Weekend Wonders

A few of the carnivorous plants we saw when we went to visit our son this weekend down in the southern coastal plain...



Pink Sundew, Drosera capillaris, attracts and captures insects with its leaves.



The trap of a Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula.



The flowers of the Venus Flytrap. Due to the cool spring most of the plants were about 9 days behind in flowering. If it had been a typical spring we would have missed seeing these in bloom.



Purple Pitcher-plant, Sarracenia purpurea or Sarrancenia purpurea ssp. venosa, I'm not sure which one. Insects check in, but they can't check out.




A stand of Yellow Pitcher-plant, Sarracenia flava. I love the little "umbrellas" over the pitchers.


A little closer view of the flower (left) and pitcher of the yellow pitcher-plant. My son said the flowers are bright yellow when they first bloom.



A little surprise inside one of the pitchers. Good thing this pitcher was bent over -- otherwise, the frog may have found itself being the main course of the plant's dinner! This frog appeared to be a squirrel treefrog, Hyla squirella, but I didn't catch him for a closer look so I am not absolutely sure.

Many thanks to our son for a wonderful Father's Day weekend!

But Nothing Rhymes With Orange

Orange and oranger -- it almost hurts my eyes. But the hummingbirds, ants, and butterflies seem to like it.

Here are some of the very orange flowers that are in bloom right now.


Butterfly milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa, a pretty flower that almost seems to glow with its orange-ness.



Candyweed or Yellow Milkwort, Polygala lutea. The brown "bug" hanging on the side of the flower is actually the shed nymphal skin of a dragonfly called a great blue skimmer.



Trumpet-creeper, Campsis radicans, a favorite of ruby-throated hummingbirds. I can always tell when this flower begins to bloom -- all the hummers coming to the feeders have little caps of pollen on the tops of their heads.



Orange Daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, an escape that has become naturalized. It is very common along our roadsides.

Last Year At This Time...

...we were in a strange and wonderous place. A place where we had to wear long sleeves and sleep under blankets -- in June!! A place where morning came very early. A place where the woods smelled like Christmas...


East Grand Lake, ME (June 2004)

...and habored odd little red squirrels that ventured out to munch birdseed.



A place where moose chomped on glasswort by the roadside...



...and an unfamiliar frog hunted insects along a creek bank.


Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica

A place that captured our imaginations and our hearts...


Baxter State Park, ME

...and made us feel as if we had found a second home.

A Turtle By Any Other Name...

...would have to smell a heck of a lot sweeter than this one!

Allow me to introduce Sternotherus odoratus, called Common Musk Turtle, or more aptly, Stinkpot.



This adult measured a tad over 4 inches, right in the middle of this species 3 to 5.5 inch size range. Diminutive little fellow, but with a powerful stench! This one smelled sort of like burnt rubber...



...the smell emanating from an odoriferous ooze produced by its "musk" glands. Yep, it's that icky brown stuff on the left, just above the opening for the hind leg. You really have to experience it for yourself to truly appreciate its potency. Of course, it doesn't seem to bother that leech attached to the plastron right along the mid-line.

Despite their odor, stinkpots are pretty cool little turtles. They prefer bodies of water with nice soft bottoms and we have the perfect habitat for them here. Like most turtles, they enjoy basking, but instead of finding them out on a log, you are more likely to find them clinging to a tree trunk or resting on a branch in a bush out over the water. You generally don't expect to find a turtle four or five feet above the water, but stinkpots are agile little climbers!

They are also quite cute when they are babies. We found this little stinker yesterday. Judging by its size, I would say it hatched last year.



As you can see, he fit in the palm of my hand with plenty of room to spare.



Another interesting little tidbit about this species -- the babies are triangular in cross section.



But no matter how cute and tiny, this was one stinky little turtle.

H H H

For those of you unfamiliar with the letters in the title: Hazy, Hot, and Humid. A perfect description of today.

By 8:00 a.m. the heat index was above 90, not exactly ideal weather for a hike, but the bloom calendar must be kept up to date! There were several plants I wanted to check on -- if I miss them blooming this year I have to wait til next year...Mother Nature can be so unyielding at times :)

It wasn't too bad out really. I seldom notice the heat as long as I stay away from any and all air conditioning. Sure, I was "glowing" like crazy, but it really wasn't that bad. The fact that I got photos of at least five species I didn't have photos of before made it all bearable. That, and the fact that we found a couple of orchids we didn't know we had. Plus I saw a baby stinkpot and they are just too cute (more on that tomorrow, with photos).

