The roadside stands are colorful with pumpkins, squash, apples and other produce including these odd shaped gourds.
Pile of Gourds
If you look closely inside the left blossom, you can spot a bumblebee collecting nectar from the pink turtlehead flower. Turtlehead gets its common name from the blossoms that resemble the shape of a turtle’s head with its mouth partly open although the lips are hard to pry open and bumblebees are one of the few insects that have the strength to enter inside.
Bee Inside Turtlehead
Watch the bumblebee enter the turtlehead blossom.
Bugs, bees and butterflies were enjoying a dry day to collect nectar from the late summer flowers. This monarch butterfly was very intent on collecting from goldenrod, which provides a good nectar flow in late summer. Most adults monarchs only live for a few weeks, but the generation born as fall approaches hold off on reproducing and monarchs from this area will make the long migration to Mexico. These migrating monarchs will live for six to eight months before starting back north in the spring.
Monarch on Goldenrod
Some people were enjoying a late summer warm day with water activities today as the temperature climbed above 80 after a previous chilly week. But while pools and smaller lakes would be warm enough for swimming, Lake Superior near where this duo were checking out the water is already down to upper forties so it would be a very refreshing swim.
Checking out the Water