Aquatics at Sandogardy Pond

Beth and I took Penny to Sandogardy Pond today. I wanted to look for the late summer aquatics, and though we were able to find quite a few, I didn’t find all the ones I was looking for.

Before we got to the pond we found some Indian tobacco.

Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata)

This is also called “puke weed” and I think that’s what I’m going to call it from now on. I suspect that “Indian tobacco” is a racial slur, as many plants with “Indian” in the name are. As in, “tobacco only good enough for Indians.”

Not far from the puke weed, we came across some hazel cuttings.

Beaked Hazels

These are the shells from beaked hazels (Corylus cornuta) which were growing nearby. I have a lot of them on my property too, but have never really been able to harvest any. The squirrels and chipmunks tend to harvest them before they ripen. You have to be careful when gathering them too, because those husks are full of fine spines which have a tendency to stick in your skin and break off. Just imagine shelling one with your lips and teeth!

We got to the pond, and the first blooming plant I noticed was this spotted water hemlock.

Spotted Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata)

It is important to be aware of this plant if you plan to eat wild carrots, because they are superficially similar, and spotted water hemlock is the most toxic plant in North America. One taste can kill.

Just offshore from the water hemlock, I could see the floating heart in bloom. I took off my shoes and waded out to it.

Floating Heart (Nymphoides cordata)

You have to be careful when photographing these, because the tiniest waves you make tend to wet the flowers, and when that happens, they turn from white to transparent. I have dozens of photos of transparent floating heart blossoms. I managed to avoid that this time.

Down the beach a little ways I found some Marsh St Johnswort.

Marsh St Johnswort (Triadenum virginicum)

I always have a hard time remembering the name of this one, because I keep wanting to put the “Virginia” part of the binominal name into the common name. Virginia St Johnswort? Nope. Virginia Swamp St Johnswort? Nope. Someday I might be able to remember without the aid of the Internet.

I had already put my shoes back on when I found some seven-angled pipewort. I didn’t want to take them off again, so I leaned way out and snapped this shot.

Pipewort (Eriocaulon aquaticum)

Leaning out doesn’t make the greatest photos, and we can see that here. I looked for these earlier this summer but could find no sign of them. But today, here they are.

A little farther down I found some square-stemmed monkey flower.

Square-temmed Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens)

This plant got me into a little trouble once. A friend of mine breeds poodles and typically names them after flowers. Knowing that I was a plant-guy, she asked me to suggest a name for her next “keeper” dog. She was not pleased when I proposed square-stemmed monkey flower. I guess it just doesn’t roll off the tongue.

“Here, Square-stemmed Monkey Flower! Here girl!”

Nope.

 

NH History Museum

Not a whole lot happened today. I went to work, had lunch, and then met Va and Beth in the afternoon so we could check out the NH History Museum. It’s open year-round, but it’s free during Market Days, so that’s obviously the best time to check it out. I thought the most awesome display they had was a half wigwam covered with birch bark. It’s a nice enough museum, but it doesn’t compare to the one’s we used to visit in Washington DC (i.e., the Smithsonians). Perhaps it’s an unfair comparison!

I went back to work after that, and then went home a little while later. It clouded up and started raining, but I was wearing my raincoat so that was not a problem. I don’t think I took any pictures though. Another Square-stemmed Monkey Flower bloomed, but I didn’t have my tripod with me, and there just wasn’t much light outside (raining, remember?) making tripod-less photography difficult, if not impossible.

Va did wash my hat for me today, and it needed it pretty desperately. So now it should be nice and clean for my trip to Oshkosh next month.

 

Square-stemmed Monkey Flower

Today was the first day of Market Days, when the city of Concord closes Main Street off to vehicular traffic and vendors (et al) set up on the street. Va and Beth came into town, and we walked the length of Main Street checking it all out.

Some guy is opening a “green” energy store on Pleasant Street “soon” and I stopped and spoke with him for a bit. I would really like to get some solar water heating going on at my house. The other thing I’m interested in is getting a photo-voltaic panel on the roof of the Pathfinder trailer so we can keep a car battery in there, and keep it charged. Then we could run the lights and have an AC inverter to charge our laptops with. I wouldn’t want to try to run anything off the PV panel, because that is cost prohibitive. But for about $200 or so, we could trickle charge a car battery no problem. The thought of being able to charge cell phones and camera batteries on PF campouts is very appealing to me.

Beth wanted to ride the train, so I bought her a ticket.

Market Days Fun

She appears to have enjoyed herself, so I guess that was $2.00 not totally wasted.

I also bought a couple of books. The Worst-case Scenario Almanac (which depicts a brown bear exiting a tent), and True North which recounts the race to the North Pole. I have long been fascinated with the polar expeditions of the early 20th century (Shackleton’s story is quite gripping). Hopefully, I will find (or make) some time to read these soon.

When I got home I hunted around the yard for flowers, when I happened to notice one with the most excellent name I have ever heard for a plant of any type: the Square-stemmed Monkey Flower. Yay!

Square-stemmed Monkey Flower (mimulus ringens)

A friend of mine breeds poodles and had been naming them after flowers. She knew I was well-versed in the flora of New England, so she asked me for a suggestion. So I suggested Square-stemmed Monkey Flower. Surprisingly, she choose some other name. I work with a guy whose wife had a baby about two weeks ago, and they are using the flower theme too (Lily and Poppy). He did not ask me for a suggestion, but if he had…