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.

SUMMER TIME FLOWERS AND FAWNS

It's been a busy week for me so I'm just catching up and wanted to share good news with you.  Last week my hubby was driving down our road and saw the three legged deer I had mentioned many weeks ago in my posts and he thought she had a fawn with her.  Sure enough this week I spotted her again on the town road in the same area not far from home and she was indeed accompanied by a fawn of her own!

It is easy to tell the three legged deer from the others because since she has one front leg missing at the knee, her stance always makes her appear as if she is standing "down hill".   We hadn't seen her for over a month and now we know why...  she's been busy!

Summer is here with ox-eye daisies scattered in the fields and along the pond dike.  The daisies are complimented by Indian paintbrush and yellow hawk weed and many other little wild flowers.   This spring with all the rain we've had ,wild flowers are abundant.

It's that time of year when the cranberries are also in full blossom.  We have a few stray vines on the dike around our pond and in late September if I'm lucky I can pick enough cranberries to make a batch of muffins or cranberry cake.  The cranberry blossoms are pretty in their own way and small in size.  

Enjoy summer while it lasts, we know it will go by way too quickly!

Wisconsin Cranberry Blossoms

  

WILD BLUEBERRIES

I’m journaling out on the pond dike today by the old white chair that no one sits in.  It’s one of those old  Adirondack style chairs with paint peeling off old weathered wood, but this chair has way too much character to throw on the brush pile yet.  My goal this afternoon is to harvest a few wild blueberries.  I’m reminded of a day years ago when a neighbor lady, up in years, came wandering aimlessly down our driveway on foot carrying a coffee mug in her hand.  “I’m almost there,” she said, as my hubby and I looked at her and wondered.   As it turned out, her journey was not at all aimless.  She was hoping to pick one cup of wild blueberries… just enough for a batch of muffins… and her cup was ¾ full.

I’m munching on a few wild blueberries myself right now, not hard to find here where the plants come back every year in this acidy soil.  A late frost fizzled out some of the blossoms and birds ate their share but they've left a dozen or so yet for me to enjoy.  There's nothing that quite compares to the sweetness of this little blue berry.

As I snap a photo or two of the blueberry plants at my feet, a few insects buzz here and there about the grass, bushes, and ferns next to the pond.  I spot a moth with a damaged wing but it still flies perfectly.  I compare it to my wounded self after a few weeks of chemotherapy for an unfortunate recurrence of my nearly three year old dilemma.  I’m still flying too and plan to carry on, flapping my wings like the little butterfly, and hoping I travel in the right direction and land in the most beneficial places on my journey forward.

Dragonflies are also flitting around today along with many young red-winged blackbirds that I hear chirping loudly all around me.  Bullfrogs are filling up my ear space with their deep croaking calls.  It seems as though each frog is trying to out croak the other.

I particularly love the color “blue” in nature.   A blue dragonfly darts about and finally rests itself on a twig long enough for me to capture its likeness.  Truly blue, and truly beautiful – like blue eyed grass and blueberries!

The first day of summer, Father’s Day, is a grand one.  There’s so much to do and it’s going to be a busy week ahead for me.  Our little community is banding together and we're gonna go save our lake with a big picnic fundraiser this upcoming weekend!

LIGHTNING BUG DELIGHT!

Chasing the elusive lightning beetles in the yard last night... easy to see but hard to capture with my camera in the darkness!

The month of June in Wisconsin where I live holds a special place in my heart at night after the sun has fully set and darkness invades the outdoor world around my cabin.  This time of year brings back memories of the school year ending, my first summertime swim in at Sherwood Lake, running outside barefoot, and gathering up an old fruit jar, a hammer, and a nail, for that neat little thing us country kids had to do a time or two... go catch some lightning bugs!

I would take a hammer and nail and pop some holes in the fruit jar lid and get ready for nightfall to catch my treasures.  The idea was to fill my jar up with a dozen or so lightning bugs and shut the lid, holes in the top allowing proper ventilation, so my little critters wouldn't suffocate.   I'd add some blades of grass in the jar so they'd have something to climb up and down on and not get too bored.  Then I'd sit the jar on the floor next to my bed so I could watch them light up as long as I could stay awake. When morning came, it was time to release the lightning bugs back outside where I found them.  It was a "beginning of summer" ritual, not just for me, but most kids I think... who lived in a world with lightning bugs.

Last night about 9:30 p.m., prime time to see the bugs flashing their magic lanterns, I walked out into the yard and down the driveway, next to the pond, and watched them glow here and there.  I brought my camera and tried to capture the action without much success.  It seemed every time I snapped a photo, they were in their "light's out" mode.  And when I approached them, they seemed to fade in the distance.  Along with lightning bugs, frogs were singing loudly, creating a perfect misty, foggy, muggy June night. 

So what makes a lightning bug glow?  A chemical reaction takes place in the abdomen and tail of the insect.  Something special called luciferin combines with oxygen and other compounds to create the bright glow.  Males light up to attract mates, females flash back at them with their own random patterns and sometimes they even appear to be in sync with one another, creating a spectacular show. 

I call it magic plain and simple!  The amazing show only lasts a few weeks in springtime, but lightning bugs are one of nature's special beetles.  They have the ability to create nostalgic memories for children that last a lifetime.  I know they do for me.  They take me back to simpler ways and simpler days of my Wisconsin country childhood.

