WILDFLOWERS & FRIENDS

Indian Paintbrush flowers, with a green and silver bug that couldn't be prettier!

This morning I took a walk down Todd Road while the heavy cloud cover kept the hot sun from pouring down on me.  The deer flies weren't too thick nor mosquitoes and my walk was pleasant and peaceful.  I spotted a doe up ahead on the south side of the road, all alone, but she bolted when I came within fair photo distance.  

Beetles busy on a yellow mullen.

Unknown bug on a  common yarrow flower.

A catbird called to me as if to say I was disturbing his world.  He jutted from tree branch to branch, first perching in an oak tree, then a birch, and a white pine, until he flew off into the thick woods.

Most of all, this morning, I enjoyed seeing wild flowers along the roadside, with ox-eye daisies still most prevalent.  A few Indian Paint brush flowers still remain along with tiny white daisies that are so delicate.  I noticed one small purple aster on the road edge, a sign of late summer, that made me sigh a bit.   

I was happy to see that the fellow that mowed the road ditches missed several milkweed plants, so important to the Monarch butterflies that seem to be harder to spot each summer. 

  

What caught my eye most today, on my short jaunt, were all the amazing little bugs that were enjoying the wild flowers as much as I was.  

If you open your eyes, and look really hard on the flower centers and petals this summer, you'll be amazed at how many insects, spiders, and bees, are carrying on their important activities right in front you.  

A tiny spider resting on a milkweed plant.

       

This beautiful bug found a home on a hardhack steeplebush, my favorite July wildflower!

This bug reminded me of Halloween.  I think he was more than ready for a photo op!

Ants playing farmers, herding their aphids, on a Joe Pye Weed this morning!

IT'S MUSHROOM TIME

I've been waiting patiently for mushrooms to appear in our yard and woods and with all the rainfall we've been having it seemed they were slow to come.  Each year there are certain places where different kinds return, sometimes as early as June.

We've sampled several of them and this evening I captured photos of a few different mushrooms near our cabin that I've tasted through the years.  Perhaps it was a bit too late in the day as my photos are not the best.  Some of these mushrooms that I have eaten, I won't bother trying again, but one kind in particular is just delightful.  Please don't try eating any of these mushrooms based on my photos and words.  Make sure you know what you are doing and have someone who has experience show you in person what can be eaten before attempting to eat any of them.

These little gems pictured above we call "Horn of Plenty" and are a member of the chantrelle family.  Horns are tan to chocolate brown in color and are trumpet or horn shaped.  When fried up with butter they turn black and have a delicious typical mushroom flavor.  These can also be dried and stored in the freezer and added to soups.  I split them in half and the hollow stems are easy to rinse off.  There are four places in our shady yard where they come back each year but today only one spot sports them so far.

Purple lactarius mushrooms are just beginning to appear.  This mushroom is tasty and very plentiful later in summer.  The one pictured below is still quite small.  My sister has been known to pick an ice cream bucket full of purple lactarius in her yard in a very short time.

I've eaten coral mushrooms once, found them a bit blah, and don't go out of my way to pick them.  These grow not far from the cabin door right along our driveway in the mossy area of the yard.   It's easy to see how they resemble coral growing in the ocean.

This delicate plant in the photo below, we call "Indian pipe".  This plant reminds me of my cousin and our adventures in the woods when we were young.  We always marvelled at the site of Indian pipes when we first found them each summer and were fascinated by how delicate they appeared.  When touched, the stems will turn black, and on rare occasion the plant will have a beautiful pink cast to it.  I have never eaten Indian pipes and don't think they are edible.  Besides they are too pretty to pick and eat!

There are many different mushrooms that have not popped out yet.  I will keep looking more intently now and will especially be ready for ones called "sweet tooth".  They are my hubby and my favorite mushrooms to throw in the frying pan.  I'll snap a photo of them for you as soon as they appear.  It won't be long now.

DRAGONFLIES & REUNIONS

 
I'm soaking up summer today, dodging deer flies, observing dragon flies around the pond, and watching bass swimming near the bulkhead.  It's a beautiful afternoon.  The heat and humidity keep me from adventuring off too far but I'm thankful there is so much to enjoy pond side, not far from our cabin door.

Dragonflies of various sizes and colors are darting everywhere, some mating, some with wings a bit tattered, and all seem to be enjoying the day like I am.

A few small bass are making their way to the water's surface looking for supper.

As I capture a few pictures a deer fly bits me in the finger.  Oh well, time to move on.  Deer flies hang on the edge of my visor as well as I walk along the dike of the pond.  Bug spray doesn't curb deer flies, only head nets, and I noticed this morning my hubby has them laying out and ready in the basement.

The purple hardhack flowers are beginning to appear in full bloom at the pond's edge.  They remind me that it's almost family reunion time - the end of July near my Grandfather and Aunt Susan's birthdays - when we fill old fruit jars with wild flowers to decorate our picnic tables for the occasion.  It's a nostalgic time of the year, so many memories wrapped up from past family reunions filled with family chatter, photos, history, and friendship.  It's a day I really look forward to.

 
The busy dragonflies seem to enjoy the sunnier places over the water and avoid the shade where I am sitting now as I make my way back to the cabin.  Their wings shine prettier in the sunlight.  Maybe they want to be seen and not missed, and that's a great idea...

  

                    

... Because

     Dragonflies 

    Symbolize 

    Victory!

CATTAILS AND SUMMER EVENINGS

The close of a delightful Wisconsin summer day... how else could I describe this Sunday with pen and ink in my journal.  I'm sitting on the inner pond dike listening to the birds sing - young red -winged blackbirds, warblers, and mourning doves cooing in the distance.  They blend together perfectly, each with their unique calls.

I'm admiring the new growth on the cattails  as nine of them stand tall between me and the pond showing their soft and new velvety brown growth.

The white lily pad flowers have closed up their petals but will open again tomorrow morning to welcome another day.   A small bass leaps out of the water and leaves circular swirls on the pond's surface.  I hope it was lucky and caught some supper.


The elderberry bushes are in full blossom now and look more lush and full than I can ever remember.  In one short day, if no one intervenes, the birds will pick the berries clean as soon as they turn purple.  I remember my mother making elderberry jam when I was a kid.  She would place the berries in cheesecloth and let them drain over a large kettle after cooking them.  I don't remember eating the jam but I'm sure it was tasty.

 
The gentle breeze and OFF are keeping the mosquitoes at bay this evening.  My silence is interrupted by the telephone ringing in the garage but I know I won't reach it in time to answer so there is no use trying.  I'd rather sit here and wait for another fish to jump out of the water.