Oakleaf hyrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), with Flower long-horn beetles (Typocerus velutina)
Every Smooth hydrangea I saw a had pair of those doing that.
Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are the favorite flower of my sister-in-law, who was kind enough to wait with me while the guys disappeared into the distance up ahead. (As I mentioned yesterday, they don't understand that you can't take pictures while walking.)
My sharp-eyed nephew, on leave from the Army, spotted this damselfly. It looks a bit like a female Powdered Dancer (Argia moesta), but I'm not sure since it's so nondescript. This is the only photo I managed before it scooted away.
While looking up the latin name of Fragrant Sumac (it's Rhus aromatica), I was surprised to find so many references to the stinkiness of the crushed leaves. I find that the young leaves have a very pleasant scent!
Ladies tresses (Spiranthes sp.), a member of the orchid family. Unfortunately these are leaning over after my brother-in-law stepped on them. (I think we need to supervise him more closely on future walks.)
When we got back we spied an Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) in the yard.
I wonder if this is the one who ate my lettuce.
I also got a shot of an Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), but not very close, hence the blurry quality.
While trying to figure out which bugs were on the hydrangeas, I came across this very helpful page: Insect Visitors of Illinois Wildflowers. A great way to jump-start bug identifications, even if you don't live in Illinois.
15 comments:
Dagnabit! I was going to post a picture of fragrant sumac first. (In Missouri we call it aromatic sumac.) Many, many people insist that this common plant is actually poison ivy, but I suppose it keeps them out of the forest.
Well SwampThings posted a picture of Ladies Tresses yesterday but I didn't let that stop me! :)
If anyone knows the scent of this sumac, let me know if you find it pleasant or not. (Yep it does look like poison ivy! It's in the same family.)
>> hence the blurry quality.
yes, but you do amazingly well with what you've got. If there were ever anyone who desrved a camera upgrade, its you. And a monopod. You know monopods? Lets see if this link works.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=254606&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
Cute cottontails.
I agree with Charles on the camera upgrade. Your photography is so beautiful, I can only imagine what you could do with more telephoto power.
BTW-- How are the kittens?
Charles - thanks. Yeah but then I'd have to, you know, carry it around. :)
Actually I have a nice Gitzo tripod somewhere. I'll have to look. Not sure if it'll work with this camera but maybe it would. It's not all that light though.
Upgrades will have to wait til we get our old house sold. (Anyone want to put in a bid???)
The kittens are holy terrors. I am frequently heard to utter, "What was I thinking?!" :)
The link to the Insect Visitors to the Wildflowers of Illinois is great! More places should have something like. (Oh, and I have an interesting new visitor in my garden; a hummingbird that always zips past my head just too fast for me to get a good look. The other day it finally paused a few seconds for me to look at it.)
The cottontail is incredibly cute!
the ladies tresses are SO interesting! i took a "close-up" photography workshop this past weekend - SO much to learn. loving your native plant blogging here!
It looks like you like in darn nature preserve! I live in Illinois and I can't indentify nothing - including the wormy/grubby looking creature I found one night in the grass...that had green glowing stripes across it's body. Heck, I'm not THAT close to the nuclear power plant!
Maktaaq we only get one kind of hummingbird here so it's not too hard to identify them. :)
Yllstonewolf I just love anything in the orchid family! The ladies tresses have several species but they are hard to tell apart (for me anyway). A macro workshop sounds like it would be fun.
Zanne, no just out in the country in the woods LOL. It was not so much fun the other night when Jasmine woke us up, barking like a lunatic because there was another turtle in the yard! (It was a slider - but hubby wasn't excited about me getting the camera out to take a pic.)
I've been frequenting your blog. i just enjoy it...the simplicity and clarity of your pictures somehow just a puts a smile on my face and just let me enjoy simple beauty...
i don't have a camera...nor do i have a place like yours...but at least i have your blog i could visit and enjoy :-)
Thanks and post more!
I've always wondered what Black-eyed Susans looked like - read the name so many times and never got around to looking them up. The Eastern Cottontail is new to me too, and SWEET. Isn't it interesting that pretty much everything in your cultural and business life would no doubt be more or less familiar to me, but so much in your natural surroundings is unknown, new and fascinating.
Thanks very much Elizabeth! I sometimes wonder if people think I should be posting less. It's certainly an addictive habit, blogging.
Jean there is also a (non-native) Black-eyed Susan vine, that is less well known. I have one in a hanging basket that I'll try to get a picture of. It doesn't look much like this one at all! The hummingbirds like it though.
I know what you mean though - when I look at nature blogs from other countries it sometimes seems like they're from other worlds!
Neither my oakleaf Hyd's nor my Black-eyed Susans are blooming yet, but I think they will next week or maybe the week after. This is like getting a sneak peek.
Well, poop, you put me on the spot about the ID of your damselfly. If there were lotsa other Powdered Dancers flying around, odds are that's what it was. The females of this species are quite variable.
Hick the Hydrangeas in B'ham were blooming well before these. We're not that far north but it makes a big difference sometimes.
Thanks Nannothemis!
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