Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius) native to Europe. An herbaceous perennial vine that has 3 to 6 foot long winged stems. It’s occasionally found along woodland edges, at the sites of old homesteads or in this case at the site of an abandoned church along a dirt road in the mountains. The seeds of Everlasting Pea are poisonous, so though “pea” is in the name, don’t eat them.
Well, that’s quite a name. And take a look at this beetle. It’s quite the insect too. It grows to a size of 1.25 inches. The Larger Flat-headed Pine Borer (Chalcophora virginiensis) can be found throughout the US, anywhere conifers grow, where they breed on dead trees and stumps but they will also breed on live trees which will eventually kill the tree.
Under its dark-copper/black elytra (wing coverings) is a vibrant metallic blue-green abdomen that is revealed as the beetle flies.
As I was checking out my photographs of this insect, I was struck by its similarity to the Emerald Ash Borer, including the metallic coloring of the EAB’s entire body. Turns out this is in the same family of metallic wood boring beetles, the Buprestidae family, as the Emerald Ash Borer, which is aggressively devastating the woods up here as I type this. Not a nice wood borer.
A native of eastern and central North America, Narrow Leaf Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa).
The bright red-orange buds lead to blooming in the late spring and early summer, for a period of about a month. Bees, skippers and butterflies are the pollinators of these flowers.
As summer turns to autumn, the leaves of the Narrow Leaf Sundrops join with other leaves, turning to bright scarlet. A perennial, and a great source of color for three of the four seasons.
In late April or early May, the Wild Geraniums (Geranium maculatum) up here on the mountain are beginning to show off their sweet, rich, pink. The blooming lasts for about a beautiful month.
Though the plant continues the show without the dramatic color, still the show goes on. This the beak-like fruit of the flower is just the beginning of the finale.
And this, what I consider to be the grand finale. One flowering season of the Wild Geranium, a herbaceous perennial at the edge of trails here in the woods, coming to an end. Slender carpels of this fruit quickly curl up and back in order to fling their seeds. Here, like a gleeful child as if saying, “Ta DAA!” each of the seed cups now is empty. Their impressive mission complete.
Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) native to eastern North America. A delight for hummingbirds in the area, bees, and some sphinx moths. A cool and crazy looking flower that makes me wonder if Dr Seuss used it as inspiration for some of his drawings. Perhaps?
While admiring Common Milkweed which produces an amazing fragrance across long distances, I discover several unusual looking insects. They look like a capital T or an old-fashioned airplane, with a wingspan of perhaps 5/8 inch. Feathery wings and spiny, delicate looking legs.
These are Plume Moths (Pterophoridae). There are more than 1,000 species of Plume Moths in the world. The latest figures I can find for the number of described species in North America, north of the Mexican border is 166.
Of these 166 species that have been described, it is said that it is quite difficult to tell one species from the other without the aid of a microscope. I’ll skip that and just say these interesting looking moths are Plume Moths. A fun moth to find, with such an out of the ordinary look.
I planted these bushes for their beauty. The rubies please me beyond words. Red Currant (Ribes rubrum). Each year when they mature into their richness, childhood memories of family reunions in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, return. The Red Currant bushes growing tall next to the quoit pits.
I’ve just stumbled upon something that makes me feel so good. Quoits is a game something like horseshoes, but with a disk rather than a horseshoe. But until this evening I could only find information on the pronunciation of the word like it is spelled, “quoits”. Back at those reunions though it was pronounced “kwaits”. But I’ve just come upon a post about The United States Quoiting Association which says, “Formally pronounced koits or kwoits but commonly pronounced kwaits here in Pennsylvania.” Ah, that makes me feel better. My memories from long ago are correct.
And those ruby red currants are delicious too. I may get a few to add to the custard that I’ll be making again soon.
Just a couple days after the grass was cut. Two tiny bunnies were found hiding in that short grass. Warming themselves in the sun and hiding from predators. How they were found, I don’t know. Perhaps the magic of the Woodland Fairy. They were quite invisible to ordinary searching eyes such as mine. But Granddaughter found the bunnies and she came to let me know of her happy discovery.
She proudly but very quietly showed me where they were. Though I didn’t want to disturb either one, I wanted to get a better view, moving blades of grass. The teeny critters took the stance of, “You can’t see me, because I’m perfectly still!” When I started taking pictures she put her hand down and said, “My hand for scale!” An excellent assistant.
Baby Eastern Cottontail Rabbits will leave their nest to be totally independent when they are between 3 and 5 weeks of age. The size, like this one, not much bigger than a Chipmunk. The smallest rabbits I’ve ever seen. Absolutely precious.
Imagine my surprise when the Woodland Fairy stopped by to visit me today. She asked me to call her Chestnut. We sat down and talked for a quite a long time. Chestnut was filled with great stories of her life in the woods.
Chestnut lives in a humongous hollow tree. Her magic is why the hollow tree is so very large and inside she has created an atmosphere just like the land outside. In her home all her animals live in harmony. They all get along and are very happy.
She specifically mentioned having birds, foxes and bunnies but I know she must have many many more. The animals are a great help for Chestnut and for each other. For instance, there are 50 feeders for hummingbirds and all the animals help to keep them filled. She tells me that there are many other fairies in the woods, all with different concerns and specialties.
She is going to be filling in for Granddaughter very soon because she’s heard that Granddaughter will be attending some really fun summer camps and she’s knows her friends will miss her. Here she is dressed as Granddaughter, complete with real Montmorency cherry earrings. What a lovely visit!
Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius). An invasive plant that is found throughout the woods up here. Right now there are small flowers. Five, heart shaped, pale pink petals with longer pointed sepals. Very soon to become berries. An invasive, but oh the berries are so good.
