A Fair View

A fair view ... of a deer on Fairview Drive in Lake Arrowhead, browsing around mid-day. Lucky me to have been at the right place at the right time!

Becoming

A Pickerelweed (Pontedaria cordata) bloom becoming ...

from this,

to this,

to this spectacular visual treat!

It looks as if it's made of happy little faces!

Obscure Flowers

Sometimes the flowering structures of aquatic plants are tiny, and therefore seldom seen, so it was with great excitement that I observed coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) flowers recently. The plant is native to North America but now has a universal distribution thanks to the aquarium trade.

The flowers glowed red in the sunlight, like shining raspberries! They are completely submersed, so the pollen from the male flowers needs to sink down onto the female flowers, with currents facilitating cross pollination.

I was also thrilled to find this seldom noticed Elodea flower on its slender, floppy stalk, though I forgot to add my ruler for scale.

Gently Present

Snakes, frogs and turtles

Gently inform their presence -

I try to mimic

Fascinating Fungi

I do believe our botanical mystery has been solved! My fellow plant nerd who collected it with me had already bet her money on the solution, and she was absolutely right! We needed to have it verified though, and Glen Mittelhauser of the Maine Natural History Observatory answered my query promptly. Remember this unusual plant growth from a previous post?

It is caused by a fungus that generates abnormal growths (galls) in the tissue of shoots, leaves and flowers of the host plant, in this case Andromeda polifolia (Bog rosemary). It is known throughout north temperate regions - we found it in Washington county, Maine. 

The pink leaves that look like flowers are the pathogenically infected leaves. Inaturalist states: fruitbody of Exobasidium karstenii causes gall of live, enlarged, reddened leaf of Andromeda polifolia.

Woo hoo! So very, very excited to have this confirmed and explained. The world makes sense again thanks to Glen!

Teamwork

Our plant patrol team on Lake Arrowhead, PALZ (Patrollers of Arrowhead's Littoral Zone) decorated a pontoon for the July 4th boat parade using the theme of "Where the Wild Weeds Are" based on Maurice Sendak's 1963 book.

Photo: D Holabaugh

We opted to use discarded, second hand, or discarded items for our weeds - a weathered tarp, stained green sweatshirts, and leftover yarns and fabric remnants produced the weedy look we were aiming for.

Our artist 'in residence,' Dina, used discarded latex house paints to create the artwork on a piece of plywood that was sanded and trimmed by Mark. Dina included native and invasive plants that are found in Lake Arrowhead in her fantastic illustration. Look at this beautiful mess of weeds!

Photo: D Schultz

Our successful rendition of showing what we focus on as a plant patrol team earned us 3rd place in the award ceremony! 

At the community BBQ, we manned display tables about protecting Loons

 and distinguishing between native and invasive plants. Our focus was on creating awareness of other creatures and life forms in our lake.

Moth Eyes

This magnificent creature is an Io moth (Automeris io) - I found it dead on my couch one morning, not knowing when or how it had got inside. Its furry body looks like it belongs to a long-haired cat! It has false eyes, and an amazing texture up close.

They feed on many different hardwoods, but not conifers. This specimen would be a male (from the yellow color and the enlarged feathery antennae that help it detect female pheromones). They make his face look kind of fierce

This beauty is another gorgeous native, somewhat compromised by the introduction of a fly to get rid of gypsy moths, according to Moths of North Carolina: "In the Northeast, however, this species is declining and becoming more localized in Connecticut and other areas where it once occurred (Wagner, 2012), possibly due to parasitism by a Tachinid fly, Compsilura concinnata, that was widely introduced in the Northeast to control Gypsy Moths and other pest Lepidoptera. This fly represents a serious and pervasive threat for many species of moths and is suspected to be responsible for the marked declines in several Saturniids."

Hitchhikers

We took these eggs up to Big Lake with us, not realizing they were there on our tires until we stopped and took a break. They look like perfect little pearls up close - they appear to be moth eggs.

They must have hatched or died somewhere along the way because they were nowhere to be seen when we got back home. It's so easy to inadvertently transport things from one area to another.

Big Lake Excursion, Day 5

There was no survey scheduled on our last day because of the forecasted wind gusts, so we took our time packing up and socializing (fresh baked blueberry muffins had been delivered to our cabin for us!) before setting off for home. We met so many warm-hearted, thoughtful people at Big Lake and we were sad to leave this vast wilderness.

It was especially hard saying goodbye to our new plant patrolling protégé - how inspiring it is to see a young person step up so enthusiastically and revel in everything nature has to offer.

We had a great connection, and had tons of fun exploring plants together. We aim to continue adventuring together in the future, especially seeing as we have some plant finds (mysteries) still to resolve that have had us guessing back and forth. This is our current mystery: a bog rosemary with an unusual pink leaved growth, which was decidedly unrosemary-like, and were not its flowers, either. I haven't had any luck yet in discovering what it is (a hemiparasite?) - I hope to update this post with a definitive answer soon ...

Sad as it is to say goodbye, being able to say goodbye means we've made new friendships in new places, so ... it's all good! Adieu, Big Lake, it was now time for me to get to the dentist and have my failed temporary crown replaced so I could eat and drink comfortably again.

