Ruby Meadowhawk

Ruby Meadowhawk? I think this is right.

Cattail

There is plenty of cattails in my area. I see them growing everywhere. While trying to identify this particular type of cattail, I came across two that it are possibilities. I am leaning more toward the Southern Cattail. The flower parts look more similar to me. The thing that makes me question that it this is not Southern Cattail is the location. The other possibility is the Broadleaf Cattail. Although as I sit here preparing this post and reread the descriptions, I am thinking maybe it is the Narrowleaf Cattail. However, they only mention this plant and do not have a specific page for this type of Cattail. So what is your opinion? I appreciate any help in identifying anything that I might have on my blog. Thanks for reading.

A quick look at my upcoming posts - I will finish up the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, then on to the Howell Nature Center and Wildlife Wonder Park, and then on to some more light hearted fare with images from the Michigan Renaissance Festival.

Monarch Butterflies

On the Saturday before Labor Day, we went out to the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge for a walk. The first critter that I came across was a monarch butterfly. The first two images are the same butterfly. However, I am not sure if the third photo is of the same butterfly. I think it might possibly be the same one in all three photos. I remember feeling as though I was chasing the poor thing. I would see a monarch flying and it seemed as though I could never catch up to it except these two different times. It kept flying just ahead of me.


For more camera critters click the icon to the right.

Dazzling Daisies

Tahoka Daisy?


Gerbera Daisy


Not a lot to say today. Have a wonderful Friday.

Feeding the Deer

Click the pictures to enlarge them and see more detail. Some of them are not the greatest but they are priceless. I made them smaller since I had so many to share.









This was such a cool thing for my little guy to do. It was so interesting to watch Asa as well as the doe checking each other out. They were both curious of one another. First we spotted the doe down below, C. asked if it was okay if he took Asa down to help feed the doe. The doe was aware of something different with the routine. Asa followed C. and helped get food from the shed and bring it back to the feeding trough. It was so interesting watching the deer pace around C. and Asa, checking out Asa and making sure that everything was still going to be okay. Then after placing the food in the trough C. stepped back with Asa in his arms and they watched a few minutes then headed back up the hill side.

I hope experiences like this helps to encourage a thoughtfulness in my sons' lives when it comes to nature. I will admit I am not exactly the perfect role model but I am slowly changing our life style to help benefit the nature that surrounds us. We are trying to eat more natural foods, I am using reusable shopping bags - this is new because I became aware of how many plastic bags we were getting at the grocery store. Since my husband is now bagging the groceries I have learned they are not supposed to put more than five items in a bag. Now I know this is a basis guideline. I decided that we need to be less wasteful in this department of our lives and it gives us a small discount on our grocery bill for using the reusable bags (at least at Kroger and it doesn't have to be a Kroger bag.) Anyhow, I am also changing our diet to contain less processed foods. I have contemplated the whole organic issue and have actually found some lists of produce to consider always buying organic, those to consider buying organic if it is economical to add it into the grocery bill, and those that you don't really have to worry about as much i.e. the produce that you don't eat the whole thing such as bananas where you through away the peel. Also I was informed that just because it is not labeled organic doesn't necessarily mean that isn't organic. Some of the farmers interviewed in the article I read said they are not labeled organic because they don't want to have to bow to the governmental controls, so do your research and find out if the supplier is one of those that doesn't want to have the government controlling their business. Another area I am working on is the bottled water. I am trying to get passed this. I will admit I am bad and buy bottled water but it is the cheap store brand. I also use disposable diapers but am considering cloth diapers for any future children so who knows there. Okay so I said all this to simply state that I am trying to instill a love of nature in my boys. I want them to appreciate the beauty of this earth that God gave to us to enjoy. I truly hope they see the work of God in His creation as much as I do. Have a Blessed Thursday.

Yellowwood Tree

Here is a tree that is new to me. I had never seen a tree quite like this before. I was surprised to see the pea pod seeds. Then trying to figure out type of tree it was is crazy. But I did it. My problem was that I was looking for the seeds to be pictured and they are not on the website that I used. To see more info click HERE. Tomorrow I will share the pictures I have of Asa helping to feed a deer. They are not the best pictures but they are very awe inspiring at least to me they are. Happy Wednesday.

Wonder in White

I tried to figure out what type of flower this little guy is, well I just couldn't figure it out and I am just getting frustrated trying. If you have any ideas or if you know please feel free to leave a comment letting me know. Since I started my blogging I have learned so many interesting facts about some of the things I have posted. I have truly enjoyed this. But then again, I enjoy learning especially when I can do it at my own pace. I enjoy school don't get me wrong. I am hoping to go back and start my Master's Degree this next fall. I would like to teach on the college/university level. I originally thought that I would like to teach high school, but have since realized that I want to teach those who choose to be there. Granted in the beginning I might have pre-requisite classes but that is par for the course starting out. Most kids in college have chosen to be there though. So this is what I have planned for my future, now let's wait and see if this is what does happen. So much in my life right now has not gone anything like I would have planned but by no means would I change a thing, well maybe the tight on money situation but having my boys so close in age - one year and eleven days apart to be exact - has made for them to have a close bond growing up and yes I can see this already forming at their tender young ages of 10.5 months and 23 months old. I look forward to watching them grow up together. Well it is getting late and I can feel myself getting ready to ramble as I can do in my stream of conscious style of writing. Have a great Tuesday.

