insert creative post title here. or not.

Long time blog readers will know I went through a complete phase of infatuation with dandelions over the summer, documenting every micro-stage of their going to seed.

I got a whiff of that project this afternoon. This here beaut is that tall blue lettuce I just posted on the other day – the one that grows up to 15 feet tall, but is named for its teensy blue stamens.
The seeds of the lone fertilized jack-in-the-pulpit left to me – the others were destroyed by the Irene flooding – are ripening.

July 13

today, August 31

Here’s some trippy aster action for you. In this one, the outer flowers (remember, this is a composite flower – there are numerous flowers inside that circlet of white rays) are open, but the inner ones are still closed.


This one has been at the party a bit longer. All of ‘em are open.

I don’t know what kind specifically this is - – there are many to the nth kinds of asters. Some day!
No clue who this next one one is. Stay tuned. Behaves like an aster, but suspiciously yellow.


Here’s a common evening primrose – the petals are the ones who look at their watches and leave the party at 8:45 pm.  The stigma and stamens are going to be up all night:


I came across a Virginia creeper-type vine that I’ve heretofore ignored (so don’t quote me on that ID), much to my chagrin, because look what it’s been doing lately:

I’ve seen this strategy before, in the anemones. Little spiky clusters.
Some of them are dried up already. How did I miss this? I guess because it’s over by the pole barn – there’s a lot of stuff over there I’ve missed.
One last burst of purple – gentian – is going to be opening up soon:

What a treat.
A tiny mystery blob on a log, 1/32” across:

fungus?
I surprised what I think might be a pickerel frog in the grass

I didn’t want to disturb it by getting too close, because by now both the cats were following me around. Nothing like a little frog appetizer.
Here’s Maggie messing up my attempt at getting a shot of the underside of this mushroom.

This led to some hilarity.



Ah, there we go. Damn cat.

Fu Manchu bottlebrush caterpillar, jewelweed gall midge, alien spacecraft, and impending hurricanes

Have I mentioned recently that I, Ms. No Discernible Income, recently went back to work after a self-imposed two-year hiatus? That’s right, I’m working, part-time, at a top-secret entity whose details I will not reveal, except for to say that we have a veritable shitload of yogurt in our fridge these days at any given time. Pardon my French.
This past week was my third week on the job. Remind me of how people do this whole work thing? I know, I know, cue the violins, shut up, Sarah. But seriously, it’s been a rough adjustment: not being able to dawdle with the camera for an hour or so each day, and then spend two or three hours doing research on my discoveries and tagging my photos and blogging about it – you might not realize it, but this wee little odyssey of a dilettante naturalist takes quite a bit of time. 
Today I divided said time between getting ready for our overnight guest – that would be Irene – and aggressively puttering around and goofing off.

Home is where the heart is.

We’ve cleared the decks, literally – Kevin took down the portable screened-in-porch, and I dealt with the deck furniture. We have garbage cans set up under the eaves to catch rainwater (we don’t have gutters, and recently figured out that something like 25% of our roof run-off ends up in the corner between the bump-out and the bulkhead, where it subsequently sneaks in down the bulkhead’s (presumably eroding) foundation and from there, into the basement. (Not for nothing did Santa Claus bring us a shop vac for Christmas.) Flashlights, batteries, water, food…I think we’ll be OK. Gulp. Oh, and I went for my run, since tomorrow’s not going to happen. It was supposed to be a nine-miler, but I think…heavy sigh…I think I may need to re-think the next half-marathon, and let my plantar fascia sprain and concomitant (you read right, I used “concomitant” in a sentence) ankle discomfort heal up.
Onwards to the report. There’s a lot to report. Go grab a snack, you’ll be here a while.
The anemones have long gone to seed, and now those seeds are starting to be dispersed.

Anemone canadensis on July 13…	…and today. This appears to be the classic “eat me and poop” strategy.
Anemone virginiana on August 5…	…and today. Oh cool, a totally different game plan for this one: wind dispersal.

I got a better look at the opened up flowers of tall blue lettuce (Lactuca biennis), first seen here the other day

I love that this plant, which can grow to 12 freakin’ feet high, but has flowers no larger than a quarter inch wide, is named for the color of the tips of its tiny, wee stamens. Speaking of tall lettuce, here’s tall white lettuce (Prenanthes altissima).

It was already going to seed, which tells you how little I’ve been able to get out and about with the camera, but fortunately I found a few flowers still open:


At long last, some of the False Solomon’s Seal berries are really, truly, turning red:


Nearby, I found Mr. Fu Manchu Bottlebrush Caterpillar hanging out.

I am informed that his real name is Halysidota tessellaris - Banded Tussock Moth – but I like my name better, duh.
And now, let’s play with the jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).

Here’s one that’s obviously preggers – see how the uvula-like dangly bit at the top is getting fat? I am REALLY looking forward to documenting how this is going to turn into a seed. I’ve seen some seeds already, but I haven’t (damn this “working for a living” B.S.!) found the time to scout out all the intermediate stages. I will, though.
I did, however, have time to suss out something that I’d been curious about since I first saw it on August 8th: a weird huge jewelweed bud? leaf? that had clearly been appropriated by some other life process.

Trust me, this is not a normal jewelweed thing. I pinched it off and took it home to do a little home surgery.

Dum – dum – Dah!!!

Little orange larvae! Excellent! One of them woke up and started exploring, whereupon I promptly filmed him.

After some digging around, I learned that this is probably the larva of a gall midge, Schizomyia impatientis. I love how they are as orange as the plant’s flowers. How cool is that?
I wandered down toward the mailbox, across the meadow, and checked in on the plantain (Plantago major). Many have gone to seed, but a few are still flowering.

This one has only the white bits. Stigma?

Others have both the white, and the purple (stamen?), bits.


Here’s an alien spacecraft disguised as a longjawed orbweaver, hanging out on a stalk of plantain.
Next door, here’s a type of marsh fly:

By the way, I don’t know a thing about bugs. These ID’s are brought to you by the incredible nerds (and that’s a good thing) at bugguide.net.
I checked in one more time on a jack-in-the-pulpit on the streambank:

Looking good.
OK, the sky is darkening up. Here we go, campers. See you on the other side.

in which I boast; also, surgery on appliances, and tall blue lettuce

“You have thrilled, inspired and excited my daughter (& me) with your garden photos. She asked me if you are a 'garden talent' fairy. I assured her you are indeed.”

Well, that made my day.
In other news. Did I feel the earthquake? No. I was in the car. Didn’t notice a thing. Did I take any pictures today? Um, no garden talent fairy pictures. Just this one:

So that’s what the beaters look like if you take them apart to clean the insides of dough batter disaster spooge.  Ladies and gentlemen, I most heartedly do NOT recommend this particular product:

Yep, someone around here has gone gluten-free. That someone is not me – bring on the gluten, I say – ‘tis Kevin, aka the dear boy.
To tide us all over til my next photography binge, here’s a teensy flower on a huge plant.

This is tall blue lettuce (Lactuca biennis). According to my flower guide, this can get up to fifteen feet high.
Here’s one that’s gone to seed, next to others that are still finishing up blossoming:


Here’s one sticking its tongue out at another one:


And here’s the whole plant, or most of it – I framed it this way to remind myself, and show you, that it’s taller than I am. Granted, that’s not hard, but still. It’s tall.

And thus concludes this post. G’night!