallows consume flying insects.
Colonies of green frogs and small groups of painted turtles sit on top of aquatic plants in the slower holes of pasture streams. The frogs sit there, half-submerged, to catch and eat invertebrates and to croak to attract females for spawning in the slower water. The turtles are there to soak up the warming sunlight so they have energy to look for food and mates.
Fowler's toads also spawn in the slower stretches of meadow streams. I hear their short, nasal "waaaah" many times during June nights.
Snapping turtles and northern water snakes live in many slower holes in pasture waterways. Both these creatures are completely predatory, feeding on fish, frogs, tadpoles and other aquatic creatures. They, too, sunbathe, but not obviously.
Red-winged blackbirds and song sparrows live and nest along meadow streams wherever grasses and cattails grow high enough for these two bird species to find enough shelter to construct grassy nests. Female red-wings build nurseries up the stems and female sparrows make cradles on the ground at the bases of the plants. Both species feed on invertebrates.
Little groups of attractive American goldfinches visit pasture streams to eat alga in the shallows. Male goldfinches in summer are yellow and black, adding more beauty to the waterways and pastures.
Watch streams in meadows during summer more closely. They are full of interesting, adaptable life, making our lives more enjoyable. Or look at other habitats of interest near your homes more closely. They, too, probably are full of intriguing, beautiful life.
Bluet damselflies, green darner dragonflies and white-tailed and twelve-spotted skimmer dragonflies are some of the first critters noticed at these streams. These common members of the dragonfly family are often obvious because they zip through the air over streams, ponds and meadows in pursuit of flying insects to eat, and mates. Bluets are tiny, thin strips of blue, white-tails have white abdomens and twelve-spots have 12 black and white spots on their four wings, two white and one black on each wing. And the three-inch-long green darners have green thoraxes and blue abdomens.
Females of each kind of damselfly and dragonfly spawn eggs in the slower sections of these streams, and in ponds. The brownish nymphs of each species feed on aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles and other small, water critters on the bottoms of those waters until they morph as winged adults and escape the water for life in the air when we see them, sometimes in abundance.
Female mallard ducks raise broods of ducklings on ponds and some cow pasture streams. The young consume invertebrates to grow rapidly, while their mothers concentrate mostly on plant life.
A type of bug called water striders walks on the surface of water in stream holes, and ponds. These insects are dark on top and silvery below, which blends them into their stream habitat. The six legs of striders spread their slight weight over the water's surface tension to the extent they don't break through it; sort of like the use of snowshoes on snow. Their pair of middle legs propel them across the surface of the water and their front legs capture land invertebrates that fell helpless on the water's surface.
A variety of fish congregate in the slower holes in meadow streams, including Johnny darters, black-nosed dace, banded killifish, white suckers and carp. All these fish species are basically brown, which camouflages them against the stony or muddy bottoms of the streams. Darters have no air bladders to hold them in mid-stream, so they lie on the bottom where they ingest tiny invertebrates and other small critters. Schools of dace and killifish, often in mixed groups, hunt invertebrates in mid-stream. White suckers and carp consume both plant and animal material, but mostly off the bottoms of the streams. The different foods in different parts of streams reduce competition for food among these fish species.
Looking like tiny lobsters, crayfish, which are a kind of freshwater crustacean, live under stones and patches of vegetation on the bottoms of flowing waterways. But sometimes they can be spotted moving over the bottoms of those streams in search of bits of plants and animals.
Muskrats, which are rodents that resemble big meadow mice, dig holes into stream banks at the normal water level, then dig uphill in those banks. Muskrats eat cattail roots, grass and other kinds of vegetation growing near water.
Great blue herons, great egrets, green herons, mink and raccoons patrol some of these pasture waterways to get food. Coons get mostly crayfish and frogs, while mink capture those same foods, and some of the larger fish. Herons and egrets snare all those creatures, and mice in the meadow. Interestingly, herons and egrets dunk the mice they catch in water to slick the rodents' fur so they can swallow them more easily.
Some herons, coons and mink live and rear young near some cow pasture streams. Herons build stick cradles in trees, raccoons live in burrows in trees and the ground and mink live in abandoned muskrat holes in stream banks and in muskrat burrows of those muskrats they killed and ingested.
Belted kingfishers and rough-winged swallows both dig nesting burrows near the tops of stream banks. The kingfishers catch and eat small fish while the swallows consume flying insects.
Colonies of green frogs and small groups of painted turtles sit on top of aquatic plants in the slower holes of pasture streams. The frogs sit there, half-submerged, to catch and eat invertebrates and to croak to attract females for spawning in the slower water. The turtles are there to soak up the warming sunlight so they have energy to look for food and mates.
Fowler's toads also spawn in the slower stretches of meadow streams. I hear their short, nasal "waaaah" many times during June nights.
Snapping turtles and northern water snakes live in many slower holes in pasture waterways. Both these creatures are completely predatory, feeding on fish, frogs, tadpoles and other aquatic creatures. They, too, sunbathe, but not obviously.
Red-winged blackbirds and song sparrows live and nest along meadow streams wherever grasses and cattails grow high enough for these two bird species to find enough shelter to construct grassy nests. Female red-wings build nurseries up the stems and female sparrows make cradles on the ground at the bases of the plants. Both species feed on invertebrates.
Little groups of attractive American goldfinches visit pasture streams to eat alga in the shallows. Male goldfinches in summer are yellow and black, adding more beauty to the waterways and pastures.
Watch streams in meadows during summer more closely. They are full of interesting, adaptable life, making our lives more enjoyable. Or look at other habitats of interest near your homes more closely. They, too, probably are full of intriguing, beautiful life.
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Milkweed Menageries
As of this date, many common milkweed plants, which are native to North America, are full sized and in bloom in meadows, along country roadsides and in some peoples' flower gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania. At this time, they have clusters of dusty-pink, waxy-looking, sweet-scented blossoms on top of their stems where a variety of bees, colorful butterflies and other kinds of visiting insects sip their nectar, pollinating those flowers in the process, and making patches of milkweeds more interesting to us.
Common milkweed plants host at least five kinds of insects through most of those insects' lives. Those critters live on milkweeds and eat certain parts of their host plants. And, interestingly, most of those milkweed insects are orange and black. All those creatures are immune to toxic chemicals in milkweed sap, which developed in the sap to protect those plants from being eaten. But with no harm to themselves, milkweed-dwelling insects collect that toxin in their bodies that make them taste bad to birds and other, potential, predators of insects, which is a form of defense. Perhaps those same insects are orange and black to forewarn would-be predators that they are not edible and to leave them alone, which is another form of defense.
The caterpillars of monarch butterflies ingest nothing but the thick leaves of milkweeds. Female monarchs have to be botanists to lay their light-green eggs, one at a time, on milkweed leaves so their young will have food. The larger, more noticeable, milkweed larvae are attractive with their yellow, black and white stripes crosswise over the tops of their bodies; colors that say "don't eat me".
What is most interesting about monarch butterflies is the last generation of four generations of each year has the ability to migrate south across the North American continent to certain spots in Florida, California or Mexico to escape the northern winter, though they never were there before. I don't think anyone knows how those monarchs know where to go to spend the winter. Their southward flights in fall are another miracle of nature.
The beautiful, one-inch-long milkweed tussock moth caterpillars appear furry with tufts of long "hair", which makes them look like a tiny dust mop. Mostly black with even longer white hairs at both ends and orange tufts of "fur" on top, these are the larvae of a small moth with a wing span of one and a half inches, silvery-brown wings and yellow abdomens. The caterpillars of this moth ingest nothing but milkweed foliage before they pupate. Female moths of this kind have to be able to identify milkweeds from the many other types of plants in any one spot to assure food for their developing young. The hair on the caterpillars' bodies also protects them from being consumed. Most birds don't like to eat hairy caterpillars.
A pretty little insect, adult red milkweed beetles also eat the leaves of milkweeds, as do their larvae. This is a half-inch, red beetle with black spots on heads, thoraxes and wing covers.
Two species of true bugs, large milkweed bugs and small eastern milkweed bugs are similar in appearance and habits. The larger kind grows to be five-eight of an inch long while the smaller type can attain a half inch. Both species as adult bugs are black with similar, orange-red markings that make them attractive to us, but warn away predators. The wingless, larval forms are orange.
