Bumbling Along

I wondered why this bottle gentian had a black center, and then realized it was a bumblebee enjoying some nectar that it had worked hard to reach. The flowers around it show how  tightly closed the petals usually are.

      

 

Once the bee has left, the flower shuts closed again, making it only available to bumblebees that are strong enough to force the petals apart. Smaller insects don't get to enjoy the feast - an understated "Bumblebees Only" sign.

Nature's Trellis

Look at how beautifully tree roots work to hold the soil and shoreline slope in place - this is more obvious to us with the lake level being down for so long.

This is natural beauty that we seldom see

Pipewort Display

I noticed what looked like a cluster of small snowballs in the grasses at the water's edge, which was really curious in September, so I just had to get closer ...  it was a delightful meadow of seven angled pipeworts (Eriocaulon aquaticum)

The common name describes the beautiful 7-angled spiral of the flower stem - if you look closely at the pic below, you can see the lines in the green stem forming a gentle twist.

The ball of whitish flowers reminds me of the Math construction kit called Zometool

Don't these look like pipeworts to you? The rods also have twists to them!

Prepping for Winter

Winter buds begin -

Tightly packed, encased in gel

To burst forth in  spring.

Birch Fungus

I often come across fallen birches and their associated polypores when I'm out paddling. Fomitopsis betulina bursts from the bark of a weakened tree that's been compromised through stresses (drought being one of them). The infection possibly gets in through wounds and broken branches, and then lies in wait until the time is ripe for its activation, breaking down the wood.

 

It looks like a large hoof has formed on the tree. Many insects feed on and breed in the fruit body.

According to Wikipedia, this is the fungus that "was carried by "Ötzi the Iceman" – the 5,300 year old mummy found in Tyrol, with speculation that the fungus may have been used as a laxative to expel whipworm."

Coneflower Attraction

A spiral array,

Exquisite echinacea

Draws insects inwards.

Faltering in Fall

I think I'm running out of steam ...  All my observations seem to be of things I've already posted about in the past (boring)! Maybe it's time to move on ... new species and new environments await ...

In the meantime, my native garden is ever colorful. Enjoy!

  

Take a Second Look

This insects look like an enormous wasp, but it is actually the native bald-faced hornet fly (known as a wasp mimic, Spilomyia fusca) and it cannot harm humans - it has no sting, despite its fierce look! It actually belongs to the hoverfly family Syrphidae, the adults of which feed on flower nectar. 

Look at the beautiful markings on it - it appears to have large dopey eyes:

I love its transparent wings with its brown leading edge. This is clearly a fly since it only has one pair of functional wings, unlike wasps, which have two pairs.

So don't be afraid of everything that looks like a wasp ... take a second look, or take a second to look!

The Coming of Fall

Dew forms overnight 

Grackles chatter and gather

Bottle gentians bloom

 

Eagle-Eyes

Resident eagle,

Sunning its wings as we pass, 

Ever vigilant.

Babes in the Wood

 Driving home through our lake community ... Odocoileus virginianus family

Farewell to Our American Dream

Dale and I have made the decision to move to the U.K. next year, which means we will leave some of our family behind, which is a really, really hard thing to do (the ragged emotions surrounding this still hit me unexpectedly some days). It's tough, and it hurts A LOT.

We will also have to sell our lake paradise, which has given us so much joy, serenity, friends, knowledge and experiences over the years. We have been wavering and contemplating for some time, but now that our very difficult and soul-wrenching decision has been made, we realize that we have a new adventure to look forward to together. The 'adventure' comes with many unknowns and much bureaucracy, waiting, forms, financial investment stress, and leaps of faith. Unfortunately the stress of it all is weighing heavily on Dale, so we are focusing on pacing ourselves as we move through this process.

Our Massachusetts house is now on the market, so our 10-year long tenants are currently packing and having to look for a new home.

The listing for our house is available here - Our Chelmsford Home. Please share with anyone you know who may want to buy in Chelmsford, MA, or just take a look yourself to see what our family home was like. Once this is sold (hopefully before year's end), we can look more actively and seriously for suitable properties in England.

In the meanwhile, we've been searching online for areas and houses we'd like to live in, but we are coming across so many walled-in gardens and properties (welcome to a densely populated island) that we find unacceptable for our lifestyle and needs. Nevertheless, I keep falling into the rabbit hole of possibilities, whiling away hours and hours of time, in the hope that the next one, then the next one or maybe the one after that, will be the house of my dreams.

We want a free-standing, detached building that is separate from surrounding ones. Though detached houses don't share a common wall, there is usually a fence or garden wall that runs between their two end walls ... not my cup of tea. Here is one example of how close to property lines the building are butting up against each other (from On the Market.com):

And I don't want a yard that makes me feel hemmed in by walls and boundaries when I'm outside. Here's another screenshot from the same site, of 3 detached houses and their claimed gardens.

 

I'm lucky enough to be able to choose something more private and remote, though hard to find. The search continues ... This one below is described as "rural," which it is not to me, so I'm going to have to redefine what I'm looking for ...

We anticipate moving between April and July, depending on how long each of the steps and hurdles take.

Early Asters

Beautiful contrast -

Parasol whitetop asters,

Against gnarled tree bark

Patterns of Light

I love shadows and patterns created by changes in light and obstructions! What a weird niche I occupy!

