Hawk in the Preserve

I saw this hawk stalking a small squirrel up and down this tree.

The squirrel stayed just out of reach and the hawk finally left. 

More Fall Colors in the Preserve

Love the fall colors with the deep blue sky. 

 

Deer

Five deer crossed the sidewalk at the Villages and went up this hill. 

Flock of Goldfinches on the Flower Seeds.

This was so much fun to watch. 

 

Birds Eating Liatris Seeds

I love seeing birds on these flower seeds. 

Leaves are Starting to Turn Colors.

Two maples out front are red. 

Most are still green.

In the preserve, color has started.

Burrowing Under the Shed

 

We don't know what is burrowing under the shed. 

We blocked the holes but no sign of more digging. 

Goldfinches on my Sunflowers

I love to see the goldfinches checking out the sunflowers.  

Wasp Nest in the Preserve

This nest is beautiful.

Wasps going in an out. 

 

Birds in My Garden

Goldfinches love the fountain.

Junior goldfinches dance around it but won't land.

They are eating the sunflowers. 

 

Deer Today

Five crossing the construction area. 

Mama, 2 yearlings and 2 fawns, one fawn went ahead of group. 

Wildflowers-Yarrow

This is a drought-tolerant wildflower.

Yellow-yarrow or golden-yarrow is a stiff, mounded, shrub-like plant, 8-20 in. high, with many erect, herbaceous branches and very finely divided, gray-green leaves. Small, deep-yellow flowers gather together in yarrow-like clusters.

There are several clusters of these in the preserve. 

Other Wildflowers in 2022

Lots of native daisies. Noxious Weed

Leontodon saxatilis - noxious weed

Queen Ann's Lace.

Tall butter weed, tansy lookalike.

Hooded Lady's Tresses.

Leontodon saxatilis

New Wildflower - Spiranthes Romanzoffiana - Hooded Lady's Tresses

Spiranthes romanzoffiana also known as hooded lady's-tresses.

It is in the orchid family.

In the preserve by the bench at the blue dot on the map.

Probably have found about 15 or more this year.

They are mostly on the north side of the park. 

Spiranthes romanzoffiana - Hooded Ladies' Tresses

Stem erect, with dense spike of flowers. Basal leaves to 5 in. long; stem leaves reduced to bracts. Flowers pure white, in 3 precise rows, twisting as they spire upward. Flower with upper petals and sepals fused into inflated hood; lower petal violin-shaped, extending down and back toward stem, tip hairless. Grows in wet places, along streams, bogs, marshes, in prairies and meadows, in all elevations to timberline.

Rarity: Uncommon

Flowering Time: Mid Summer

Life Cycle: Perennial

Height: 8--24 inches

Habitat: Meadow, West-Side Forest, Subalpine, Bog/Fen/Wetland, Coastal

Native: Yes

Zebra Dragonfly

I see zebra dragonflies in the preserve and in my garden.

They have been too fast for me to get pictures. 

 

Cucumber Vine

These are cucumber vine fruit in the preserve.

They are native and not invasive but will damage trees if they climb them. 

Brodiaea

There are still a number of brodiaea bunches in the preserve. 

The early ones have faded but more are appearing. 

Young Buck and Doe

The yearling doe and buck crossed my path this morning. 

I had not seen them in a while. 

Brodiaea Everywhere

I am finding brodiaea along almost every path in the preserve. 

 

Tansy Ragwort

 

This tansy ragwort is a noxious weed blooming in the preserve. 

St. John's Wort in Full Bloom

Beautiful in the early morning dappled light.

 

Brodiaea Wildflowers

These bright colorful flowers are on almost all the paths in the preserve. 

Called harvest brodiaea cluster lilies. 

 

Fawn Twins

Today there are 2 fawns following their mama into the woods.  

Ants on the Fence Rail

These ants are marching back and forth on this fence rail.

They go into the tree and then back all the way to the end.

 

A Fawn

Saw the fawn running after mom in the field at the end of Bowthorpe.

 

Brodiaea Wildflowers

This gorgeous flower is a Harvest Brodiaea.

Also called a bunch lily.

There are many along the path by the meadow, but are hard to see.

Then I saw this tiny one in the flower bed in front of Jeannie's house.

 An umbel of several violet or blue-violet, funnel-shaped flowers at top of a leafless stalk with a few long, very narrow basal leaves that are usually withered by flowering time. Mounds of narrow leaves, 4-16 in. in height, arise in late winter to early spring and brown when the flower buds have swollen. The flowering stem is about the same height as the leaves, bearing a terminal umbel (a flower cluster in which stalks of nearly equal length spring from a common center and form a flat or curved surface) of small, tubular, violet-pink flowers. 

This plant begins to flower as fields dry out in the early summer. 

Several species of Brodiaea (pronounced bro-dee'-ah), are similar. In Harvest Brodiaea (B. coronaria), from British Columbia to southern California, the scales between the stamens are concave on their inner side, longer than the stamens and lean toward them. 

Owls - All Seen So Far

I hear a lot of bird alarm and then saw the owl. (7)

It didn't move even when I went close under it. July 3

July 2 (6)

June 27 (5)

June 26 (4)

June 20 (3)

June (2)

May (1)

Six previous sightings.