Both these related bugs, as youngsters and adults, feed on the developing and mature seeds of milkweeds in that plant's seed pods. There are one or more generations of these bugs each year and the last generation of adults overwinters as adults. The next summer, females lay eggs on the growing milkweed plants.
Milkweeds have a final beauty during September and October, when leaves on deciduous trees turn bright colors. Each milkweed seed pod dies, turns gray and splits open, revealing scores of brown, flat seeds overlapping each other like scales on a closed pine cone. These, of course, are the seeds that survived the ravaging of milkweed bugs. Eventually those seeds tumble out of their pods, each one with a white, silky parachute that carries its seedy cargo away on the wind. Hundreds of milkweed seeds on the wind at once is a beautiful sight.
Look at milkweed plants more closely. They have many inspiring beauties and intrigues that can make our lives more enjoyable.
Common milkweed plants host at least five kinds of insects through most of those insects' lives. Those critters live on milkweeds and eat certain parts of their host plants. And, interestingly, most of those milkweed insects are orange and black. All those creatures are immune to toxic chemicals in milkweed sap, which developed in the sap to protect those plants from being eaten. But with no harm to themselves, milkweed-dwelling insects collect that toxin in their bodies that make them taste bad to birds and other, potential, predators of insects, which is a form of defense. Perhaps those same insects are orange and black to forewarn would-be predators that they are not edible and to leave them alone, which is another form of defense.
The caterpillars of monarch butterflies ingest nothing but the thick leaves of milkweeds. Female monarchs have to be botanists to lay their light-green eggs, one at a time, on milkweed leaves so their young will have food. The larger, more noticeable, milkweed larvae are attractive with their yellow, black and white stripes crosswise over the tops of their bodies; colors that say "don't eat me".
What is most interesting about monarch butterflies is the last generation of four generations of each year has the ability to migrate south across the North American continent to certain spots in Florida, California or Mexico to escape the northern winter, though they never were there before. I don't think anyone knows how those monarchs know where to go to spend the winter. Their southward flights in fall are another miracle of nature.
The beautiful, one-inch-long milkweed tussock moth caterpillars appear furry with tufts of long "hair", which makes them look like a tiny dust mop. Mostly black with even longer white hairs at both ends and orange tufts of "fur" on top, these are the larvae of a small moth with a wing span of one and a half inches, silvery-brown wings and yellow abdomens. The caterpillars of this moth ingest nothing but milkweed foliage before they pupate. Female moths of this kind have to be able to identify milkweeds from the many other types of plants in any one spot to assure food for their developing young. The hair on the caterpillars' bodies also protects them from being consumed. Most birds don't like to eat hairy caterpillars.
A pretty little insect, adult red milkweed beetles also eat the leaves of milkweeds, as do their larvae. This is a half-inch, red beetle with black spots on heads, thoraxes and wing covers.
Two species of true bugs, large milkweed bugs and small eastern milkweed bugs are similar in appearance and habits. The larger kind grows to be five-eight of an inch long while the smaller type can attain a half inch. Both species as adult bugs are black with similar, orange-red markings that make them attractive to us, but warn away predators. The wingless, larval forms are orange.
Both these related bugs, as youngsters and adults, feed on the developing and mature seeds of milkweeds in that plant's seed pods. There are one or more generations of these bugs each year and the last generation of adults overwinters as adults. The next summer, females lay eggs on the growing milkweed plants.
Milkweeds have a final beauty during September and October, when leaves on deciduous trees turn bright colors. Each milkweed seed pod dies, turns gray and splits open, revealing scores of brown, flat seeds overlapping each other like scales on a closed pine cone. These, of course, are the seeds that survived the ravaging of milkweed bugs. Eventually those seeds tumble out of their pods, each one with a white, silky parachute that carries its seedy cargo away on the wind. Hundreds of milkweed seeds on the wind at once is a beautiful sight.
Look at milkweed plants more closely. They have many inspiring beauties and intrigues that can make our lives more enjoyable.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Sunny Summer Evenings
Nothing in southeastern Pennsylvania is more beautiful and enchanting than sunny summer evenings. They are the prettiest time of the year. Green trees, shrubbery, grass and crops are bathed in life-giving, cheering sunlight. All that lovely greenery is under strikingly blue skies, fluffed with light-gray and white, cumulus clouds. All this is welcome, relaxing and enjoyable to many people. And I feel I am in the midst of God when in pretty, peaceful rural areas, soaked in golden sunshine, during sunny summer evenings.
