One of Nature’s Mysteries to Solve

Hey there!

We haven’t had a flower for a mystery lately, so here’s one!
Give your guesses in the comments and I’ll check back later with your answer!

~~~

Yay, we had a correct guess today–even though I didn’t show the flower from its most telling side. Look here:

It’s Trumpet Creeper Vine. As our faithful reader said, hummingbirds love gathering nectar from this deep tube–and we squirrels are thinking it’s likely they have little competition.

That said, Miz Flora stands firm that this is a plant you should plant on a trellis and keep contained! Remember, it’s a vine. It will travel everywhere, and those large compound do tend to cover other plants.

Thirsty Thursday

My younger squirrel blogging partners are finding bits of nature, whereas this old squirrel goes right to the source, to see the whole of nature. In other words, you don’t find pond life in the road. Sheesh.

This whole dragonfly is an Eastern Pondhawk.

You’re welcome.

 

Dead Dragonfly

It’s funny what you’ll find leaping your way along human roads. Hickory and I were bought up short by a sparkle of gold.

One sniff said it wasn’t moving again.

“Too bad. The best part, eaten by a bird.” Hickory flicked his tail.

“Is that all you think about? Stuff as food?” I asked.

“Well, yeah. But if you want to look, don’t do it here or you’ll become crow food.” He gave the dragonfly a whack and sent it onto the grass.

I followed, because, yeah, I did want a closer look. “Dragonflies never sit still long enough to get a good look,” I grumbled over my shoulder.

The green eyes reminded me of the goggles humans wear at the pool, and below, his jaw was angled in the oddest way.

“Doesn’t look like he was too happy to be eaten,” Hickory quipped over my shoulder.

No, he didn’t.

 

Motionless Monday

Hey there!

Here’s a cool idea for summer–a dragonfly in a sprinkler hoop!

Have a great week!

One of Nature’s Mysteries to Solve

Hey there!

We have a tiny mystery for you this week!

 

Yes, these are on a window screen. Sorry the resolution isn’t better!

Any guesses what it is? Put ’em in the comments and I’ll check in with you later!

~~~

We had several correct guesses best guesses of insect eggs!

Our best guess after comparing images is these are likely stink bug eggs. There are many types of stink bugs; this is one species.

See the little round mark at the ends of the eggs? Please let us know if any of you have any further ideas, and we will try to catch the bugs hatching–versus a bird!

Summer rain

It’s likely the same story in your neighborhood–the summer heat brought on a thunderstorm.

But the rain also brought up other things: Coral fungus!

It’s fungus, so the main plant was there all along in the rotting log,just waiting for a good rain to sprout it’s ‘flower’ part, the fungus we see. Cool, huh?

Thirsty Thursday

Hello folks.

Were you out in the heat yesterday? We squirrels laid low here in our Virginia suburbs, and you should do the same…unless you are filling those bird baths!

Ol’ Wally here did leap over to the pond earlier this week and I am pleased to report a stand of Joe-pye weed has sprouted along the shore.

Now this isn’t a plant that needs to have its feet wet, but I’m sure it likes the moisture all the same. The flower heads stand about six feet tall and are about to bloom.

We’ll be checking them for butterflies soon!

Cabbage Whites

Those little white butterflies that we see flying about don’t attract too much attention. Until they do this…

Pretty cool, huh? They are gathered on this spot of wet mud–not too hard to find around here these days!–because they are sipping fluids, but also minerals, salts and other nutrients from the soil. It’s called mud-puddling.

By the way, these are cabbage white butterflies. They aren’t moths as some humans mistakenly believe.

Motionless Monday

Hey there!

How’s this for the best pinecone discovery ever?

Have a great week!

One of Nature’s Mysteries to Solve

Hey there!

For today’s mystery, I’m asking if you know what kind of turtle this is?

I’ll check back later for your answers!

~~~

We’ve had a few correct guesses, so I decided to pop in and confirm that the turtles are Red-eared Sliders. That red mark along the side of the head is quite distinctive, as is their ability to ‘slide’ into the water when danger approaches.

Red-eared sliders are now a common turtle in ponds even outside their normal range, and are considered invasive. Unfortunately, this is because many have escaped or been let go as pets. They eat both plants and animals in the water, preferring still water of ponds, but also slow-moving streams and rivers. With high numbers and more rugged ability to adapt, the red-eared sliders replace shyer, native turtles and might be one of the reasons frogs are on the decline.