The light reflecting off the water here onto a blue boat cover, intermingled with the shadows through the aluminum dock above really caught my eye as I looked for stray European naiads that may have missed early detection.

Such a pretty pattern!

Sweet Mink

I was lucky enough to spot this furtive little mink (Neogale vison) by the water's edge. I decided to let my kayak float nearer, so I could just sit and wait. My patience was rewarded, as I was able to see it reappear 2 more times, from under the stump, wet and bedraggled looking. Still, despite my frozen stance, it wouldn't stay still, and I didn't want to alarm it by getting too close - these fuzzy photos will have to do.

This stance makes him look as if he's pretending to be a fierce lion

Look at how beautifully camouflaged this fierce little creature is.

This sighting made me so happy!

Rain Would be Welcome

Our lake has been low after a man-handled (artificial, and botched) lowering in anticipation of a rain event that did not materialize and there hasn't been any significant rain since then (July 29, from photos and comments, but probably started 2 weeks prior). We're 3 inches below our average monthly rainfall, and Maine is classified as having a 'flash drought' (rapid onset, intensifying quickly over a short time frame), so there's been no natural refilling.

Couple the lack of rain with a leaky dam and we are now at least 2 feet below normal, with no sign of it being reversed or refilled - until now that it is, over a month later. Some workers have been spotted investigating the obstructions (log jams) that have prevented the gates from closing all this time (an entire month) ... and a slight rise in water level has since been detected! But it's still not enough for a real immersive swim ...

Our moss-mister created a lovely rainbow to dress this situation up - we don't usually see dry ground on each side of the cove; it's usually water up to the tree bases. 

In the meanwhile, nature finds a way to harness whatever precious moisture it can, for as long as it can. 

Downy Barbules

I picked up this beautifully soft and downy feather in MA last week - it's most likely from an owl, since they have downy barbules on the sections of feathers closest to the body.

The barbules help reduce the sound of turbulent air rushing through its wings as it hunts, and also traps a lot more air for heat regulation.

World of Owls was a most helpful resource for this post.

Sanguine Beauty

Boldly beautiful -

Bloody red lobelia

Sanguinely invites.

Merganser Merriment

How exciting it has been to have a group of 8 common mergansers visit us regularly this year. We've heard and seen them making merriment in our cove, splashing and chasing and preening. Their behavior has such a distinctive sound that we know it's them without even looking up!

We know when they've been here since they leave their signature on our breakwater log - streaks of white along the length where they huddle together. The mallards sit differently on the log, such that their poop doesn't dribble onto the log, is my guess. Mallards leave it clean, leaving no trace of their presence. I wonder if it might be because of the difference in the way they sit and hold their bodies ...? Or, maybe it's just that we can see the guano because the water is low and no longer washes and crashes into the log (to clean it)?

Much to mull over ...

Speckled Mints

This delicate little flower with lavender speckles on white petals is one of the native mountain mints in North America. I'm surprised not to have seen any insects on it ... this one could be the broad-leaved or basil mountain-mint, but I'm not 100% sure which!

There are still a lot more flowers to come ... those spots must specifically attract something! A butterfly species perhaps?

Abuzz with Insects

What a lovely and satisfying sight it is to see so many insects buzzing around my native flowers - wasps, bumblebees, and caterpillars are having a grand time.

The best and most-oft visited magnets by far are blue lobelias, boneset and joe-pye-weed. Get some! You won't regret it.

Not so Big a Puzzle

A very simple, everyday occurrence when you live on a dirt road, and your new electric car doesn't have a rear wiper (go figure!) is this kind of pattern of dirt, grit and pollen on the rear windshield as it drops and settles from the overhang, depending on how much moisture there is around.

Different days, different conditions, different patterns - some days are worse than others (I wonder if some of it is ash from wildfires?)

Another Mystery

 Is this snow? Cobwebs? An abstract painting ... do you have any other ideas?

Falsehoods

This pretty little annual was showing off on one of my floating garden stumps. It's one of the more common false foxgloves, Agalinis purpurea and enjoys wet, boggy environments

This little beauty is partially parasitic, using the roots of other plants to gain nutrients.

Meet A Leech

Whilst examining aquatic plant air spaces and distinguishing tiny yellow flowering bladderworts from each other, I detected a movement in my plant tray. It came from this little brown speck ...

which turned into this as it moved along - the head stretches forward and uses the same looping motion as an inchworm to pull itself forward, attaching and detaching front and back suckers alternately to move forward.

In the initial round ball resting position, it's difficult to recognize the organism as a leech.

Aerenchyma

What is aerenchyma, you might ask? It's something that aquatic plants have within their tissues to enable them to stand upright in water currents, without needing their own sturdy structure - they make use of air spaces that keep them buoyant and also help with gas exchange within the plant.

I cut through the cross section of a thick stem of variable milfoil and took a photo to show the aerenchyma (air-filled cavities) within

Look at all the gaps/air spaces within the stem above. It makes the cross section look like a wagon wheel or an orange slice, but with air spaces. What a fantastic adaptation. Here are two more, free floating in water:

Northern Crescent Butterfly

This pretty butterfly is most likely the Northern crescent, Phyciodes cocyta, though it's difficult to tell apart from the Pearl Crescent, Phyciodes tharos, so they were originally regarded as one species.

It very pleasingly kept still for me to get close and capture the lovely antennal markings, the orange tips of which make it a male.