Tired of Ticks

Grrr, being on land admiring my beautiful spring ephemerals has resulted in at least 4 tick bites, and many still crawling, looking for a place to latch on. I'm getting so tuned in to light ticklish movements that a loose hair on my body makes me suspicious and jumpy.

One was so incredibly small that its legs could not be discerned against my body - it was probably 10x smaller than this one pictured. Ugh.

It's so tempting to go outside and enjoy the woods after a dreary winter, but I'm finding the deterrents very ... deterring. And I haven't yet mentioned the black flies - I'm drawn outside, only to be beaten back indoors with the discomfort and frustration. It's so hard staying indoors watching everything spring back to life from behind glass. And then there's pollen that makes my eyes itch and my throat sore - I've been waiting for this for so long, and now, I'm being teased, because I really do love spring! It's no wonder I spend so much time on the water with aquatic plants!

And therefore, the timing for a trip to Europe couldn't be better! Roll on the morrow.

Stylizing

I'm not sure I like these photo manipulations suggested by Google, but thought I'd share them - what do you think?

They seem artificial and garish to me, and yet they bring out the deeper colors in a dramatic way ...

Relaxing

How nice to find a trusting painted turtle, relaxed despite my approach. Its stance looks pretty laid-back, if you ask me, even if its face looks a little grumpy.

Spring's Moods

A sultry spring sky provides a perfectly layered backdrop to our native bulrushes, the broadleaf cattail, Typha latifolia

I always picture a sausage on a stick when I visualize these plants!

Woodland Whites

The rain is naturally bringing our native yard back to life. Coincidentally, all these flowers are white - it wasn't planned, but the fact that they have water drops on them was!

Trillium grandiflorum, my pride and joy

Rue Anemone, Thalictrum thalictroides

Goldthread, Coptis trifolia (with teeny, tiny brown aphids)

Island Restroom

A long time on the water after a few cups of coffee meant I needed to answer nature's call ... I chose a small, wooded island in the middle of nowhere, and was thrilled to feel the spongey cushion of the deep pine needle floor as I stepped onto land. 

I was struck by how many poops were around me once I scanned about - obviously another creature favored these facilities, and frequently, too.

So, of course, I had to get a closer look,

a MUCH closer look ...

How amazing! The scat was mostly fish scales, clean and glistening, with small bones as well. This is old scat since all the other solids have disintegrated. There was no smell to have warned me that this was a latrine. I placed a few in my sample bottle and brought them home to show off my find!

Online searching led us to believe that these droppings must be from otters, which was very exciting. I've personally not seen them in our lake, nor evidence of them myself until now. Otters defecate in an area near water designated by them as their latrine, and their droppings are known as spraint.

Pollinators

I wasn't aware of these very tiny insects whilst taking these pictures, as I was focusing on capturing the native flower's beauty, in each case. It was later whilst going through my photos of the day that I noticed them!

Wild strawberry, Fragaria virginiana/vesca

Bluets, Houstonia caerulea

Rhodora, Rhododendron canadense with ant

Sunny Spatterdock

What a gorgeous, alluring sun this is in a watery universe!

These were the first aquatic blooms (Nuphar luteum/variegatum/advena - scientific names are changing as DNA reveals similarities and differences) I came across whilst out on the water this spring. The bobbing yellow flowers stood out on the calm water's surface, though there were many just beneath the surface.

I adjusted the next photo in an attempt to expose how much of this yellow water lily is hidden from view - the leaves at its base in the sediment look a little like lettuce leaves. Later, the large floating leaves will be prominently displayed on the water's surface like large dinner plates, providing little platforms for insect life.

Spring Skies

We're having yet another lake drawdown of 2.5 feet this spring to repair the floodgates and upper flashboards of our dam, so I seized the opportunity to get out in my kayak today (and before it started raining again). It was a perfect spring sky, threatening rain and sun on and off all day, but providing the most incredible light and cloud show!

I was also rewarded with sightings of basking painted turtles, frantic red-winged blackbirds, gloriously pink rhodoras

grey tree frogs trilling, a beaver tail slap, 

and the most enormous snapping turtle beneath my kayak. I had to remind myself to remember this when I swim and walk barefoot through the shallows this summer.

What a glorious day I had!

Lawns and Chemicals

I saw this image on a Facebook page about gardening tips, and was heartsore for days. Not being able to get it out of my mind, I decided to share the image and message - lawn chemicals sprayed in the yard coat bugs that are food for birds and their young. Reconsider using chemicals to rid your lawn of messy "weeds" - you're inadvertently reducing bird populations, which keep bugs down. Is that perfect lawn worth the price?

Gardening Tips

Let's try to be more humane gardeners in future.

Moths Grow on Trees

Moths, butterflies and other insects rely on leafy plant material to complete their life cycles. Their larval stages, such as this woolly bear type of caterpillar of the giant leopard moth, need trees - please don't cut them down without a good reason.

This bristly little cherub was glistening with raindrops, showing off its little prolegs (little stumps in the central part of its body),

but it was only when I looked at the other side that the coloration helped determine the species. The reddish bands only show when its body is extended.

Believe it or not, those scary looking bristles aren't poisonous and don't cause irritation - I'm not willing to test this though.

Verdant Spring

Leafy green curtains

Rise from the understory,

Before canopy

Tiny Tubular Trumpets

A delightfully understated native shrub, the American fly-honeysuckle, Lonicera canadensis has an exquisite scent. It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies - a long proboscis or beak helps in getting to the nectar.

I've watched bumblebees having a wonderfully noisy time flitting from flower to flower, though they seem incredibly clumsy and too bulky around these flimsy hanging trumpets.

Earth Day with PALZ

Our invasive plant patrol team, PALZ, participated in Lake Arrowhead's Earth Day clean-up activities. I'm so impressed and thankful for the commitment, generosity and interest this fabulous group has dedicated to our lake's health.

Masquerading as a Morel

 I believe this is a false morel, but am not 100% sure since they're poorly known in N. America. I can't tell which of the Gyromitra/Discina species it is, but it seems to be related to the Giant's false morel or Snow mushroom. It might be Gyromitra amerigigas, or is it of the Hydrnotrya genus, related to the Gyromitras?

Some hungry creature has sliced a piece off the top and then left it lying on the ground - maybe it discovered this wasn't a true morel?

From afar, it looks like a mini misshapen pumpkin, and there's no stalk visible.

Skunk Cabbage Splendor

I can't help but admire the exquisitely unusual flowering structures of Skunk cabbages - they're fascinating!

The little yellow flowers cluster on a round spadix, which is enclosed in a protective spathe - quite magnificent! The odors it emits attract carrion-seeking flies and beetles, which do the job of pollinating its flowers. 

This is how the entire plant presents; initially its large leaves are tightly coiled.

Mayday, Mayapples

My mayapples are opening their umbrellas in this spring rain - each has their own timing: