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Early Evening Visitor
A total surprise early this evening as I was washing dishes. A male American Restart (Setophaga ruticilla) taking care of his feathers at the birdbath. Redstarts are not the most frequent birds I see. They seek out insects from the forest floor to the tree tops and for the most part only come by for…
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Black-eyed Susan
A confusing common name with so many species of flowers using that same one, including Maryland’s state flower. This particular one is Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida) which I am working on committing “Rudbeckia fulgida” to memory to avoid confusing myself. One of the other Black-eyed Susans, (Rudbeckia hirta). Soon soon soon there will be Maryland’s…
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Baorangia Bicolor
Baorangia Bicolor (Boletus bicolor). One very cool mushroom, in a world filled with astounding mushrooms. This one red and yellow. Color is something that I adore and this fungus doesn’t disappoint. The pores bruise with a dark indigo blue stain and the stem also changes color in a matter of a few minutes with little…
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Spotted St. Johnswort
Spotted St. Johnswort (Hypericum punctatum), with lots and lots of spots. They show up, as volunteers, in my gardens. Volunteers most welcome. Five yummy yellow petals with many stamens surrounding a central green pistil. Those petals, of course, spotted. Spots of black, the leaves but also the stems. Green flower buds show the spots too.…
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New To The Garden
There was a new vendor, Beloved Brook Natives, at the Greene Farmers Market yesterday morning, with marvelous native plants. My wonderful husband bought two Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata), and brought them home, along with a farmers market breakfast. This afternoon I put them into a garden just outside the kitchen window. I got a good…
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Confusing Bumblebees Revisited
Confusing Bumblebee (Bombus perplexus), a species of Bumblebee that is native to northern North America, where it can be found in Canada and the eastern United States. Confusing Bumblebees live in colonies made up of one queen and the female workers. New, mated queens, overwinter in a state of dormancy emerging in the spring. The…
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Ghost Pipe
Ghost Pipe (Monotropa uniflora), quite the surprise to find. What in the world?It’s an herbaceous perennial plant which is found in much of the United States, with the exception of the Southwest, intermountain west and the central Rocky mountains. It’s also found in Canada, and in parts of northern South America. Ghost Pipe is a…
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This Afternoon
This afternoon a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) caught my attention as it alighted on a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurpea). Looking well-worn, as if it had spent its few weeks taking great chances, perhaps escaping a predator or two. I appreciate Great Spangled Fritillaries in part because their host plants are various species of native…
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Correction To Common Yarrow
Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). A native plant with wispy, fernlike, delicate leaves. A herbaceous perennial plant that grows to 3 feet tall that generally produces just one stem, but sometimes up to 3 stems. Those delicate leaves are alternate 3 to 5 inches long with leaflets on each side of the central stem, and those…
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Common Eastern Bumblebee
Common Eastern Bumblebees (Bombus impatiens). This one at Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens). And this one, also a Common Eastern Bumblebee, on Peppermint (Mentha piperita). These Bumblebees are gentle creatures. They don’t form swarms. Only the females have stingers and if you are stung by a Common Eastern Bumblebee, perhaps you deserve it. It takes much…