Blue Sky

The day I went to the Sarett Nature Center was a very beautiful day. There were blue skies overhead. The trails were nicely shaded and it was not excessively warm. I enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the trees and plants. I especially loved the butterflies. I have already posted them, scroll down or click on the butterfly label to see them. I had hoped to see more birds but they were not very active while I was out there. I was contented with my butterfly friends though and I was able to capture more beautiful flowers. Have a wonderful day.

Black-Eyed Susan

I am up and running. My laptop is home and my internet is working again. I have been going through withdrawal. I enjoy my blogging. I rely to much on the internet to track my account balances and then there is my email, well my personal email. I have a gmail account for my blogging but my address that I use with my family and friends I can only access through my laptop. We rarely have problems and usually if I have to log onto my internet provider (I have a cable modem) we usually have to call and get them to assign a new password because we can never seem to remember the password we have on file. I think I remedied this the last time this happened but then again I haven't actually signed into the homepage since this happened. Maybe I should do this sometime really soon.

Anyway.

I went to a nature center in Howell today. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because my stomach decided to disagree with me and I wasn't up to the task I had set for myself. (The picture above is from the Sarett Nature Center in Benton Harbor though.) I am hoping to go back to Howell soon and take advantage of some of the wonderful opportunities that are out there. I think I might try to go the first weekend of October. Next weekend is my hubby's birthday and we are going out to the Michigan Renaissance Festival for that. Then we hopefully go to Benton Harbor/St. Joseph to see the lake and to go to the apple orchard with family over on that side of the state. I should be stocked up on photos for a while. I look forward to these trips as well as to my sharing my images with all my blogging friends. Hope your weekend is blessed.

I have my internet working again. Now I just have to get my laptop back from my grandparents house. I decided to leave it there during the duration of no internet instead of taking it back and forth. So I shall have a bit to share with you all for the next little while. I will finish the images from my trip to the Sarett Nature Center followed by my trip to the Shiawasee Wildlife Refuge. I am hoping to take a small trip this weekend to a close by nature center as well. Then in October I am hoping to make it to Lake Michigan and to an apple orchard over in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area. So I will have plenty to share with everyone for some time now. Let's hope for my sanity that I don't have internet problems for a good while. I shall have pictures again as soon as I get my laptop back.

Goldenrod

I have to say I love my camera. I took both of these pictures without changing my position. And yes this is the same plant in both pictures. At times I would like a different camera but I will definitely keep this camera for my macro shots. I enjoy doing the close up images. I would like to have classified this down to the specific type of goldenrod but didn't have the patience to sit and look through them at this time. Hopefully I will be back up and running this weekend. Have a great Wednesday.

Hey Look It's a Caterpillar

Oh wait, no it's not. I had to laugh because I had hooked my digital camera up to my grandparents tv the other night and my mom was saying different things as I scrolled through the pictures. We came across this one and she was all "oh wow would you look at that caterpillar isn't it so cool looking" My oldest niece who will be seven in December looked at her and very matter of fact tone and said "Grandma that is not a caterpillar". I couldn't help but laugh. The reason I took the picture is because it reminded me of a caterpillar. What do you think?

I'm baaaack - Sort of

I think I have found out what kind of flower this is.
A Western Wallflower.
For more information on it go HERE.

I am missing my internet and it doesn't look like it is going to be fixed until next weekend at the earliest. I never realized how dependent I had come on my blogging as a stress relief. It was my little escape from the daily routine. I am hoping to get a few auto posts up and ready for this week. But first I am getting this one done. I am still bootlegging my grandparents internet when I have the chance to get to their house which is typically on Sundays if not a few other times throughout the week. Hope everyone had a good week and may you all have a great week to come.

I wanted to let you know I will be away for the next couple of days. I am without internet at the moment. As a matter of fact I am typing this from my grandparents house. Hopefully I will be back up and running by the end of next week maybe sooner. We'll see. Have a great weekend and I will catch up in the upcoming days.

Queen Anne's Lace

Alternate name: Wild Carrot

Description Introduced. A few large, flat-topped lacy umbels with tiny white flowers, hairy on top, sometimes nearly smooth, with one dark reddish-brown, purple or pink floret usually at center of umbel; lacy-leafed stem.
Flowers: compound umbels 3-6" (7.5-15 cm) wide; the central flower commonly purple, or pink (sometimes all flowers pink), with stiff 3-forked, leaf-like bracts below. Branches of older umbels curl inward, resembling bird's nests.
Leaves: lacy blades 2-8" (5-20 cm) long, repeatedly pinnately divided into narrow segments.
Fruit: oval, with minute bristles along every other rib.
Height: 1-4' (30-120 cm).

Habitat: Roadsides, dry fields, and old lots.

Range: Old World native; introduced and naturalized throughout most of North America, except the far north.

An attractive, hairy biennial, Queen Anne's Lace is considered a troublesome weed and is classified as a noxious pest in some areas. It is so prevalent in the East that it is often thought of as a native wildflower rather than an alien introduction. It was the ancestor of the garden carrot, and its long, first-year taproot can be cooked and eaten. The plant has been reproduced from one embryonic cell in tissue culture and has actually flowered, with even the usual central red floret present. The flowering heads served 18th-century English courtiers as "living lace," hence the common name.

The above information can be found here.

I never realized that the plant wasn't native. If you take the time to look it is amazing the information that you learn. Since starting this blog, I have learned so much about different bugs, birds, and now flowers. I have sure enjoyed this. I love eavesblogging and seeing what others have to say to the blogging community. Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend.