Where the Wild Things Are- Decorated Spider Webs

Any walk that starts off with Bottle Gentian is worth going on. Anything past that is just icing on the cake. That being said, there were other things to see. The sneezeweed is blooming, and is much prettier than it's name. Large leaved Aster and Zig-zag Goldenrod are plentiful in the woods. The biggest surprise was the sight of thousands of Nodding Bur Marigold blooming where water once stood a foot or more deep. With the breaking of the beavers dam earlier this summer, I didn't know what, if anything would grow in the newly exposed mud. It turns out that the Marigold found it a perfect place to expand into, covering from grass to water with a golden carpet. 

If you walk in the morning, when the dew is still on the grasses, it is easy to see spider webs. They are also there when the dew isn't on, but it does make them stand out. The flat ones with a hole in the middle are from Funnel spiders. They lurk under that hole, waiting for their prey.

I know some people don't like spiders much, but they are far more afraid of you and you will not see most of them. If you do see one, maybe take a moment to really look at them. You can tell them from other insects by their eight legs, and two body segments. The head/thorax is where the legs are attached and the rest is the abdomen. Most spiders around here have 8 eyes, some have 6. They range widely in size, but none are as large as those horror movies would like you to believe. 

If you are lucky enough to see one of those big round spider webs, decorated with the morning dew, take a moment and really look at it. They are made by Orbweavers, some of the most noticeable spiders in our world. A lot of orbweavers spin their web every night, and take it down in the morning. They take it down by eating it, as it is made of protein. Then it "recycled" as new webbing. Scientists say it is 80-90% recycled protein in each web. I really don't know how they know this. Somethings I don't really want to know. However they do it, it is a remarkable achievement. Get out and enjoy nature.

Where the Wild Things Are- Blessings of the Wild

The woods is changing. It, of course, has been changing all summer long. Plants grow and fade. Blossoms of one week are gone the next, replaced by seemingly endless varieties. But these changes go further. Foliage once vivid green is fading to yellows. Bright reds ease into the shadows. In a normal year the brown grasses would have given warning. A softening that allows us to slowly accept the inevitable. This years rains have kept the grass green and growing beyond that time. The startling orange of the maple feels out of place. We aren't tired of endless hot, dry days. We are left feeling like we were somehow cheated out of proper summer. Can it really be Fall already? 

If it makes you feel better, the color changes are a bit early this year. You aren't imagining it. And on the brightside, the fall colors are predicted to be amazing. All I can do is recommend that you savor every minute. All to soon it will be....nope. I will not say it. Live life in the moment!

The Aster's and Goldenrods are amazing. Yellows, blues and whites dot the landscape. I am slowly sorting them out, but sometimes it seems an uphill battle. More photos, revisiting plants to look for clues missed the first time. Just when I think I know what to pay attention to in IDing, the species change and the important parts change also. In Goldenrod it is the size and shape of the blossoms and heads, and leaf shape. In Asters, where the leaves are, how many petals in a flower, the color, not of the petals but the center, and what color it changes to as it fades. I might do better if I wasn't distracted by the pollinators, buzzing around. I haven't even tried to sort out types of bees, content for now with just snapping photos for later perusal. 

As the seasons march on I am still amazed by the fact that each time I go out I see things I haven't seen before. The blessings of the wild...

Where the Wild Things Are- Goldenrod

Lets start with the most obvious plant out there these days....Goldenrod! It is easy to dismiss it. It seems to be everywhere. How interesting can it be? Well, the more I learn the more interesting life gets. I have found out that there are 12 different species of Goldenrod in Todd County. When you start actually looking at them, there are differences. The flowers themselves vary in size and number. The leaves vary widely. Most live in dry areas, but three species only grow in wet areas. They vary from 1 foot to 5 feet tall (Even taller in a good growing year like this!). There is something to be said for walking through Goldenrod and Joe Pye Weed over your head and listening to the buzz of bees all around you. They are difficult to tell apart without actually taking the time to look at them. I have found at least 5 species on Camphill land. From the Showy to the Grass leaved, they are worth taking the time to look at as you go about your day. 

As you look at them you will find small white flowers, some blue, some purple sharing the same ground. These are the Asters. They too come in many varieties, 14 to be exact. They belong to the same family as the goldenrod, and one of the goldenrod actually has white flowers an looks just like an Aster! They only found out that it was a goldenrod when they discovered that it could cross with the goldenrods. 

Besides the golden grasslands, are the swampy areas. I found Narrow Leaved Cattails in abundance. These are an introduced species which are now widespread. There is a hybrid between them and the Broad leaved Cattail which is the native species. Since both abound in Camphill, the hybrids are no doubt there also. 