I drove through the woods and fields of eastern Lancaster County and northern Chester County, Pennsylvania on the evening of June 27, 2017, as I have many times in the past, to enjoy the sun-filled scenery and whatever wildlife that might be visible. Groups of peacefully-grazing cattle, horses, sheep and goats dotted many of the meadows. And some farmers were harvesting grain and baling straw.
I saw some wildlife as I drove along that evening, including two doe white-tailed deer in their chestnut, summer coats, a couple of wood chucks grazing on grass and other vegetation, a family of eastern bluebirds perched on fence railings and a broad-winged hawk in flight over the road I was on. And I saw several barn swallows zipping over fields after flying insects to eat and feed to their young perched, here and there, on roadside wires.
I stopped along a country road to look at Great Marsh damply sprawled in the distance. With 16 power binoculars, I saw several kinds of wetland plants, including crack willows, phragmites, cattails, rushes, reed canary-grass, pickerel weeds with their many purple flowers, and bull lilies. Several male and female red-winged blackbirds, that are raising young in that marsh, flew from tall plant to tall plant. The males were spectacular with their red shoulder patches in contrast with their overall black feathering. Female red-wings are attractive, too, in their more camouflaged way.
A little later, I stopped at a pond close to another rural road and stayed in my car so as to not frighten any creatures into hiding. Stands of tall cattails lined the pond here and there and male and female red-wings swayed on some of them. A great blue heron was perched on a limb of a large tree near the pond, probably resting and digesting after a meal of fish and frogs. Within a couple of minutes of my stopping by this pond, I heard the explosive belching and gulping of several green frogs and the low moaning of a few bull frogs. These frogs were sitting unseen here and there on the shores of the pond as they tuned up for a night's drawing of females of their respective kinds to the water to court and spawn. And while I was listening to that ancient, primeval frog chorus, I saw the head of a painted turtle poked above the surface and a northern water snake swimming along one shore of the pond.
Later still, as I was driving home just before sunset, I happened upon a scattered flock of a few dozen purple martins, which are a kind of swallow, sweeping and swooping low over a few fields to catch flying insects. Those martins, as usual, were entertaining to watch, particularly before the setting sun.
When I got home soon after sunset, male fireflies were climbing up short-grass stems, flashing their abdominal lights and launching themselves into the air, still flickering their lanterns. These fireflies will repeat their intriguing, entertaining performances evening after evening until around the third week in July. The use of those insect lanterns will bring the genders together for mating.
While fireflies were rising from the grass, a few bats performed aerial ballets in the darkening sky over our neighborhood. The bats fluttered and dove, turning this way and that, in their hot pursuit of flying insects to catch and ingest. Interestingly, the bats hear the squeaks they constantly emit bouncing off flying insects with their built-in sonar, giving the bats a mental picture of where the insects are.
No time of year is more beautiful or enchanting than sunny summer evenings in the country. If the reader needs times of peace, comfort and solace, try enjoying summer evenings, and any other part of nature, any time of the year. Nature heals.
I drove through the woods and fields of eastern Lancaster County and northern Chester County, Pennsylvania on the evening of June 27, 2017, as I have many times in the past, to enjoy the sun-filled scenery and whatever wildlife that might be visible. Groups of peacefully-grazing cattle, horses, sheep and goats dotted many of the meadows. And some farmers were harvesting grain and baling straw.
I saw some wildlife as I drove along that evening, including two doe white-tailed deer in their chestnut, summer coats, a couple of wood chucks grazing on grass and other vegetation, a family of eastern bluebirds perched on fence railings and a broad-winged hawk in flight over the road I was on. And I saw several barn swallows zipping over fields after flying insects to eat and feed to their young perched, here and there, on roadside wires.
I stopped along a country road to look at Great Marsh damply sprawled in the distance. With 16 power binoculars, I saw several kinds of wetland plants, including crack willows, phragmites, cattails, rushes, reed canary-grass, pickerel weeds with their many purple flowers, and bull lilies. Several male and female red-winged blackbirds, that are raising young in that marsh, flew from tall plant to tall plant. The males were spectacular with their red shoulder patches in contrast with their overall black feathering. Female red-wings are attractive, too, in their more camouflaged way.
