bugs, grasses, things going to seed

This is not a blog about bugs.

But when they keep showing up, they keep showing up. From nose to wingtip, this guy was about 3/16” long. He’s sitting on some kind of wild grass (sedge? rush?)

This is what he was sitting on.

Yes indeedy, my next project is going to have be learning grasses and sedges.

I want this book, but I want it to manifest for free into my life. Anyone want to sponsor me and just send it to me?

I guess I have to live with Not Knowing.

And I may have to resort to naming these things myself in order to keep track of them. The one above is going to be Rose-Dusted Bottle Brush. OK, that was easy.
The wild roses are just starting to bloom, and they smell divine. Imagine how much better it will be when they all open up.


Despite recent developments in the bloom cycle, purple is not willing to cede the field to white and yellow just yet: the spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) just started blooming.

According to a Japanese study cited on Wikipedia, “The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels.”
Well, here’s hoping that doesn’t come in handy.
Remember how yesterday I couldn’t get a good shot of False Solomon Seal berries? Today went a little better.

False Solomon Seal berries. At this point, they are 1/16” in diameter. That’s it. Tiny.
I also ID’d this vine that is in perpetual warfare with the black raspberries:

It’s the one-seeded bur cucumber(Sicyos angulatus), of course. (I’ve been growing cucumbers all along? Wow. I had no idea.) Yes, it’s in the gourd family, but apparently the fruit isn’t really edible. But it does make fabulous squigglies with its vines.

Last, but not least, a quick visit to a tall buttercup

The edges are blurry, but the center holds. Take that, Yeats.

And this is what a buttercup gone to seed looks like. Very similar to the crowfoot of yesterday. In fact, eerily so, since they have nearly the same kind of leaf shape, too. Let’s review, shall we?

crowfoot	buttercup