Hidden behind grass and cattail I found a bog that I didn't know existed! To me there is no joy quite like bouncing up and down on a mat of floating vegetation and watching the ripples go out across the pond! In this little corner of wetland, I found Nodding Bur Marigold, Swamp Smartweed, and Arum Leaf Arrowhead, all new to my list! I must make a note to check out this spot next summer and see if it holds even more surprises earlier in the year!

Where the Wild Things Are- Stickers

There is a time, between when the woods is full of blossoms and color and when the fall color begins. It is a short time when green dominates and summer seems to last forever. Then the first leaves start to turn. It must just be a diseased plant, a weak one that is just turning because of that. It can't really be fall yet? But the colors creep out, a bush here, a few leaves there. The berries go from green to brilliant reds, blues and purples. The fungi do their thing, adding oranges, yellows, pinks, everything from almost microscopic to dinnerplate sized. The goldenrod are in full bloom. The thistles add purple blossoms. Fall is suddenly surrounding us, regardless of what a calendar may say.

The final sign, to me, is the most annoying one. Stickers. Thousands of them, dangling over the path, sitting just to one side, waiting. Now, stickers do have a purpose. The seeds contained within them are necessary. Either they fulfill their destiny and become a new plant next year after having been borne along on so animal or human to a prime location, or they feed hungry mouths for the winter. Nothing goes to waste in the woods.

I haven't really mentioned most of the wildlife that lives among us, but they rely on the seeds and berries produced by the plants, or eat the plants themselves. Insects of all kinds, mice, voles, moles and shrews, rabbits and squirrels, frogs, toads and salamanders. They all eat and need to find the food in the area in which they live. Most never travel out of a few hundred yards of where they are born. So I will forgive the woods for the work of having to remove stickers each time I leave. I actually remove them as I go, so as not to contaminate another plot with a plant it may not have yet. So as I drop them, I am more than likely feeding something that will just come along and find an unexpected snack. 

So, stickers. Not so much fun, but just a necessity of life.

Where the Wild Things Are- Scientific Measures

It is time for some numbers. My wanderings around the village, are, after all, a scientific endeavor, and has a purpose. It is to record the biodiversity of the area. In that recording comes counting species seen. I am only half way through the year. August totals have yet to be determined, so we will deal with March through July for now. 

I have broken the areas I am looking at into seven different areas. This enables me to keep a general idea of where and how widespread species are. So each time I walk an area, there is a list of things seen. Each of those lists gets a page, which are then used to create a master list for the area. Actually several master lists. I keep plants, trees and shrubs, Ferns and allies, Fungi, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects, all on separate master lists. Then all the master lists are combined into Total masterlists. Then I have numbers of species seen in the village. 

So how many species have I seen? At this point I am only including the ones that I have positively identified. There are more that will eventually get id'd, but for now they are not counted. So, talking plants, Vascular plants...140. Yep. 140 species so far. That's a lot of flowers that I never knew existed. That doesn't include the 25 trees and shrubs. Or 10+ ferns and allies (horsetails, rushes, moonworts, etc.) Then there is the 30+ species of butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and assorted insects. Fungi...most of them unidentified as yet and may never be, but just counting the ones I can tell are different, over 30. I won't even mention the grasses, sedges and reeds.

So we are at 235 different things that I know make their home in the village. That doesn't count animals and bird species. I am amazed, and awed by the wide diversity of life that thrives when we just leave places be. 

The other numbers I would like to bring up deal with size. The size of the biggest things that live along side of us. Trees. Since the area has been subjected to logging in the last 100 years, the trees here have had limited time to achieve greatness. That being said, they have done quite well tucked away. The biggest I have seen so far is a Bur Oak. 129" girth. It would take two people just to reach around it. Other oaks are a Red Oak at 82", a White Oak at 81", and a Pin Oak at 59.5", all good sizes for their species. There is a Basswood at 122", and an Elm at 111". Trees that are not, by nature, large, have grown well here also. I've seen Birch that is 62" and  a Willow that is 93". The one that surprised me the most was an Ironwood that measured 45.5 inches, quite a bit larger than the normal. Surrounded by "Normal" sized Ironwood, it is the grandfather of the forest. 

So that is enough numbers for now. I am content to know that I saw a White Elfin Saddle Mushroom and Highbush Cranberries today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Where the Wild Things Are- American Hog Peanut

When your day in August begins with mud boots and rain pants, because it is too cold out to just get wet, you know things are strange weatherwise. At least it wasn't raining, just really wet grass that was waist deep in places. So off to the deep woods I went. 

