A late spring flower is often missed since it is not a large, showy flower but instead a small, white blob near the ground. Resembling cat’s feet, Field Pussytoes are a member of the Aster family and found in the eastern half of the United States. Found in rocky areas with sandy poor soils and grazed pastures in areas where Hawkweeds are found (and the Hawkweeds are blooming now).
Field Pussytoes
When I was mowing yesterday, I scared up a little bunny and it was cute. Course those cute bunny rabbits grow up and eat my garden so it was a good thing I wasn’t mowing at my place, especially since I later scared up a little black kitten a few mowing passes later and then a mommy cat. And again, good thing not at my place! But I did chase up a deer when mowing my yard and they do eat my garden.
Besides the four legged critters which I kept interrupting with my mowing, I also bothered the feathered kind too and scared various mothers off their nest including a bluebird. The Eastern Bluebird female makes a nest by loosely weaving together grasses and pine needles, then lining it with fine grasses. After the female lays her pale blue eggs, only the female incubates the eggs (when I wasn’t scaring her off the nest that is).
Bluebird Nest and Eggs
Generally you might see barns of a similar style in an area, especially if built in the same era, but then you might notice one with a different design and it jumps out at you. I like the peaked arch doorway on the side door like a Gothic arch on ancient buildings.
Gothic Arch Doorway
This past weekend was the free state park day for Wisconsin and so I visited a nearby state park. Standing on a high overlook above a river bed near a waterfall, I spotted the Wild Columbine below me on the cliff. And of course there was no way to get to the flowers on the side of the cliff to take a picture since even a billy goat wouldn’t be able to get a foothold on the cliff. And two years ago at another state park, I also spotted the Wild Columbine on a cliff below me and like this weekend, I could only try to zoom in for a picture so no closeup of the flower. The Aquilegia canadensis has many common names besides Wild Columbine such as American Columbine, Cluckies, Culverwort, Dancing Fairies, Granny’s Bonnets, Honeysuckle, Jack-In-Trousers, Meetinghouses, Rock Bells, Rock Lily but I think I am going to call it ‘Hang on Harvey’ after the 1969 game we played as kids since I spot it hanging on cliffs.
Besides the limestone cliffs that I seem to find them lately, other areas you can find the flower in the eastern North American are woodlands, wooded slopes, sandy savannas, thinly wooded bluffs, shaded areas of limestone cliffs, limestone glades, fens and bogs, and areas along railroad tracks. It is reported that Native Americans rubbed the crushed seeds on the hands of men as a love charm.
Wild Columbine
On a bright, sunny Sunday morning you might stumble upon a church at the bottom of a hill with a bright roof. The statement “It’s the little church with the copper top” describes this church very well.
Spring Lake Lutheran Church
The rain interrupted my mowing but it does water the plants and flowers, as well as leave rain drops on the flowers which sparkle when the sun appears the next morning like on this iris.
Sparkling Rain Drop
Some wildflowers were not able to put on a show this year, especially my trilliums which the deer devoured on me, but the Jack-in-the-Pulpit are out in full force this year and the deer must not like the taste of them and a good reason for it since the leaves are poisonous. But the flower is a weird looking plant and what we think is the flower is really deep inside and at the bottom of the ‘pulpit’, as the pulpit is the spathe and the ‘minister’ is a spadix. The true flowers are located at the very base of the spadix.
The Jack-in-the-Pulpits are also unusual since each plant has a particular sex instead of having both parts on the plant. The male has little anthers at the base of the ‘Jack’ and females have a cluster of green berries, which turn red in the fall.
Even though separate male and female flowers, pollination does occur with a bit of trickery as the ‘pulpit’ produces the smell of mushroom to attract tiny insects. And since the hood blocks the sunlight and the lower part of the pulpit is paler and lets more light in so the insects move down to the light and picks up or drops off pollen.
The flower will also change sex from year to year as the female takes more resources to produce the baby plants, so if the plant’s corm was able to store a lot of food, then it will be a female plant the next spring and shoot up two leaves. Otherwise with less nutrients, the plant will be a male (as he doesn’t have as much work to do producing pollen), and send up only one leaf. In really bad years or young plants, there will be no ‘pulpit’ and just a single leaf instead.
The Odd Jack-in-the-Pulpit
When I see holes in dead trees, I always wonder if they are a house for some critter. This hole did have a resident who I scared out when out working but came back quickly so I don’t know if there are eggs in the nest or babies or just in the building phase.
Northern Flickers generally nest in holes in trees and takes about 1 to 2 weeks to build the nest by both male and female and will lay between 6 to 8 eggs which are high glossy, white eggs. I probably won’t be able to get a picture of the eggs since the hole is high up on the tree and the other half of the tree has blown down so probably not safe to lean a ladder on it.
There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker, many based on the sounds the woodpecker makes like heigh-ho.
Watchful Northern Flicker
The Nodding Trilliums are blooming, although it is easy to miss the blossoms since they hang under the leaves. But hiding under the leaves, don’t always protect them from the deer seeing them and eating the plant. And it is hard to get a picture of the blossoms since have to get down and look up. Trillium cernuum is also known as Nodding Wakerobin and Whip-poor-will flower. The Drooping Trillium is very similar and hard to tell the ‘drooping’ ones from the ‘nodding’ ones.
Nodding Trillium
The last of the oaks are finally leafing out and it finally looks like summer, although not all the trees survived the long, harsh winter and some big and young trees will not leaf out again.
But the sun is out and it is a nice summer day for a change so I just might have to get my hammock out under the trees.
Trees Green Again
