July Wildflowers

One thing I've come to enjoy about this time of year are all the wildflowers. Much like with birds, I am coming to appreciate the wide variety of unique and colorful wildflowers and plants. Even what many people would quickly write off as a "weed" can have beautiful flowers that are beneficial to birds if left to grow long enough. Thistle plants are just such one of those plants that most people don't like because of their prickly stems and leaves. I don't know much about thistle but I believe there are both native and non-native varieties found in the park. It made a nice colorful photo when I spotted this American Goldfinch land on this clump of purple thistle plants and begin pulling out the white strands of the dried up flowers. Another tiny but beautiful flower I look forward to now each summer is from the Jewelweed Plant. This plant is native and can grow "like a weed" as it name implies in wet places. In summer they will produce tiny little flowers in solid yellow or yellow-orange that hang like "ladies earings" or "jewels." Despite how small these flowers are, they will attract Hummingbirds like crazy and I've often watched Hummers spend a long time seeking out these flowers in the park. Probably even more neat than the flowers of the Jewelweed are the seed pods they produce even later in the year. These seed pods are why Jewelweed is also known as "Touch-me-not." If you find a nice, plump seed pod and just barely squeeze it or brush up against it, it will "pop" dramatically, sending the seeds inside flying outward to ensure the growth of new plants. Still another beautiful flower I've been seeing a lot of lately are Marsh Milkweed. They produce brilliantly colored clusters of pink flowers that are far more intricate than meets the eye. You'll need to study them close up to see what I mean and they are quite extraordinary in my opinion. Though named Milkweed, I don't think these are the variety that Monarch Butterflies lay their eggs on. I believe that is a different variety altogether but I don't know the official name of that yet. Still learning quite a bit on my plants –so check back in a few years!

Just Wouldn't Rain

I'd procrastinated all morning about visiting the park today because there was supposed to be a 70% of rain. Well it never seemed to materialize so I finally decided to get in my hike just after 2:00pm. It was quite overcast so I brought a large plastic zip-lock bag to fit over my new camera just in case. It looks pretty stupid but it works. Upon arriving on the east side I noticed the Barn Swallows zooming all over the baseball fields. I tried to catch a photo mid-flight which seemed to be near impossible. So instead I waited for a few of the to perch on top of the chain link fence behind home plate, then stand up on the bleachers for a closer view. They are such colorful birds when you get to see them being still. A bit later I noticed a small yellow bird in the thick trees just inside the trail. The fact that it was moving quickly around inside was actually a good thing because it gave me a few chances to see it through various openings in the foliage. As I was shooting it I could hardly tell what it was but I suspected it was a female Common Yellowthroat. It quickly withdrew further back into the thick foliage and I lost it. Just after crossing the bridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, I heard a loud call that I recognized as a Pileated Woodpecker and when I looked up I caught a glance of him flying through the trees. I often forget how cool -and large- these birds are and I decided to pursue a photo as I doubled back towards him. I would have to trek through the woods to get closer and decided it would likely make too much noise before I got close. About this time I spotted a second one and decided to go up further to the grassy field and then see if I could still see them. I then heard them call again but this time it was closer to the bridge so I went back again. As soon as I stepped onto the bridge, one of them flew right out onto a fallen tree that was hanging in the creek. I didn't even notice at first but the other one was also there, below the tree and drinking from the creek. This was a pretty unique sight I thought as I've never seen a Pileated drinking water, much less even near water! After the first one finished, the second one scooted down the tree (backwards) and into the same spot for a drink. I could see that they were both males from the red mustache behind their bill. Despite the lack of sun today it was actually quite nice out. The temp was mild, near or below 70º which is quite a change from the 90º+ days that we've had all summer long. I was thoroughly enjoying the rest of my hike when I spotted yet another bird that always is a joy to see. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird zoomed just out of my field of view over a nice big patch of Jewelweed plants. Luckily I spotted where he landed in some taller trees and then waited for him to come back down and feed some more. It didn't take long before I had a decent view of him hovering in mid air straight out from me about 20 feet. They can hover in such precise positions that sometimes I thought I was seeing something else like a leaf or something. Then the bird would move and I realized that I should have gotten my camera on him sooner! I got in a few shots before he perched again in some taller trees over the Jewelweed for another rest. Typically by this time of year I've seen a lot more Hummingbirds in the park and they really seem to be somewhat lower in numbers this year.