The Joe Pye Weed is blooming, along with the white flowers of Common Boneset. While looking at those, and getting a photo or two, I found Mad Dog Skullcap at a second location! The newest plant I saw was a vine that was growing up and around the thick brush and grasses. Tiny purple flowers, almost lost in the foliage. American Hog Peanut! I don't know that I had ever heard of it before this year. I saw it in my books and wondered if I would find it. It is a strange name. And there it was! And in several more places. It seems like if I find a plant in one spot, then I suddenly notice it in other places. I suppose that it is because it comes up and blooms at the same time.

Jewelweed is abundant along the wet areas. Soon the little pods will be ripe and will if you touch them they will explode at your touch. Who can resist?

There are lots of fungi popping up out there. The constant rains have provided the perfect habitat for them. Tiny orange ones, frilly tan ones in the pine needles, ones growing on the branches on the trees.

Cabbage White Butterflies are flitting in the open areas, monarchs circle the milkweed. Clay colored Sparrows and Dickcissels fill the air with song and action. 

We are in full summer mode. Heat and sunshine, rain and dew. But what is that I see? An Aster. A fall flower already in bloom, reminding us that this is summer business is fleeting. Enjoy it while you can!

Where the Wild Things Are- Hogworts

Mad Dog Skull Cap, Bulbet Bearing Water Hemlock, Touch-me-not, Lobster Fungi. It sounds like a recipe out of Harry Potter! These and many more plants are still amazing me as I find and document them. The name of the Marsh Bellflower eluded me for a couple weeks before I found out what that tiny plant was. The bright colors of ripening berries tempts me to look all around, instead of keeping my face to the ground. But I might miss something! If I hadn't been bent, almost to my hands and knees, manuvering through thick brush, following what may or may not have been a deer trail, I would have missed a wonderful fungi. I still don't have a name for that one, but because I was sitting down, I saw the Indian Pipe plants.

If you have never seen them, you wouldn't believe such a thing exists! An all white plant, about 4 inches tall, growing in groups of 6-8. Their head hang down until they are fertilized, then they stand straight. They have no chlorophyll and rely on the plants around them for food. They do not connect directly with the other plants, but need mycorrhizal fungi to pass carbohydrates from other plants to them. This relationship is called mycotropism. If the plants are transplanted where the fungi are not available, they will not survive. I have only found one area of Camphill where these plants are growing. It was actually a mystery to me since spring, because I found the dried remains of them and didn't know what they were. Since there is no field guide out there that shows you the dried up remains of plants (hmm, perhaps I should...) I had to keep checking back in that area to see what was growing. Until I got home after seeing the Indian pipes, and looking them up, I finally realizes that it was what I had been looking for all along! 

Speaking of finding things that were there all along, I found an area that shall now be called Hogworts. Yes, I know that is not how the famous school spells it, but a wort is a flower...and you get it, right? Anyway, I was out in an area that I had been to many times, trying to locate a spot that I knew had to be right there. It wasn't. And I was sure that I had never been where I was. So just like the Hogwarts school, the terrain had shifted, and I wasn't where I thought I was. Confused yet? So was I. I finally figured out that between the east side of the pond and the west side of the pond, both of which I had explored, was actually another strip of land, making two ponds. Because the land was so similiar I didn't realize that there was two ponds. So I had the delight of unexplored territory to wander through. Now I must start the task of identifying the types of goldenrod. Two are blooming now with seven more possible types in Todd County. I will miss this in January. Unless I am still trying to identify things...

Indian Pipe

Where the Wild Things Are- Berry Abundance

Another week of strange weather! Intense heat, rain, cold and windy, wait a minute and it will change! It seems that every evening at dark it has been either too cold, too windy, or raining, so Mothing has been delayed. On the bright side, I finally got to walk on land I have been waiting to get to since I started this project. Jay and I got the canoe out and I got to land on the "island" on the west side of the river, south of Cedar Lake Road. With rolling hills, pushed up between river and low wetlands, it is a beautiful place to be. About one third of it is open woodlands, shaded without too much underbrush. The rest is steep hills, covered in brush, grass and prickly ash or lower areas covered in cedar. I need more time to explore, so I hope the river goes down some. The vegetation I found mostly was in line with other Camphill land along the river, the largest trees not huge, showing that someone logged it off at some point in the last 100 years. 

Berries are abundant now, chokecherries, currants, gooseberries, raspberries. Did you know that Prickly Ash has berries? I guess most people don't push through them in July and August to see, but they do exist. The hazelnuts are forming. I have found shelled and nibbled ones littering the ground. 

