I haven’t seen many pearl crescent butterflies (Phyciodes tharos) this year but this one landed nearby and let me get quite close. I wondered if it needed a rest after flying with such a torn up wing. I’ve read that males have black antenna knobs, so I’m guessing that this is a female.
This white admiral butterfly (Limenitis arthemis) landed in the leaves at the side of a path. It seemed like odd behavior for a butterfly but I thought it might be looking for some shade. It was a hot day.
The branch river in Marlborough has more stones than water in it at the moment. It’s a good illustration of how dry our weather has been. Rain is a rare commodity here lately, but they say we might see showers this weekend.
Last year at this time I found a northern club spur orchid (Platanthera clavellata v. Ophioglossoides) growing in this spot but this year there wasn’t a sign of it or any other orchid. A tree fell and opened up the forest canopy to let the sunshine hit the forest floor and last year I thought that it might be the reason the orchid grew here. Now I wonder if the extra sunshine is what caused the orchid to no longer grow here. I’ve noticed that many of the smaller orchids I’ve found seem to prefer shade.
Signs of fall are creeping from the forest floor up into the shrubby understory, as these hobblebush leaves (Viburnum lantanoides) show. This plant gets its name from the way it can “hobble” a horse because it grows so close to the ground. My own feet have been hobbled by it once or twice and I’ve taken some good falls because of it, so now I walk around rather than through stands of hobblebush.
Bracken ferns are also starting to show their fall colors. This fern is one plant that will not tolerate acid rain, so if you don’t see it where you live you might want to check the local air pollution statistics. We have plenty of it here so acid rain must be a thing of the past, thankfully.
This seems to be a bountiful year for fruits as these cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) show. Most were unripe when this photo was taken but you can see one reddish one in the upper right. Cranberries, along with blueberries and grapes, are the only fruits native to North America that are grown commercially and sold globally.
Someone from the Smithsonian Institution read another post where I spoke about sumac pouch gall and contacted me to ask if I knew where they grew. They are researching the coevolution of rhus gall aphids and its host plants the sumacs. A female aphid lays eggs on the underside of a leaf and plant tissue swells around them to form a gall. The eggs overwinter and mature inside the hollow gall until spring, when they leave the gall and begin feeding on the plant. Scientists have paleobotanical evidence that this aphid has had a relationship with its sumac hosts for at least 48 million years. They are studying this relationship at the Smithsonian and I told them that I could show them where many of these galls grew. We’ll do that sometime in September, after they collect galls from Georgia, Arkansas, and Ohio.
This chanterelle mushroom held a good amount of water in its cup. I never thought that the coating on a mushroom was water proof, but it looks like I have to re-think that.
This might not look like much but it is a rare sight. American chestnuts were one of the most important forest trees, supplying both food and lumber. An Asian bark fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) was introduced into North America on imported Asiatic chestnut trees and the disease all but wiped out over three billion American chestnut trees. New shoots often sprout from chestnut roots when the main trunk dies so they haven’t yet become extinct. Unfortunately the stump sprouts are almost always infected by the Asian fungus by the time they reach 20 feet tall. Many botanists and other scientists are working on finding and breeding disease resistant trees. I’ll be watching this one.
Mini the wonder dog comes trotting out of the darkness with tongue wagging, ready to save mankind from the scourge of the chipmunk. Mini lives with friends of mine and I call her the wonder dog because I really have to wonder if I’ll ever see her sit still. She’s very energetic and loves a good chipmunk chase. She never catches them but that doesn’t keep her from trying.
I saw the sun light up the clouds one evening but I couldn’t stop driving right then and had to chase the view until I found a good stopping place. It was amazingly colorful and reminded me of a Maxfield Parrish painting.
For those unfamiliar with Maxfield Parrish; he was a painter who moved to Plainfield New Hampshire in 1898 and painted here until he died in 1966. His paintings are known for their saturated colors and sunlit clouds. There is often a beautiful woman dressed in Native American or other unusual clothing somewhere in the painting. This painting is titled “Sunlit Valley.” The clouds I saw reminded me of it.
Last month we had a blue moon and I went out and took photos of it but then forgot to put them into a post, so here is a nearly month old photo of the blue moon. Obviously it isn’t blue but is called blue when two full moons appear in a single month. According to Wikipedia the suggestion has been made that the term “blue moon” arose by folk etymology, the “blue” replacing the no-longer-understood belewe, ‘to betray’. The original meaning would then have been “betrayer moon”, referring to a full moon that would “normally” be the full moon of spring. It was “traitorous” in the sense that people would have had to continue fasting for another month in accordance with the season of Lent.
The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves. ~Kahlil Gibran
Thanks for stopping in.
OF LOCAL INTEREST: The following was sent to me recently:
2015 NH Permaculture Day – Saturday, August 22, 2015 Anyone who wants to learn ways to live in a more sustainable and self-sufficient way should attend the third annual NH Permaculture Day – Saturday, August 22 from 8 am to 5 pm at Inheritance Farm, in Chichester, NH, presented by the New Hampshire Permaculture Guild in cooperation with UNH Cooperative Extension. Experts will lead more than 30 activities on such topics as growing, harvesting, preparing, and preserving food; herbs; mushrooms; raising farm animals; historic barns and natural building practices; and sustainable energy. Tickets are $35 for adults, children ages 6-15 are $10, and ages 5 and under are free. A local organic farm-to-table lunch is included.
Locally-made products will be for sale in the vendor’s area, and supervised activities and crafts will be offered all day long in our Children’s Corner.
Tickets can be purchased online (via Eventbrite). For more information, go to the event page at http://extension.unh.edu/2015-NH-Permaculture-Day.
It seems you have all our butterflies and we have all your rain this summer. I’m not sure this is a fair swap 🙂
Maybe things will even out again one day. We could sure use the rain!
Love the Pearl Crescent and White Admiral butterflies. Have never seen them here.
That’s interesting. I didn’t know they didn’t make it that far west.
Love that you’ll be a consultant to the Smithsonian. They could not have picked a better guide.
Thank you Judy. I’m not really consulting. Just showing them where the galls grow. I think they’re more interested in seeing them than they are me.
Eh, in my book….they’re asking for your help. That makes you a consultant. Just go with it…
At least the weekend did bring a bit of rain, though my pond is still down nearly a foot. The signs of fall really are starting to show. I hope the Old Farmers Almanac is wrong they are calling for a very cold and snowy winter. Very cool the Smithsonian folks are coming to see you! 48 million years a a long time!
Thanks Laura. We had rain too but nowhere near enough.
I hope the Old Farmers Almanac is wrong too. We deserve a break after the last two winters. Many meteorologists are saying warmer with less snow because of the El Nino, so I’m going to believe them.
I think the Smithsonian person is far more interested in seeing the sumac galls than he is me. I’m just going to show him where they are. I expect it’ll be a quick 10 minute thing and he’ll be gone back to DC.
I still think it is neat! You might be surprised, he may have more than 10 minutes worth of questions!
I agree, spring and summer went so fast; I held onto each day as hard as I could and I can still smell fall in the air when I walk in the woods and sit on the porch swing in the evening…I really enjoyed your photos and really appreciate that you share them.
Thank you Charlie. I know what you mean, fall is coming fast. I’m not ready for it but I’d better get ready!
Summer is disappearing far too quickly! I too, have seen that the leaves are starting to change colour and some of the trees are losing their leaves as well, though this is probably due to the low rainfall we have had this summer. We haven’t had as many orchids here as last year and I am not sure why. Perhaps lack of water again, is the problem. So many beautiful shots today Allen – I love the moon and the clouds very much.
Thank you Clare. I agree, summer is flying by this year. I saw quite a lot of fallen leaves today too. I only hope winter goes by as fast.
I hope your orchids come back! It could be lack of water. A lot of them seem to really like wet feet.
