I Got A Little Off Course...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mneRuhgEUbI   <~~~~~~~Video

 I got a bit off course this morning on a trail walk with our dog, Carly. We were out over 3 hours. It got cloudy fast and we had gotten some rain during the night or early morning hours.  It left the woods very drippy and moist.  Carly is a Golden Retriever and has a great sense of direction. She is almost 13 years old and this was a little too much for her.   I usually do pretty good with direction and I had asked about this trail but I either misunderstood or was given wrong information.  It was a nice trail to hike for me but after nearly 2 hours out on a strange trail Carly stops and looks at me like, "are you crazy?" She doesn't want to budge and we are several miles from where we started. We opted to turn around at her nudging. But before we did turn around I got this nice video clip of a Pipevine swallowtail feeding on milkweed in an over grown field somewhere in the middle of Beckley, WV., that we crossed through.  This was not my best idea and though we got out safely it could have been potentially dangerous.  I will not do that again! 


A hornets nest that was well hidden in the middle of these dark woods.

 

http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Monotropa%20uniflora





http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Monotropa%20uniflora I had no idea what these were called and I found a picture of something similar on this site.  Ghost flowers!  They look like mushroom flowers to me!

 

This flower is Nightshade,( Carolina Horse Nettle, Bull Nettle, Devil's Tomato)

 

 

Honey bee enjoying some milkweed http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Asclepias%20syriaca.

Wild Wonderful West Virginia!

I was eager to hit the trails after a long day of driving to West Virginia. It was not such a difficult drive, it is always just so hard for me to leave family, friends, the forest, lakes and streams of our home in Sewanee and turn it over to the house sitter. This time the animals came along so I have no worries about leaving them. And I have my trail buddy, Miss Carly, in tow. And of course I was heading to be with my husband! It's nice to be torn between wonderful places!
Our outdoor adventures began a bit later than I had hoped, due to a rainy morning. But I have my new water shoes for the muddy spots and the skies had begun to clear off nicely, so we ventured out. My excitement immediately exploded with wildflower sightings and then a plethora of black and yellow swallowtail butterflies appeared in an area covered in one of my father’s favorite wild flowers, Milkweed ( Silkweed - Asclepias syriaca) and Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum). Both Milkweed and Joe-Pye weed are tall growing, with a cluster of mauve pink blossoms and they are rugged perennials that the butterflies seem to savor. Like most woodland plants, these wildflowers prefers moist soil to dry and today they were nicely moist at their roots as I stood in the mush to take photos. And I loved every minute of it! Another interesting find for me was a very medium size blossom in soft pink to almost fuchsia. I investigated the plant and noticed fruit growing on it! I was so excited and amazed to see wild raspberries! I am an avid blackberry and dew berry picker but I have never come across wild raspberries. At least that is what I believe these are! I took a chance with what I know about berries and tasted one of these on my second outing for the day. With only a slight bit of trepidation I picked one for a taste. I gently put it to my lip squeezed it a bit then went in for a tiny taste. It was somewhat sweet but still fairly sour. I did a bit of research when I got back to the computer and I believe they were wild raspberries. I haven’t died yet from a poison berry! But I have spent a lifetime in the woods and outdoors. I would never suggest to someone who is not aware of vegetation or berry types to ever try a berry in the wild. And never try berries that the birds don’t eat. That is a sure sign that the berries are not edible! As I always try to do we squeezed in two one hour (or longer) hikes today! The evening was sunny and cooler. I was amazed as the evening went on that our temperature in Beckley dropped considerably. By dinner time it was 66 and on its way down to a possible 55! Wow! I had to pinch myself! Is it summer in West Virginia?

 

Pipevine Swallowtail

Three Pipevine Swallowtails!



 

 

 

 

I believe that these are wild raspberries blossoms!

http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Rubus%20odoratus

 

Wild Raspberries?

 

 

A Long Day Of Travel

Today was a long day of travel with our three furry friends. That meant frequent stops along our route since Carly or Golden Retriever is nearly 13 years old now and needs to stretch those stiff areas. I'm beginning to understand her needs, use it or loss it is our motto! I missed taking a few photos that I wanted to take and as you can imagine, there are fewer photos to share due to tending to my buddies.   I have no worries, West Virginia should offer up some great opportunities for feeding my photography addiction. But I did grab a shot of one of my favorite flowers, the Passiflora edulus, Passion Fruit, Purple Granadilla, Passion Flower.  And another little purple flower that I spotted literally in the gravel on the side of highway 81.