I took advantage of the cooler weather and wandered around the edges of a couple ponds. Still water breeds mosquitos so I was leery. With long sleeves they really weren't a problem, but the biting flies are really annoying when you are focusing the camera and they decide to chew on you. 

It was worth it to see the Arrowheads blooming, along with the bladderwort. Later I found Northern Water Plaintain in bloom in a small pond, where I thought nothing would be. I also found a white slime mold, which sounds disgusting, but is quite beautiful. It reminded me of something from a Dr. Suess book. The goldenrods and Cinquefoil are starting, yellow spots in the green vegetation. There is always something I can't ID, and this weeks is a small purple flower. More time spent in the books, but then, I need something to do when it is really hot outside!

Where the Wild Things Are- National Moth Week

Another wild weather week. It must be summer in Minnesota. Between the high temps and humidity, and heavy rains, opportunities to get out were few. The woods don't care, the summer rolls on with early plants fading and summer ones just blooming. The August/September blossoms are yet to come. Yellow Loosestrifes are common, the fine differences still eluding me. Harebell spreads across the forest floor, almost hidden in the greenery. Berries are popping out all over. Bunch berries in thewetlands. Currants well guarded by spiny branches. Solomons Seal, real and false, Starry and otherswise lurk in the undergrowth.

Turk's Cap Lily, Evening Primrose, and the early thistles, Flodmans and Canadian are in bloom. All of these flowers attract the pollinators. Bees, flies, butterflies and moths fly up at every step. We are all used to the beauty of butterflies. Monarchs and Viceroys, Fritillarys and Commas, tiny Azures. The moths we tend to dismiss as boring and bland, not worth a second glance. Hopefully I can persuade  you to give them another look. In the last two weeks I have seen moths that are almost 4 inches across, tiny ones that blend so well with the foliage you wouldn't know they are there, and everything in between. I saw a bright yellow one that I was sure was a butterfly, until I blew up the photo and saw the antenna. By the end of the summer I will have seen twice as many types of moths as butterflies, keeping in number with the amount of species in each family. And I will be lucky to see 10% of the species that live out there. Many fly only at night, and those that fly in daylight love the underside of the leaves. 

The end of the month brings us to National Moth Week! There will be events around the country, that most people will never know happened, focusing on moths and learning about them. So what can I do, but do my part to spread the joy? I will be mothing (yes, that is a word) in the evenings. Moths love warm, dark nights. Mothing involves spreading out a sheet and turning on a light. Like a moth to a flame is more than just a saying. Moths come to light. No one really knows why. So you go out there in the dark, not at dusk when the mosquitos are vicious, and see what appears before you. It will not only be moths, other insects will also appear from the darkness. If anyone wants to join me, just let me know. I will be setting up around the village with a sheet and a light and seeing what is out there. It is an adventure close to home...

Le Conte's Hapola Moth

Where the Wild Things Are- Heating Up

I have been spoiled by the cooler temps. The heat is becoming oppressive, the humidity just another thing to deal with. With the need for actual shoes, long pants, long sleeved shirt, and bug repellent, the heat only increases. I pick my time carefully. Not to early in the day or too close to evening, both times when the bugs are worse. Not when the sun is at it's worst, overcast is my friend. The nineties mean more time to sort out what I have already recorded, go through old photos to confirm plants seen. But the itch to be out there intensifies.

Over cast at noon and not yet 80 degrees was too good to pass up, even with the 100% humidity. I knew I would have a limit, that everything would reach a point where it wasn't working anymore. I started in the worst spot, lowland covered in ferns and buzzing with mosquitos. The deer have been moving through regularly, leaving a trail for me. There was little new there, the dense foliage not allowing for new growth. A few fungi popping up. Canada Moonseed finally id'ed as the vine grows.

Then up the hill to the upper woods. There are few blossoms of any size in the woods these days. Most are a quarter inch or less, hard to see in the green. I found the Enchanters Nightshade again, for the first time in this woods. It makes me smile, thinking of Harry Potter. I blow out inhaled mosquitos and continue on. 

When I reach an open area, the breeze is a blessing. Hairy hedgenettle and Giant blue Hyssop wave above the tall grasses. Blackeyed Susans and Oxeye provide a burst of yellow, crowned by the sight of Greater Canadian St. John's Wort. A native with blossoms 2-3 inches across, it is stunning.

Walking back to the van along tractor paths, I have time to see the Swamp Milkweed blooming and take note of the Flodman's Thistle. Soon it will be goldenrod time. Still so much to see.