Author Archives: Brenda Clements Jones

About Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

Smooth Blue Aster

September 6, 2025

Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) blooming up here right now in many places on the mountain. Blooming for about four to six weeks, providing nectar for pollinators late in the season.

Though I adore deep, rich, pure color; I must admit this lavender shade is beautiful. As this bloom ages the color may deepen, which would please me even more.

This Aster, as well as many other species, is a host plant for some butterflies including the Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos).

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Monarch

September 5, 2025

I’ve only seen a few Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) this summer. This one is enjoying the nectar of Purple Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea), which is growing like crazy up here along the trails and roadside. I suspect that the proliferation of the Morning Glories is because of the significant amount of rain we had earlier this summer.

I have various species of Milkweed (Asclepias) to tempt the Monarchs to come and lay their eggs. Now in late summer I have many flowers that I know should entice them. Not much luck though. Maybe next summer there will be more. I have my fingers crossed.

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Buckeye On Aster

September 4, 2025

So many intriguing butterflies. Some absolutely stunning. This is one of them, a Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). I usually see them in late summer through autumn when they migrate south for the winter.

These Buckeyes have a preference for the nectar of flowers in the Asteraceae family, such as Asters, Goldenrods, Sunflowers, Ironweed, Wild Ageratum, and Coneflowers.

This one is enjoying the nectar of the Small White Aster (Symphyotrichum racemosum).

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The Aromatic Aster

September 3, 2025

A member of the Aster family (Asteraceae), Aromatic Asters (Aster oblongifolius) are just beginning to open up their first blooms, and will often bloom until the first frost. They’re native to parts of the eastern and central United States.

They provide needed nectar and pollen as autumn begins to shut down many of those sources. These are composite flowers, growing to 1 to 1.25 inches across. The flowers are made up of 20 to 35 purple ray florets that encircle 30 to 50 disk florets of yellow or amber, maturing to reddish purple.

The name “aromatic” makes me think that the flowers have a scent, but that scent is hidden. They or the foliage must be crushed to enjoy the camphorous scent.

These flowers and other purple asters that bloom in autumn make me appreciate purple as an autumnal color, along with the warm oranges, reds and yellows.

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Gorgeous Wingstem

September 2, 2025

I have so many favorites in the world of nature. This is one of them. Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), seen here in Shenandoah National Park. Right now it is decorating roadsides with its brilliant lemon yellow.

Wingstem is quite popular with pollinators. This is a Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) enjoying the Wingstem’s nectar.

The flowers of this plant are composite flowers which are made up of a cluster of tiny flowers called florets that together create a bigger form that appears to be a single bloom. The little florets include ray flowers on the outside appearing to be petals, and also disk flowers at the center. Other composite flowers include daisies and sunflowers.

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Getting Ready

September 1, 2025

September 1st, the first day of Meteorological autumn and the Flowering Dogwoods (Cornus florida) have been preparing since the very end of June when their leaves began to take on a slight reddish hue. It’s been a slow journey since that time, color change creeping along. But now there are rich crimson berries just waiting for those leaves to turn on more of their color. For this tree it will provide a big year for birds that love to eat the berries. Flowering Dogwoods seem to alternate, one year a big berry season, the next not so much.

The weather has seemed like autumn for many days now. Most unusual for the end of August, but I’m certainly not complaining. Welcome autumn.

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Cottontail

August 31, 2025

A small Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) this afternoon, showing no concern that I was around. Surprisingly little for this time of year, but not unusual since cottontails reproduce from spring through mid-September.

So glad I happened upon it!

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A Sachem

August 30, 2025

A Sachem (Atalopedes campestris), one of the skippers. The host plants of Sachems are various grasses. Adults like this one, enjoy the nectar of a vast variety of flowers, including this Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta).

The Sachem is native to the southern US, Mexico, Central America and further south into Brazil. They’re migratory, moving north over much of the US, and occasionally into Canada as the weather warms.

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Oh What Color!

August 29, 2025

What joy to have these flowers blooming right now. Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), a member of the bellflower family (Campanulaceae). Native to the southeastern part of Canada, south through the eastern and southwestern United States, on to Mexico as well as Central America, finally to northern Colombia.

Such fun to find it right now, whether going down the mountain and seeing its brilliant red flower spikes rising up from a ditch, or while out hiking and finding some blooming next to a stream, or looking out my kitchen window at one of the gardens as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird comes to this flower which seems to be designed just for hummingbirds.

Joy indeed.

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Elephant Mosquito

August 28, 2025

What an interesting creature. This is an Elephant Mosquito (Toxorhynchites rutilus). It is indeed a mosquito, in the family Culicidae, and in North America it is one of the largest known species of mosquito which explains, along with its curved proboscis, its common name.

This species doesn’t drink our blood, instead adults consume carbohydrate-rich things like honeydew, plant sap, juices of rotting fruit, and flower nectar. And their larvae eat the larvae of other mosquitoes and other similar aquatic prey.

A mosquito that I love having around.

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