A little later, I stopped at a pond close to another rural road and stayed in my car so as to not frighten any creatures into hiding. Stands of tall cattails lined the pond here and there and male and female red-wings swayed on some of them. A great blue heron was perched on a limb of a large tree near the pond, probably resting and digesting after a meal of fish and frogs. Within a couple of minutes of my stopping by this pond, I heard the explosive belching and gulping of several green frogs and the low moaning of a few bull frogs. These frogs were sitting unseen here and there on the shores of the pond as they tuned up for a night's drawing of females of their respective kinds to the water to court and spawn. And while I was listening to that ancient, primeval frog chorus, I saw the head of a painted turtle poked above the surface and a northern water snake swimming along one shore of the pond.
Later still, as I was driving home just before sunset, I happened upon a scattered flock of a few dozen purple martins, which are a kind of swallow, sweeping and swooping low over a few fields to catch flying insects. Those martins, as usual, were entertaining to watch, particularly before the setting sun.
When I got home soon after sunset, male fireflies were climbing up short-grass stems, flashing their abdominal lights and launching themselves into the air, still flickering their lanterns. These fireflies will repeat their intriguing, entertaining performances evening after evening until around the third week in July. The use of those insect lanterns will bring the genders together for mating.
While fireflies were rising from the grass, a few bats performed aerial ballets in the darkening sky over our neighborhood. The bats fluttered and dove, turning this way and that, in their hot pursuit of flying insects to catch and ingest. Interestingly, the bats hear the squeaks they constantly emit bouncing off flying insects with their built-in sonar, giving the bats a mental picture of where the insects are.
No time of year is more beautiful or enchanting than sunny summer evenings in the country. If the reader needs times of peace, comfort and solace, try enjoying summer evenings, and any other part of nature, any time of the year. Nature heals.
Monday, June 26, 2017
The Heath Family
I never saw so many attractive wild pinxter azalea flowers in full bloom as I did on May 5, 2017 in the wooded Welsh Mountains of eastern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Some of the two to eight foot tall, but spindly, pinxter shrubs had lovely, pale-pink blossoms while others had beautiful, deeper-pink blooms. A few carpenter bees were visiting the pinxter blossoms to sip nectar while I was there. Seeing those pinxter blossoms made me think of other shrubs in the heath family I have seen over many years.
Pinxter azaleas are deciduous shrubs in oak woodlands in the eastern united States, including woods in southeastern Pennsylvania. They flourish best in rich, moist soil in partial shade and sun, but can tolerate drier, rocky or sandy soil as well.
Pinxters produce funnel-shaped flowers that are showy and slightly fragrant from mid-April, when the trees are still bare of foliage, into early May. Each pretty blossom has five long, curved stamens that protrude decoratively about an inch beyond the flower petals. Bees, butterflies, and rubythroated hummingbirds here in the east, sip nectar from pinxter blooms, making them more interesting to experience.
Growing up to eight feet or more in Pennsylvania, mountain laurels are heath shrubs with leaves on them through the year, adding a welcome touch of green to gray, deciduous woods in winter. Mountain laurels also have gnarled limbs that give them a picturesque, rustic appearance. These handsome shrubs bloom late in May into early June, and their attractive flowers are on top of their twisted branches. Their flower buds, which are ribbed and resemble dabs of decorative icing on top of a cake, are pink. But their flower petals, when fully open are mostly white, with just a suggestion of pink, and several cinnamon-colored dots around the inside rim of each blossom.
People who build homes in the woods realize the beauties of these shrubs and allow them to grow and bloom on the lawns those folks created in the woods. This is a common heath in many woods in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Sheep laurels also have evergreen foliage, but are smaller than mountain laurels (up to three feet high) and grow their striking, deep-pink blooms of the year below the new growth of leaves on top of the shrubs. Their leaves are narrow and drooping and their blossoms are shaped like those on mountain laurels. This heath member flourishes in the north and down the Appalachian Mountains to Georgia. I have seen sheep laurel blooming in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania during June.
Great rhododendron, which is the largest heath in the eastern United Sates, forms large, almost pure, clumps of itself in shaded ravines and north-facing slopes where the average temperatures are cooler. This heath has deep-green, thick, evergreen leaves, which another bit of green to gray, winter woods. And this species has lovely, white flower petals on its many blossoms by early July.
