Can you feel it? Can you smell it? Can you see it? Fall is here!
Blogs
Great Golden Digger Wasp
It’s easy to find bees and wasps enjoying the goldenrods and asters these days. Don’t forget to look on the ground! Here, a great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) was busy excavating a hole for its nest. This wasp is not aggressive to humans.
Can You Identify This Flower?
Can you identify this tiny flower? I stumbled upon this little plant on the side of the trail. After taking a closer look, I figured out what it is. I’ll give you some hints: it is very common, and it is usually much bigger. It blooms during this time of year. I’ll leave the mystery… Continue reading Can You Identify This Flower?
Quiet Nature- October 5, 2025
Enjoy some quiet nature today with this Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia).
What’s That? October 2, 2025
What is that? It’s a fertile frond of a cutleaf grape fern (Sceptridium dissectum).
What Flowers Will Bloom Next Month? October 2025
The beginning of fall means the end of growing season. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be any flowers in October, though! The goldenrods will continue to bloom this month. Also, the small white asters and the purple asters have just barely started to bloom in September. We can expect a beautiful show of them… Continue reading What Flowers Will Bloom Next Month? October 2025
Some Plants Depend on Fungus for Nutrients
We ventured into the woods today to look at the seed heads of the cranefly orchids, and came across these dried up plants. They look pretty similar to striped wintergreen, but striped wintergreen doesn’t have so many flowers on one stem. With some research at home, we determined that this is pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys). Pinesap… Continue reading Some Plants Depend on Fungus for Nutrients
Field Report- September 18, 2025
There is so much to see on the trails in mid-September! Midwestern tickseed-sunflowers are at their peak right now. Goldenrod is approaching its peak bloom. But there are so many more flowers out there right now! Here’s a list of what I’m seeing: What flowers are you seeing?
A Resting Hummingbird
Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) don’t usually sit still for very long. It was a special treat to watch this one today. I snapped a few quick pictures when I first spotted it, thinking that it would be gone in a flash. It stayed on the branch long enough for me to adjust my angle for better… Continue reading A Resting Hummingbird
What’s That? September 10, 2025
What’s happening with that oak tree? Take a closer look and you will see a family of yellownecked caterpillars (Datana ministra) devouring the leaves.