Passion flower, Passiflora edulus

 

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

My neighbors probably thought that I was a crazy "creepy peeper" if they saw me photographing the Goldfinch in their front yard.  A favorite to many and a beautiful songbird these, Goldfinch have been feeding on the flowers that must be going to seed across the street from our home.  I have tried to lure the Goldfinch into our yard this summer with thistle feeders but the seed goes bad before they visit.  I have purchased new feeders this week in high hopes of gaining their attention.  I suppose that I will have to research and plant some of these plants for them too!  It looks like some sort of salvia and there is sage in the background.  They feed almost solely on seed and they are fond of dandelions, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos and coneflowers in addition to the thistle that I mentioned and whatever my neighbors have planted, is a huge favorite!  Fresh seeds are more desirable and I understand that! 

 I adore the Goldfinches lemony yellow color and enchanting song. As fall approaches the Goldfinch takes on a more dull muted down color as they begin to molt.  The males are the prettier and brighter of the pair and they change quite drastically during this period.  

 I missed the shot of twelve to fifteen that departed as we strolled by on our morning walk.  It was fun to see so many pretty bright yellow birds in a mass take off at once.  I enjoyed the moment!

 

Untangled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asxPKr6dwDw   <~~~~~~VIDEO OF HUMMINGBIRD
This poor little hummingbird was tangled with spider webs and on the ground struggling.  It was very tiny and I assume very young.  The video is after I cleaned her up. It did not take much to revive her energy!  I think the baby's squeal startled the poor thing to death!  I caught her again so that we could release her back outdoors. Our 6 year old grand daughter got to let her fly away!  She was embarrassed after seeing the video.  She wished that she had finished getting her shorts on!  She was in the process of dressing when I came inside telling her to come see something.  Lucky for the hummingbird, I had diapers to dispose of!

Imperial Moth

I was bathed and ready for bed as I told our grand daughter that it was time to hit the sack.  Our grand daughters had been with me for a few days on a summer visit to our home in Sewanee. It was another late night with "Mima", (the name that the children call me) and it wasn't over yet!  I was turning out lights as I heard a repeated knocking at the kitchen window.  I first thought about the little hummingbird that I had encountered a couple of years ago  and all of the ones that have been feeding lately.   But as I looked closer I realized that it was a large moth!  I went outside to retrieve it, a male Imperial moth is his identification!  He was heavy bodied and a very handsome specimen. I yelled for our 6 year old grand daughter to come see something.  She grabbed my camera and began to photograph with excitement and I had no idea how they would look.  She did a fine job though I felt a bit unprepared for a photo shoot by my 6 year old grand daughter after I had gotten ready to turn in for the day.  I took a few shots too and thought that I would share our fun.  We also found a Pearly Wood Nymph.


Imperial Moth, what a treat!

Imperial Moth



Imperial Moth bottom view





Male Imperial Moths facing forward

 Male Imperial Moth

Pearly Wood Nymph

Battling The Bees For Sugar Water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9e46_9NGOY   <~~~~~~VIDEOS OF A HUMMINGBIRD ~~~~~~~~~~> BEES   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEtYhmCSfk
The hummingbirds have been feeding like crazy since I had to buy new little hummingbird feeders.  The squirrels had chewed the little nipples off almost all of my feeders.  Now after nearly two weeks the bees and yellow jackets have found the feeders too.  I went out to see what I could do to help ward off these greedy little buggers.  I am happy to report that I did NOT get stung.  They all seemed happy to see me coming!  They were feverishly crowding to each one of the feeders as though they had discovered the best thing ever..... SUGAR!  I think that after watching a CNN segment last year on the effects of sugar and the human brain I have to ask...."I wonder what this is doing to the brains of hummingbirds, bees and yellow jackets???"  They seem ADDICTED!  The segment talked about how in some people's brains sugar can elicit cravings and trigger responses that are very similar to those caused by cocaine and other addictive drugs.  I wonder if by offering sugar water, I am causing an epidemic of dependent creatures of nature looking to me for a FIX!?! 

A Late Afternoon Enjoying The Dragonflies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfI2QlOtrpo  <~~~~~Video
 A group of Libellula incesta and a Blue dasher dragonflies flying with seemingly endless energy as evening approaches.  They seemed to dart about in an almost playful chasing game.  Their wings fluttered, buzzed and bumped together as people enjoyed a late afternoon lake swim or stroll around the lake as I did. 

I See Violet....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iChznQC0tBM
Tiny Violet Damselfly Dancers seem to have a happy and surprised expression on their wee little pop-eyed faces.  They seem nervous but happy to see my strange face looking at them.  I always feel like a child with my never ending curiosity and eagerness to greet and record these funny faced little creatures.

 

 

I Seem To Meander From Sunup To Sundown

Meandering seems to be my mode of operation on my daily outdoor adventures.  I am never far from my next subject of interest.  Today it happened to be damselflies a frequent subject of interest for me.