A Wet and Humid Sunday

This Sunday morning it had been raining just enough to get everything wet and also deter me from taking out my new camera. The new one is just too big (with the lens) to easily cover it up under my clothing to keep it dry if need be. So the only way I was going to get around the park today was with my much smaller and older point and shoot. When I arrived at the park the sky was still overcast and drizzling so I wrapped my raincoat around my waist in case the rain got heavy. The first thing I ran into was a Doe on the south side that other park goers were pointing out. She was right alongside the trail and I got some OK pics but it made me realize once again just how tricky my old camera really was. Unless using a tripod or leaning against something solid it's just very hard to get crisp and sharp details. I noticed that all the foliage had nice drops of moisture on them and figured I might try to focus more on that and other closeup shots -the one thing my old camera does very well! This first one is of raindrops on a Spotted Jewelweed (touch-me-not) plant. I really like the how the drops were glistening in the sun. Oh I forgot to mention that not even 1/4 of the way around, the sky cleared up completely and it began to warm up quickly, making my raincoat pretty pointless to have brought with. On the north side, in the same area I always look for them, I finally caught my first closeup glimpse of a Hummingbird this year. I've seen them already from distances, but not feeding low to the ground like this one. He was also feeding on the Jewelweed flowers and I snapped a few photos while he took just a quick break. It's neat to see Hummingbirds in action but I think it's also neat to see them perched. You really get an idea of just how small they are! Later I spotted another Doe and this time with two young fawns. They were back aways from the trail and I really couldn't get any decent photos. They fawns were quite young and still short enough hide well under the tall weeds. The wet and humid weather had brought out the Dragonflies, Turtles and even Toads. I caught this one on the edge of the paved trail.

August is here

One sure sign of late summer at Palmer Lake is the Touch-me-Not plants. On the south side they're thick and will grow to a height near six feet. As I was admiring all the little orange flowers I noticed a doe right there in the middle of them looking back at me. I thought maybe I'd see the fawns with her but the "jewel weeds" would have been much too tall to even see them anyway. Something else growing like crazy in the summertime are rabbits. From spring all the way through summer, It's not uncommon to see young ones in groups of six or more. These two were devouring any greenery in sight including Cattail stems. I always wondered how Coyotes could survive at Palmer Lake and now I think I know the answer.

Touch-Me-Nots

I remember being shown Touch-Me-Not plants as a kid where we used to go camping up north. Palmer Lake is INFESTED with them. Since July they've been growing like mad and some of the plants are over 6 feet tall. Only recently have the seed pods come out so I figured I'd try to capture a movie of their infamous "exploding" seeds.
An interesting phrase from Wikipedia: These plants derives their scientific name Impatiens (Latin for "impatient") and the common name "touch-me-not" in reference to their seed capsules. When the capsules mature, they "explode" when touched, sending seeds several meters away. This mechanism is also known as "explosive dehiscence"; see also Rapid plant movement. Other than that, starting to see a few large grasshoppers here and there. Also, in the same place as always the wild vines are starting to take over the underbrush and even the trees. Every year they create these cool looking sloped walls or "tents" that you could probably camp right under if you could stand the mosquitos.

Trouble with Turtles

Weird story. I decide to walk (run) counter-clockwise for like maybe the first time ever. Upon rounding the north east corner I spotted two police officers off to the left of the trail almost in the weeds. One had an animal snare tool and there was a lot of commotion and walkers going by were stopping to look. As I got closer someone said "it's a big snapping turtle." Sure enough there was fairly large snapping turtle right off the pathway probably at least 24 inches long. I suppose someone called it in seeing him close to the path. The cops were clearly struggling with trying to snare him. I asked them if I could take a quick picture and they said sure. I hung around for a little bit to see what they were planning to do with him but then I heard one of the cops say "let's just push him back into the weeds." I figured he'd be OK then so I headed off. Not too much further I spotted a lone buck standing very still just off the pathway. I could just make out his new velvety antlers as I took a bunch of pictures. He barely moved the whole time.
Only upon viewing the pics at home did I realize he had 2 more forks behind the first set. On the south side I attempted to get a photo of a touch-me-not flower before they disappear for the season. A little further I saw a patch of flowers that I THINK are brown-eyed-susans but I'm not sure.