Lots of Nature

Over the past two days I’ve seen lots of nature. Luckily for me, I like that sort of thing. Let’s take a look at what I managed to capture. Not all of it makes for great photography, but I sure thought it was interesting.

Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium)

Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is one of my favorites. I stumbled across one of these along the edge of the lawn, and then made a bee-line to where I have seen them growing in semi-profusion in the past. Jackpot. There are a ton of them there.

Blackberries (Rubus spp)

The blackberries have bloomed. If all the flowers on my place turn into berries, I ought to be able to pick a couple of gallons this summer. What I like best about them here in NH is that I can pick them without getting chiggers. I can deal with mosquitoes and black flies, but chiggers are in a category of their own. I have many unpleasant memories of running into those in the South. Shudder!

Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)

This is another that I always watch closely. The stamens are red when the flowers first open, and that makes for a much prettier blossom. It doesn’t take long before the red drains out. It’s still pretty then, just not as stunning. Even though I checked this one every day, I only managed to catch the tail end of the red phase.

Stupid Zamboni

Not everything was good though. Last winter, a trail groomer hit a patch of thin ice on Sandogardy Pond and fell through. These are large machines, similar to a Zamboni (if not the same thing). The NH Department of Environmental Services came out the next day to fish it out, but look what I see on the pond now. It’s not unusual to see rainbow slicks in Sandogardy, but I have never seen them this thick or in so many places. Ugh.

I was at the pond to see if I could catch the false hellebore in bloom. Bingo!

False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) blossom

Until I took this shot (and several others of the same plant), I didn’t have a photo of this species in bloom. Psych! One for the album!

Goldsmith Beetle (Catalpa lanigera)

This beauty was on the screen door when I left for work this morning. If my id is correct, this beetle feeds on aspens (which I have here). According to my Audubon Field Guide, it was also mentioned in a book by Edgar Allen Poe. Not that I have read it.

Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)

I’m working on identifying ferns this summer. This is a close-up shot of a pinna from a Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum). These have been popping up all over the place here, and I had an inkling that’s what it was. So I looked it up this evening and found that that’s exactly what it is. After reading the identifying features, I ventured out into the twilight to collect a specimen for closer examination (and confirmation). The pinnula (tiny leaves on the pinnae) are exactly the correct shape. The pinnae also have a wooly base where they connect to the rachis. I was trying to capture that here, and I guess I kinda, sorta did.

Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) sporangia

The fertile fronds are waaaay different from the sterile ones (shown previously). These turn the color of cinnamon when they are covered with sporangia (spore containers). Peterson’s Field Guide reports that the sporangia look like a tiny Pacman. So I took the best macro shot I could and zoomed in so you could see it too. Yeah – one of those is split open like Pacman’s mouth. Here’s the photo I zoomed in on to get the above detail.

Fertile frond of O. cinnamomeum

I took these shots in the bathroom with the super bright lights turned on. When I thought I was done, I put the camera down and started gathering up fern bits so I could chuck them outside. That’s when I spotted this guy:

Fern visitor

I haven’t attempted an id yet, but I’m guessing this is a spittle bug. It’s about the right size.