The real purpose of this post is to give a Swampy Salute to Mr. Bloggerific. Several days ago he suggested that I try a dryer sheet in my pocket to keep biting insects at bay. I was skeptical -- sweet scents tend to attract rather that repel all those biters and stingers. But, I was curious and decided to perform a little experiment. Thus, we set out on our flower monitoring trek today armed with dryer sheets. I put mine in my hat and my partner went without (at least initially). I monitored the number of yellowflies and horseflies swarming around his head and he monitored the number swirling about my head.

Much to my surprise, the dryer sheet did seem to help cut down on the number of nasty biters landing on me. It did not deter all of them by any means, but it did deter them somewhat -- and somewhat beats none-what any day! Needless to say, before long we were both sporting dryer sheets in our hats. Of course, they aren't exactly uniform code...but we'll worry about that later ;)

Anyway, I just wanted to thank Bloggy for a helpful suggestion -- now if only the dryer sheets worked against ticks...

I must add that the sheets do not work if you are running. When I did my workout late this afternoon I finished up with a run. The flies merely laughed at my attempts to repel them. Oh well, can't have everything.

The Softer Side

The swamp isn't just about biting flies and slithery snakes. It has its softer side.

So, in the interest of balance, I bring you a butterfly and a bunny. How sweet is that? :)



American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), nectaring on Cat's-ear (Hypochoeris radicata).




Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), blending in with the scenery next to the boardwalk.

This particular rabbit looks to be a "teenager" and still has some growing to do. Cottontails in North Carolina average about 3 to 3.5 pounds (roughly 1.4 to 1.6 kg) when fully grown.

Snake Daze

I realized I hadn't posted any snake pictures in a while. So, with apologies to Keith, here are some photos of some slithery creatures we have seen recently...

(Keith, I'm giving you time to change your mind about scrolling down to the picture...the first one is of a venomous snake...)

(Last chance! I won't be responsible for adverse reactions...)


My husband found this very cooperative Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) on the road to his office this morning. He didn't want the snake to get hit and he knew I needed a picture of a copperhead, so he brought it to me for a photo session before he returned it to its home.

(DO NOT handle venomous snakes unless you are trained to do so!!! They can inflict painful bites that can make you quite ill.)



Notice the vertical pupil and the little pit in front of the eye. Cooperheads are our most numerous venomous snake.

I happen to think they are one of our prettiest snakes as well.



This one was a bit dinged-up for some reason. It will look a little better after it sheds.


Another snake we encountered during a recent walk was this Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platyrhinos). Hognose snakes vary greatly in their color patterns. This one was almost completely black.



You can't see it in the picture, but the hognose has a cute little up-turned snout.

When provoked, this snake can put on an elaborate act. Generally it starts with loud hissing and a flattening of the head. If you keep on pestering it, it will usually roll over onto its back, stick out its tongue and pretend to be dead. Despite all of its show, the hognose (a.k.a. "spreading adder" or "blowing viper") rarely even attempts to bite. Toads are one of its favorite foods.

Here is a view of the flattened head. Some of the snake's pattern is visible with the scales spread out.





Many snakes put on quite a show when they feel threatened. My dog got this rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta) all riled up one day last week. It was coiling and vibrating its tail against the ground. Very impressive. Rat snakes will strike if you push them too far.

The rat snake is non-venomous and is perhaps our most common snake. They can grow to about 85 inches in length.





Last, but not least, I would like to share a picture of one of my favorite snakes, the black racer (Coluber constrictor). We have quite a few of these snakes around our house. They seem to slide effortlessly through the grass -- often you only get a glimpse of their tails as they race off. But when cornered, they are very aggressive. They will lunge at you and vibrate their tails against the leaves -- a display designed to get you back off. Usually works. Racers are non-venomous.




(You still with me, Keith? Yeah, I knew you'd look. Remember, it's exposure therapy. Breathe. Snakes really are such amazing animals...I hope you can one day overcome your aversion to them.)

Snippets From My Day

On a sandy road along a ditch we happened upon an interesting set of tracks. No pad imprints, just claw-tips.



They gave evidence that some creature had meandered up and down the road, seemingly at a leisurely pace.

We weren't surprised when we happened upon the track-maker...




...a snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.


Along the same road we saw hundreds of zebra swallowtail butterflies (Eurytides marcellus).



The larvae of the zebra swallowtail feed on the leaves of the pawpaw (Asimina triloba).