White-tailed deer, black bears and other kinds of wildlife hide out and rest in the dense, evergreen stands of great rhododendron that block wind and catch snow on its broad leaves. And a few kinds of woodland birds, including hooded warblers, nest in rhododendrons.
Catawba rhododendron is spotty in distribution in the southeastern United States. Colonies of this heath occur mostly in the deciduous woods of the mountains in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. Standing up to six feet tall, this kind of rhododendron blooms in May and its flower colors vary from light-pink to deep-pink to almost a purple hue. Great patches of this type of rhododendron blooming in May make Roan Mountain, Tennessee famous.
All these members of the heath family, and others, in America have beautiful, showy blossoms in forest understories in spring or summer, depending on the species. Those lovely blooms help make the woodlands the more inviting during the warmer seasons. And species with evergreen foliage add a touch of green to the gray, dormant deciduous woods of winter.
Pinxter azaleas are deciduous shrubs in oak woodlands in the eastern united States, including woods in southeastern Pennsylvania. They flourish best in rich, moist soil in partial shade and sun, but can tolerate drier, rocky or sandy soil as well.
Pinxters produce funnel-shaped flowers that are showy and slightly fragrant from mid-April, when the trees are still bare of foliage, into early May. Each pretty blossom has five long, curved stamens that protrude decoratively about an inch beyond the flower petals. Bees, butterflies, and rubythroated hummingbirds here in the east, sip nectar from pinxter blooms, making them more interesting to experience.
Growing up to eight feet or more in Pennsylvania, mountain laurels are heath shrubs with leaves on them through the year, adding a welcome touch of green to gray, deciduous woods in winter. Mountain laurels also have gnarled limbs that give them a picturesque, rustic appearance. These handsome shrubs bloom late in May into early June, and their attractive flowers are on top of their twisted branches. Their flower buds, which are ribbed and resemble dabs of decorative icing on top of a cake, are pink. But their flower petals, when fully open are mostly white, with just a suggestion of pink, and several cinnamon-colored dots around the inside rim of each blossom.
People who build homes in the woods realize the beauties of these shrubs and allow them to grow and bloom on the lawns those folks created in the woods. This is a common heath in many woods in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Sheep laurels also have evergreen foliage, but are smaller than mountain laurels (up to three feet high) and grow their striking, deep-pink blooms of the year below the new growth of leaves on top of the shrubs. Their leaves are narrow and drooping and their blossoms are shaped like those on mountain laurels. This heath member flourishes in the north and down the Appalachian Mountains to Georgia. I have seen sheep laurel blooming in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania during June.
Great rhododendron, which is the largest heath in the eastern United Sates, forms large, almost pure, clumps of itself in shaded ravines and north-facing slopes where the average temperatures are cooler. This heath has deep-green, thick, evergreen leaves, which another bit of green to gray, winter woods. And this species has lovely, white flower petals on its many blossoms by early July.
White-tailed deer, black bears and other kinds of wildlife hide out and rest in the dense, evergreen stands of great rhododendron that block wind and catch snow on its broad leaves. And a few kinds of woodland birds, including hooded warblers, nest in rhododendrons.
Catawba rhododendron is spotty in distribution in the southeastern United States. Colonies of this heath occur mostly in the deciduous woods of the mountains in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. Standing up to six feet tall, this kind of rhododendron blooms in May and its flower colors vary from light-pink to deep-pink to almost a purple hue. Great patches of this type of rhododendron blooming in May make Roan Mountain, Tennessee famous.
All these members of the heath family, and others, in America have beautiful, showy blossoms in forest understories in spring or summer, depending on the species. Those lovely blooms help make the woodlands the more inviting during the warmer seasons. And species with evergreen foliage add a touch of green to the gray, dormant deciduous woods of winter.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Some Small Summer Flowers
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania's lawns, fields, meadows and roadsides, as in much of the eastern United States, are blessed with small plants that have diminutive, but beautiful, flowers from late May through much of summer. Two of those plants have yellow blossoms, including yellow wood sorrels and Indian strawberries, two kinds grow blue blooms, including blue-eyed grass and forget-me-nots, and ground ivy produces purple flowers. But all these plants are attractive and interesting, adding much intrigue to the human-made habitats they adapted to.