After two bad winters I don’t wonder at you wanting a short or fast version this year! I think lack of rain has has a lot to do with the scarcity of orchids here. Another factor I think is the timing of the grass cutting. Most of the wild flowers we have are in the narrow strips of land (verges) between the tarmacked road (I think you call it the pavement) and the border to someones property. The farmers here have the job of mowing these strips of land and the mowing is needed eventually because the grasses and other plants grow so tall that visibility for drivers on the road is reduced. Our spring and early summer were cool and fairly dry so the flowers bloomed much later than usual. The farmers mowed the verges at the same time as usual which meant many flowers had only just flowered or hadn’t even started to flower when they were cut down. I think the orchids were victims of this mowing. I have seen different flowers this year and these are no doubt mowed in other years but got their chance to flower this year.
The orchids I’ve seen here have been growing in shaded, moist areas for the most part so they’ve bloomed even though we have also been very dry.
I know what you mean about the mowing. Here they seem to mow earlier each year and I noticed today that places already mowed have grown to knee high again. Maybe they hope to be able to mow twice, since the state, meaning we citizens, pay them to mow it. It really gets me hot under the collar because plants like chicory get mowed down before they can even flower.
I think we have the same problem on both sides of the Atlantic!
I think we do! I hardly ever see chicory these days and I love it so. I tried to grow it a few years ago but it was eaten by cabbage white caterpillars!
I’ve never thought of growing it but maybe I should try some. I love the blue color of the flowers too.
Like the others I liked you sky but the butterflies are my favourites today. I am glad that they stopped by for you. An excellent picture of Mini the wonder dog too.
Thanks! I was glad the butterflies slowed down for a bit too. Chasing them doesn’t really work.
I saw Mini today and told her that she was known the world over now; a real star.
If the Smithsonian wants to study sumac pouch gall, they should come to west Michigan this year. In some places, the sumac look like fruit trees bearing fruit because there are so many large galls under the leaves. I’ve never seen so many before.
Loved the photo of the clouds, and I can see why they reminded you of a Mayfield Parish painting.
I’m not sure what to think about the status of the chestnut trees, every once in a while I read a news story that says some trees have developed resistance to Asian bark fungus and are making a come back, but then I hear nothing more about the resistant trees. It’s the same with elm trees, I hear that some of them have developed a resistance to Dutch elm disease, and they are coming back, but I never see any. I do know that our ash trees are being wiped out by the emerald ash borer though.
All in all, another great post covering lots of topics, I hope that you get some rain soon, as it does look very dry there.
I’ll tell them that when they come here Jerry. I had forgotten that you had them there too. It sounds like they grow just about everywhere.
That sky was really something to see that evening. I wish it happened more often.
There are large groups of people working on both elms and chestnuts and disease resistant elms have been developed and are being planted but I’m not sure about chestnuts. I read that there’s still quite a stand of chestnuts somewhere in Michigan. So far our ash trees seem okay.
That photo of the sky is breathtaking. Get it framed!
Thanks very much Cynthia. I might just do that!
Beautiful pictures as usual, and a lot of interesting information for us who love nature and New Hampshire. I went through Keene yesterday when returning home after leaving my son at college in Rochester (NY) so I thought of you and enjoyed more the beautiful landscape of your area. Thanks for your posts, I always learn something new and receive more than that! Have a great weekend!
Thanks very much Jaime. If you ever come through on a weekend you’ll have to let me know so I can show you around. It’s a great place if you’re a nature lover!
Thanks for your kind offer. I would LOVE to visit and walk around Keene nature with your expert guide. Maybe next summer!
No problem Jaime, anytime.
So much good stuff in this post. The cloud picture is awesome! Looks like the best weather this weekend is this morning, so I’ll be leaving soon for a hike.
Here is another quote for you:
The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thank you Paula, I think you’re right about the weather and I’m going to be heading outside soon too. I hope you find lots of new and exciting things.
Thanks for the quote!
Those clouds definitely do call Maxfield Parrish to mind. Did you know that will be an exhibit of his work opening at the Currier in Manchester on Oct 9?
Thank you Laura. No, I didn’t know that. I’ve always liked his landscapes so I’d sure like to see it!
I hope to see it too.
-Susan
I’m sorry that I called you Laura, Susan. I must have gotten confused.
Something for everyone today, butterflies, plants, local events, working with the Smithsonian and interesting information about the blue moon. Is there anything that you cannot write about?
Thank you Susan. I don’t know how to answer that question. If it’s nature related I’ll write about it. I think all of it is interesting!