Many other animals, including some people, enjoy the fruits of the pawpaw. Perhaps when these ripen, we'll come back, pick 'em up, and put 'em in our basket...

Somewhere along the way today I picked up an univited guest,



a female American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis). Luckily I spotted her before she had time to attach.

Purple

Summer, it seems, has arrived with a vengence. After being chilly and damp for most of the spring it has become hot (highs in the mid-90s) and humid all of a sudden. To counter all that heat, I opted to pull up a couple of picures in shades of cooling purple.



Clematis crispa -- Blue Jasmine Leather-flower. (May 20th)



Scutellaria integrifolia -- Hyssop Skullcap. (June 3rd)

Aggravation Incarnate

Allow me to introduce to you, just in case you've never had the pleasure, a biting fly of the genus Chrysops. Commonly known as a deer fly, I prefer to think of it as aggravation incarnate. Yes, it's true, there are a very few animals I just plain don't like (but to be honest, I can appreciate them in context) and this one is tops on that list.

It's not so much that they bite -- they do, and quite viciously -- it's that they torture you first by flying about your head and face, crashing into your ears, flying up your nose, even going behind your glasses. ARGH...makes my blood pressure go up just thinking about it.



But they are sort of pretty when you take the time to look at them...

...just before you squish them!


************
Addendum: The kind and knowledgeable folks over at BugGuide.net have informed me that the top photo is of a female Chrysops vittatus. Now I can curse them properly and with respect :)

Shades of White

Many of the plants in bloom right now have white flowers. Due to time constraints, I limited myself to five species. (We don't have high speed access here in the swamp. I must depend on my dail-up connection, which on a good day provides me with the blazing speed of 24.0 Kbps.)



Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana) -- aptly named, it has a pleasing fragrance.



Persimmon (Diospyrus virginiana) -- produces a sweet and nutritious fruit in the fall. Better be sure it's ripe before you taste it, though. If it is the slightest bit "green" it has a dreadful desiccative effect on the inside of your mouth.



Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) -- If you look closely, you can see two spiders lying in wait for a hapless insect to pass by. These flowers are not exactly fragrant by human standards, but myriad little insects find them quite attractive. (On closer inspection, I believe the "spider" in the lower right may actually be a harvestman [Opiliones], commonly called a daddy-longlegs.)

Some people make wine from the berries produced by this shrub -- I've never tasted any, but I'm willing to give it a try.




Climbing hydrangea (Decumaria barbara) -- a common flowering vine here.



Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) -- an herb that grows along roadsides and field edges.

It's Monday! Get out there and enjoy it.

Tell Tale Signs

If you were wandering along the trail or exploring your backyard and you ran across one or two of the items pictured below, would you know what they were?



Would you immediately suspect they were the frass of this creature?


Luna Moth Caterpillar

Who knew poop could be so pretty?

Phantom

Phantom craneflies (Bittacomorpha clavipes) are aptly named creatures. With their cryptic coloration, they sometimes seem to disappear as they drift along on the breeze in the sun-dappled lowlands.

Wonder

It's not often that one gets to touch a living thing that is over a thousand years old. A thousand years of life - almost incomprehensible. If this tree could share its history with us, what would it say?




This bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) stands deep in the swamp. It is very much alive and still producing cones. I often wonder how many of the cypress nearby are the offspring of this particular tree. Wonder if any of them will reach such a venerable age...

Four or five others of these massive virgin cypress still dot the swamp -- they were already too large to be cut by the time the first Europeans arrived. Several of them show signs of past lightning strikes and most have extensive hollows, but they continue to live and reproduce.

There was one other, but it was lost in 2003 when Hurricane Isabel blew through -- wonder how many hurricanes it had weathered in its long life?

Feed Me!

Swollen Bladderwort, Utricularia inflata - a floating, carnivorous plant common in the swamps and ponds of my area.
This plant "eats" tiny arthropods that swim too close to the bladders on the submerged leaves.

A tiny surprise in a hole in the base of a bald cypress, about two and a half feet above the waterline -- a nest full of baby Prothonotary Warblers. If we hadn't seen the adult bird, we would have paddled right by them.

Life Among the Lilypads

Lilypad damselfly, Ischnura kellicotti. An immature female resting on, you guessed it, a lilypad!

Nearby, a male of the same species resting on yet another lilypad.



The leaves of the spatterdock lily make wonderful resting and hunting places for a variety of insects, frogs, arthropods and even some birds. The flowers of the spatterdock are bright yellow and make a nice contrast with the dark waters of the pond.