Yellow wood sorrels are native to North America and adapted to many regularly mowed lawns. In fact, some lawns have lovely, yellow carpets of this species' tiny, five-petaled blooms. Each plant can be up to a foot tall, where it is not regularly mowed off, has clover-like leaves of three leaflets each, and visible, upright seed pods where the flowers were.
Indian strawberries are alien plants, having originally come from Europe. This species, which is a small, prostrate vine on lawns mostly, can also be common on that built habitat, sometimes creating little patches of itself. Clumps of this pretty species has many yellow, five-petaled blooms over dark green, three-lobed foliage that looks like real strawberry leaves and attractive, red, half-inch fruits that look like strawberries, but have grown the tiny seeds on the surface of the fruits. Those fruits are edible to certain kinds of birds, a variety of insects, rodents and box turtles.
Blue-eyed grass is native to eastern North America, stands up to two feet high, and has uniquely-blue flowers and grass-like leaves among real grass. This pretty species of plant inhabits fields, meadows and roadsides, but never in abundance that I have ever seen. Its six, sky-blue petals per blossom are delightfully striking among the green vegetation surrounding them and add beauty to those built habitats.
Forget-me-nots are alien plants in North America, having come from Europe. This flowering species is as pretty as any other in this writing, but I think the present kind of plant, that stands up to 24 inches tall and has two, curling flower stems, has the most beautiful habitat; the edges of streams and ponds in sunny, green meadows. Several flowers bloom along each curved stem and each tiny, lovely bloom has five, light-blue petals and a yellow "eye " in the center.
Ground ivy is an alien from Europe that is common on many eastern North American lawns, particularly partly shaded ones. This type of mint is a small, ground-hugging vine that has a pungent scent all its own when its rounded, scalloped leaves are cut or crushed and produces large patches of itself. This kind of plant produces purple flowers that are quite lovely.
The lovely flowers of these small plants are a joy to see on the human-made habitats they adapted to with no help from people. Their adapting to built environments has given them additional room to grow and produce seed. And they give us much beauty, free. They are, to me at least, win/win species that I enjoy seeing every summer.
Yellow wood sorrels are native to North America and adapted to many regularly mowed lawns. In fact, some lawns have lovely, yellow carpets of this species' tiny, five-petaled blooms. Each plant can be up to a foot tall, where it is not regularly mowed off, has clover-like leaves of three leaflets each, and visible, upright seed pods where the flowers were.
Indian strawberries are alien plants, having originally come from Europe. This species, which is a small, prostrate vine on lawns mostly, can also be common on that built habitat, sometimes creating little patches of itself. Clumps of this pretty species has many yellow, five-petaled blooms over dark green, three-lobed foliage that looks like real strawberry leaves and attractive, red, half-inch fruits that look like strawberries, but have grown the tiny seeds on the surface of the fruits. Those fruits are edible to certain kinds of birds, a variety of insects, rodents and box turtles.
Blue-eyed grass is native to eastern North America, stands up to two feet high, and has uniquely-blue flowers and grass-like leaves among real grass. This pretty species of plant inhabits fields, meadows and roadsides, but never in abundance that I have ever seen. Its six, sky-blue petals per blossom are delightfully striking among the green vegetation surrounding them and add beauty to those built habitats.
Forget-me-nots are alien plants in North America, having come from Europe. This flowering species is as pretty as any other in this writing, but I think the present kind of plant, that stands up to 24 inches tall and has two, curling flower stems, has the most beautiful habitat; the edges of streams and ponds in sunny, green meadows. Several flowers bloom along each curved stem and each tiny, lovely bloom has five, light-blue petals and a yellow "eye " in the center.
Ground ivy is an alien from Europe that is common on many eastern North American lawns, particularly partly shaded ones. This type of mint is a small, ground-hugging vine that has a pungent scent all its own when its rounded, scalloped leaves are cut or crushed and produces large patches of itself. This kind of plant produces purple flowers that are quite lovely.
The lovely flowers of these small plants are a joy to see on the human-made habitats they adapted to with no help from people. Their adapting to built environments has given them additional room to grow and produce seed. And they give us much beauty, free. They are, to me at least, win/win species that I enjoy seeing every summer.
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