Big Lake Excursion, Day 4

Another survey day on which I had the pleasure and privilege of mentoring our newest volunteer, who was as keen as I to explore Big Brook and its bog areas, which always offer incredible diversity. The area was unfortunately too mucky-silty shallow for our snorkeler to accompany us even though he made a valiant attempt to join us.

Our initial experience was dominated by mayfly bodies coating the water's surface, not exoskeletons this time - they'd all enjoyed their last hurrah (mating & egg laying) and were now expendable. Their beautiful winged forms created a fantastic textured surface - quite incredible to see.

We saw so many interesting and beautiful species, all while keeping our eyes out for invasive variable leaf milfoil. We were pleased to find two native leafy milfoils, (Northern and Alternate flowered), but happily no new locations for the bad one. Go Natives! The edge plants added an extra wow factor to our survey - I was particularly enamored with the nodding pitcher plant flowers amidst the greenery.

How exquisite these North American natives (Sarracenia purpurea) are up close! Unique, indeed. I was so besotted with the flowers that I didn't think to take photos of the pitchers at its base!

We loved the dramatic pink of the Swamp roses (Rosa palustris),

the deeper maroons of the Purple marshlocks, a new plant for me,

and the delicately pink-tinged fruits of Bog rosemary

We had a blast! And, of course, no excursion is complete without an Arrowhead

Back on land, we prepared for the evening's potluck social and presentations with the community, which rounded off the week really nicely.

I gathered my courage to get up and speak to the crowd about getting locals to volunteer on their own lake. Phew! I survived it, and it felt good to share my passion.

Big Lake Excursion, Day 3

We set off as a convoy of 3 pontoons, loaded up with kayaks, to a distant part of the lake that took an hour to reach by boat. This is a BIG lake!

It was a little choppy and somewhat overcast when we first set off, but the sun eventually showed itself, improving our visibility.

We were a team of five - two kayakers, one snorkeler, and two on the pontoon viewing from a higher vantage point. We managed to cover a lot of ground together since there were vast areas that were too stony for plant growth.

The sense of remoteness that this scenery imparts is hard to imagine - large tracts of undeveloped greenery as far as the eye can see, to be appreciated and enjoyed in its pristine state.

  

Every time we reached a cove with a marshy shore, we were able to indulge in some botanizing, consolidating what was learnt at the plant paddle the day prior. 

Dale, as the snorkeler, had the best viewing opportunity of all, and he was able to solve a little puzzle plant, whose identity had eluded all of us on the expedition thus far. He had picked up this sample a few days before, and we'd all been guessing as to what it would 'grow up to be.'

Lo and behold, he found a plant with both these basal leaves and a long thin stem on which were subtended the distinctive floating leaves of Little Floatingheart (Nymphoides cordata). None of our Field Guides had included the basal leaves!

Mystery solved! Very satisfying, indeed. Our return trip to camp on the pontoons was wild and bumpy since the wind had come up in a BIG way (Big Lake, big winds, big sky), and we were all getting wet and splashed as we crashed through waves. Our youngest and oldest volunteers on the trip shared a towel to shelter under - all smiles and contentment after a grand day on the water. Thanks to our very conscientious and aware boat captains, we all returned to shore safely.

What a wonderful day!

Big Lake Excursion, Day 2

Such a hot day! The scheduled plant paddle by the Lake Stewards of Maine had a good community turnout, but the extreme heat forced us to adapt the program - we all got off the water at 11 am, and canceled all on-the-water surveying for the rest of the day, as we were melting in our kayaks! Standing around talking to people was taxing and required extra sun protection!

We enjoyed admiring this 'ballsy' tree (burls, actually) on our way to the community hall,

where we assembled to categorize and identify some of the plants we'd collected during our plant paddle.

We used the afternoon to plan our logistics and strategies for the following day (it was nice and cool with A/C), and we also teased out some plant samples (all the milfoils) left over from the morning's event.

Then, oh joy! We swam in the lake, reveling in the delicious feeling of having heat sucked from our overheated bodies.

We had a full program planned for the following day after a sticky night in a sun-baked bedroom ...

Big Lake Excursion, Day 1

Our first day on Big Lake was hot, and visibility was very, very poor as you can see from these photos - a floating midden of mayfly exoskeletons combined with swirling pollen grains coated the water's surface. These are not decaying fleshy bodies, so there was no odor.

It was quite a beautiful patterned effect,

and created an amazing textured surface that looked like a Monet! 

Dale had the best viewing of all of us since he was snorkeling (black shape protruding from the water) and didn't have to deal with the surface 'skin' of discarded insect sheaths.

 

Taking a break on the pontoon, with our patient captain and his assistant. They were the support crew who ferried us and our kayaks to remote locations so we could put more time and effort into surveying for invasives. It made a huge difference.

The wild expanses here are breathtaking - so much unspoiled shoreline, with tons of interesting plants and habitats, and very few boats to disturb the tranquility.

I love the patterns the floating, ribbony leaves of Sparganium fluctuans (floating bur-reed) make on the water's surface - different and intriguing every time.

They were flowering for us, too!