A friend gave me the most amazing book of patterns recently, called Dynamic Form in Nature by David Wade. It just "belongs" in my hands! Here are a few pics to show more of my affinity for patterns in nature.
This might be the type Variegatus, a cop-out of a name
Petite and delicate, this Pleated Ink Cap looks as if it's trying to be an Aster. They appear overnight after rain and disintegrate rapidly. Before the pleats split open, they resemble cocktail umbrellas - they're called Parasola plicatilis.
I always think these Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana) leaves look as if they're blushing about the overtly voluptuous fruit they produce. It's a beautiful understory native.
A flush of crimson
Splashed across the leafy whorl
Beneath the bold fruit
This very dainty Pine Warbler sat on our window ledge to recover after clonking into one of our windows. And then it flew away, free! So glad it was okay. It was the best way to see it up close. Lucky me!
Chester Chipmunk climbed onto the back of his trusty friend, Molly Mallard, just before Hurricane Lee struck Maine. He was leaving his mate and kids behind without so much as a stash of fresh acorns to tide them over, but he was so sick and tired of dealing with waterlogged passageways, bedraggled newborns and fungus growth all over their food supply that he couldn't take it anymore.
He wanted a fresh start without all that baggage and commitment. He'd forgotten to pack his Superman cape for their journey, and Molly was struggling to stay the course against Lee's gusty winds, which met them as they flew south. They were being buffeted about so much that they weren't making much headway, so they decided to fly back to retrieve his cape in the hope that it might give them more lift and steering capabilities.
Back home though, they discovered that not only had the storm petered out with barely any rain, but that his partner Chichi had bundled their babies up in his cape and moved them away to a more elaborate set of tunnels in the LEE of the bank. She'd etched a note on an acorn shell with her teeth telling him of her decision to move into more luxurious quarters with their neighbor, Chuck.
On a long survey paddle on which I'd become disheartened at having found Najas minor (invasive European naiad) growing, I was greeted by a fantastic sighting of an Osprey perched on a dead tree above me. I was loathe to chase it off with my fumbling and rummaging about for my camera, so settled for mostly watching it. I was able to get a few shots as I approached and I was thrilled that it did not fly off.
I paid for my dalliance in having to paddle like an Olympian to get home before a potent convectional thunderstorm struck. One person on the lake wondered if they'd just seen the Northern lights when the lightning came!
These 2 butterflies with different wing patterns are the same species: the blue one in the first photo is the southern version called a red-spotted purple.
The metallic blue of these dogwood berries in the sun drew me to them. They almost looked as if they'd been sprayed with a glossy coating. Oh, and this shrub is called Silky Dogwood, Cornus amomum. 
Digging up and excavating the forest floor destroys these valuable pathways, affecting much more than just the areas targeted.
Ouch! It's painful to imagine.
Scenes like this are always worth pulling over for when you're on a 5 hour journey ... I guess the cows are wondering what we're looking at! Don't they know Katahdin is in the other direction?
Heavy rain was in the forecast so we had to make alternative plans to accommodate the weather. It initially seemed as if it wouldn't materialize,
It came down in buckets while we were conducting our plant workshop under the town pavilion (about 4% of the town's population turned up - there are only 360 residents).
