Theme day: Bottle

Hidden in the overgrowth in front of an old house, I found a bottle tree. It's a southern tradition, possibly brought from Africa by enslaved Africans.  Blue bottles are hung outside to trap evil spirits.  (see here for the history )

 

Horsemint

This cutie was blooming all over the prairie at Horseshoe Farm  Nature Preserve.  It's Spotted Bee Balm.  (see here).  Also called Horsemint. It looked like something Dr. Seuss would think up.

 

Line up

The dragonflies were busy on a hot summer afternoon at the lake.  These two were sharing a blade of grass.

 

Sneaky

He quietly sneaked around the lake.  

 

Line up

The turtles found a sunny branch to climb on.

 

King of the tree

Do you see the kingfisher sitting on his favorite tree?  

He looks like another branch until he dives into the water and comes back with a fish.

 

Yum

The swamp milkweed must be pretty tasty.  

 

Peek-a-boo

Did he think we didn't see him?

 

Forest walk

In the summer heat, a quiet forest walk is the best activity.

 

Hungry butterflies

The butterflies were enjoying the swamp milkweed by the lake.

 

Groundnut

I think this is American Groundnut. (see here)    The tubers were cultivated and eaten by Native Americans, and now is grown in part of Japan.  

 

Dragon

The butterfly yesterday had lost it's tail.  The dragonfly today has a chewed wing.  This time in the summer, everything is slightly battered.

 

Tiger

Tiger swallowtail, minus one tail.

 

Calm

A quiet place on a hot day.

 

Ruler of the feeder

It's hummingbird season again.  The males are staking their territory and chasing off anyone who dares eat from their feeder.  

 

Crippled Cranefly

Does this little darling look like a fly?  

It's named Crippled Cranefly orchid supposedly because it looks like...you guessed it, a crippled cranefly.  This tiny orchid is a native in North Carolina.  It loves the forest leaf litter and only has leaves in the winter when the trees let light into the forest floor.

 

Fishing pier

 

The fishing pier at Shelly Lake.  

Rosemalloiw

Hibiscus growing wild in North Carolina?  Well, sort of.  It's a Crimsoneyed Rosemallow, common to swampy areas in the Eastern US.

 (See here)

 

Rain

A quiet place to sit to watch the raindrops on the lake.

 

Tiny

He was hopping as fast as he could trying to get across the path.  He moved almost like a cricket.  And he was about the size of one too.

 

Golden

The goldenrod is beginning to flower already.

 

Pomeranian?

In amongst all the mallards at the lake, there were two black ducks with white fronts.  I think they're Pomeranian Ducks, a domestic breed that probably got loose.  See what you think here.

 

Granny Pop out of Bed

It's a type of bind weed, the scourge of gardeners.  But some of the common names for this plant are fun:  Old man's nightcap, Bride's gown, Wedlock, White witches hat, Belle of the ball,  Devil's guts, and Granny pop out of bed, along with less interesting ones like Hedge bindweed. 

(See here)

 

Backyard visitor

The barred owl flew silently into the backyard trees.  He posed for pictures and admiration.

He watched us carefully.  Hopefully he was looking for a small rodent dinner, and not children.  

 

A little bit creepy

She and another creepy friend stand at the entrance to a Mexican restaurant.  Do they attract or scare off potential customers?

 

Busy

The only indoor playground in Raleigh gets busy on a hot summer afternoon.  A great way to run off energy without getting heat stroke.