SUMMER IS ON OUR DOORSTEP

CELEBRATING FERNS

On a walk the other day across the creek we spotted fresh wolf tracks in the soft ground after recent rainfalls.  Makes you wonder what the wolf is up to as new whitetail fawns have been appearing with their mommas here and there.

As Hubby and I continued our walk into the white pine forest to the south I marvelled at the ferns making proud stands everywhere.  Ferns are a favorite of mine and I'm glad to see and appreciate them all around our woodland home.  At least four kinds of ferns appear here and there and my favorite are the maiden hair.

Maple seeds blown helter-skelter dotted the forest floor on our walk, and I spotted another special plant that only grows in this white pine woods, rattlesnake plantain.

Years ago a local child who came to visit did not know what a fern was and that made me feel sad.  How could anyone who lives among ferns not teach their child about them?  Take for granted a blade of grass, or a dandelion, but for heaven's sake... don't take for granted a fern when it grows right at your doorstep.

This first week of June the gnats and mosquitoes were plentiful as I watched the sun setting on this calm evening.  I could hear and enjoy so many sounds; deer snorting, the mighty pileated woodpecker wrapping it's beak high up against a distant tree, red winged blackbirds and warblers making their beautiful sounds, and tree frogs singing loudly in our pond.

Every living thing seemed so busy!  A Wisconsin summer is at our doorstep.  What mysteries it will bring to me are unknown... but it is sure to be a grand summer ahead.

After resting a bit I decided to go investigate what tree the pileated woodpecker was wrapping on. 

Well, no pileated woodpecker pictures today, but thought you'd enjoy Aunt Lydia's Iris growing on the pond dike this week!

WILD FLOWERS AROUND THE POND TODAY

Today I'm photographing wild flowers that are blooming this last week of May, as I walk around the pond. 

May Apples are showing themselves along the driveway at the pond's edge.  The flowers on each plant, or blossoms, will produce a green oval shaped fruit that can be eaten.  Most of the time the "apples" disappear before we think about tasting them, eaten by the critters.

Blue Eyed Grass - One of my favorites, this short lived little flower blooms at the top of a single blade of grass.  It closes up in darkness and opens back up in light.  Blue eyed grass reminds me of my brother, Vern, who taught me the name of it when I pressed wild flowers for a biology class at school long ago.  Yellow Cinquefoil - Bottom left in the photo below is a "take me for granted" kind of invasive little weed that doesn't get much attention.

Wild Strawberry Blossoms - Sweet, tiny, and shiny red berries will be setting on soon.

As I continue my walk on the trail around the pond I see blue eyed grass growing everywhere.  It must be a grand year for this wild flower, with all the right elements.

Yellow Lily Pads - The flowers are up and showing themselves now amidst the pads and are taking over the pond.  What would a pond be without lily pads and dragonflies in springtime and the occasional smacking noises of a bluegill feeding on the water's surface.

I stop for a minute and sit on the bistro bench to take off my knee boots and pull up my poor socks that have managed to slip down around my toes.  Such little nuisances of life!

On the last stretch of my trek around the pond I remember to check under the spruce tree for the pink lady slipper, the only one here, the flower that magically appeared in this same spot many years ago.  And here it is in full bloom today!  One spring, a deer ate it off just after it bloomed so I put some wire fencing around it that's not aesthetically pleasing, but saves the flower.  This is the first time in three years the slipper plant has decided to bloom.  I treasure it!

EMPTY NESTS - FULL NESTS

It's that time of year when parents watch their children graduate from high school and know that soon their nests will be emptier.  It's a joyous time, a time to feel proud, and a time to feel sad because we know we can never go back and live those moments over again with our children.

Now, for the birds, spring is a time when nests are full! I've noticed birds of all kinds flying through the yard and woods lately, so busy making nests and filling them up.  In the past week I saw a hen turkey walk through the yard twice, quickly picking up bits of gravel off the driveway to fill it's crop, and then hastily marching off into the woods.  It made me think that the hen turkey must have a full nest not too far away.

Here's the hen turkey that's been strutting through my yard lately, always in a hurry!

I've also observed a few new nests around home without looking too hard.  My friend, Roxann, spotted one the other night on our walk around the pond.  It looked like a soft, fluffy, out of place "what ta heck is that?" thing popping out of the upper branches of a young popple tree, but it turned out to be a freshly made Baltimore Oriole nest.  Often, I see oriole nests in the fall after the leaves have fallen off the trees that I never noticed in summertime.  It will be fun to observe this new nest that is right out in the open.

A Baltimore Oriole nest in a young popple tree.

I found another nest today in the middle outer branches of a young red pine tree.  It looked as though it was not quite finished as I could see daylight through it.  A minute after I spotted the nest, a tiny yellow goldfinch landed in the tree near it.

This could be an unfinished goldfinch nest.

Little tree swallows have been busy eating bugs as they hover back and forth over the surface and the sky above our pond lately.  They nest in small holes in the dead trees near the water.

Tree Swallow

It's an exciting season, watching birds return, turtles and frogs awaken, and noticing how busy every living thing seems to be.

Spring is truly a season of change for all, humans included - whether it be a full nest soon, or an empty nest!