Summer Is Fading

Summer is beginning the slow slide into Autumn. On today's walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park that slide is becoming more evident - Fall flowers are taking over, the Hummingbirds have disappeared, and the butterflies seem to have increased as a sort of last hurrah before they die off (or migrate, in the case of Monarchs) for the season. Here are some scenes from today's walk.

Bindweed (wild Morning Glory) along the nature trail

Virgin's Bower, an invasive but pretty vine, is all over the wetland

Small-flowered White Asters on the forest floor in the wetland

A Northern Crescent butterfly on Boneset up along the edge of the meadow

A Buckeye butterfly (with another in the background) on Boneset along the edge of the meadow

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Up Close

This week's walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park was full of butterflies and late Summer flowers, so the camera moved in for some up close and personal shots this morning.

A Black Swallowtail in the Joe Pye Weed by Gum Run

Dogwood berries along the Dykeman Walking Trail

The Spotted Jewelweed is blooming in the wetland

New York Ironweed in the wetland

A Tiger Swallowtail on Spotted Knapweed by the north duck pond

A Variegated Fritillary enjoying the Red Clover up on the meadow

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Lots of Butterflies!

On this week's walk in the park the focus was on butterflies; the Joe Pye Weed is full up and blooming, as well as the Spotted Knapweed, and both are serious butterfly attractors. Check out the diversity of butterflies from today's walk.

A Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly on the Joe Pye Weed

A Clouded Sulphur on same

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail also likes ol' Joe Pye

Spotted Knapweed on the banks of the north duck pond

A Long Dash Skipper by the pond

Deptford Pinks up on the meadow

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Another Muggy Morning Walk in the Park

If anything, it was even muggier than last week. There's a cold front moving in tonight,and its approach has been sucking hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico up before it. So even though it was a bit cooler this morning, I was soaked with sweat within minutes of walking out my door. This time I had insect repellent along, so at least the mosquitoes weren't annoying me!

There was lots to photograph this morning, as you'll see from the shots below. Butterflies, dragonflies, turtles... not to mention the flowers and the general lushness of it all as a result of this wet and warm year. Come take a look!

A very lush Dykeman Spring wetland

The creek is its usual picturesque self

Mama Gaia is encroaching on that bench again!

A Painted Turtle sunning on a rock in the north duck pond, with reflection

A Four-spot Skimmer dragonfly resting on a bench by the side of the pond

A Blue Dasher dragonfly posing by the north duck pond

The view of the north duck pond from my favorite bench under the Kentucky Coffee Tree

Teasel by the meadow

And a bouquet of Queen Anne's Lace and Calico Asters up on the meadow

A Silver-spot Skipper butterfly up on the meadow

A pair of Bindweed blossoms,a wild relative of the Morning Glory

A Buckeye butterfly amid the red clover up on the meadow

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger  

July Arrives

July has arrived, and today's weekly walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park definitely was July-like! Lots of butterflies and dragonflies, although the dragonflies are still successfully eluding my camera. But most of all, the weather is finally dry enough for my friend Wade to get the first haying of the Summer done! Come for a walk and check it out.

Me and My Shadow - a Spring Azure butterfly on the Dykeman Walking Trail

The Daylilies are still decorating the park

One of this year's baby bunnies along the trail

A tiny, unidentified white flower in the wetland

An Appalachian Brown butterfly in the wetland

Haying time!

Wade Asper hard at work

Looking back at the meadow on the way out

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Scenes from the Sunday Constitutional

On this week's Sunday walk in the park the Fall color change is becoming noticeable, mostly yellows. All the Fall Asters are up and blooming - White Wood Asters, New York Asters, Calico Asters, Spotted Knapweed - all over both the wetland area and the upland meadow, and they're being visited by all manner of small winged critters. The north duck pond was especially photogenic today, as was one particular Calico Aster bush up on the meadow. Come and see!

Calico Asters along the Dykeman Walking Trail in the wetland

Touches of autumnal color around the north duck pond

A Dwarf Bumblebee on Spotted Knapweed by the pond

This Painted Turtle was giving me the stink eye from a safe spot in the middle of the pond

A pair of Mallards on the north duck pond

A Pearl Crescent butterfly on Calico Aster up on the meadow

I spotted this Firefly on a blade of grass as I left the park on the east end of the meadow

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

This Week's Walk in the Park

The Autumnal Equinox is fast approaching (Friday), and there are signs of the approaching season, but it still looks more like Summer because of the warm, wet Summer we had this year. And there's more rain yet to come as the remnants of Hurricane Florence approach early in the coming week. There are still plenty of flowers in this week's walk, including some early Fall bloomers, as well as plenty of bugs. And there were two surprises: a squash vine growing by the parking lot and beginning of the Dykeman Walking Trail that has sprouted blossoms (one with a visitor); and a juvenile Great Blue Heron hanging out by the north duck pond.

A note on how the final pictures emerge... The first shot below started out as a shot of the complete blossom and part of the vegetation, but as I cropped and tweaked it became obvious that the star of the show was the little pollen-covered critter in the middle. So one more crop and the real picture from that shot emerged.

A Dwarf Bumblebee gathering goodies in a Squash blossom

White Snakeroot growing along the Dykeman Walking Trail

Arrowwood Viburnum with berries along the Dykeman Walking Trail. When the berries ripen they'll be a dark blue/black.

A juvenile Great Blue Heron by the north duck pond

The resident pair of Muscovy ducks by the north duck pond

A faded Painted Lady butterfly on Snakeroot up on the meadow

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger