A meadow walk .....observations

I took a mid-day walk in the local park near work.
It is an old pasture with lots of wildflowers.

The earth and plants heated by the sun produced a wonderful fragrance
as I walk up the hill toward the inviting shade of the woods.

Indian Paintbrushes we called these as kids.

Wild Sweet Pea, a new one for me.

Blue Vetch, beautiful in the wild with these milk weed plants
and briars but you never want it in your garden!

Pink Mountain Laurel

Red clover

Coming back to the office after my traipse I find this fellow
sunning on the walkway.

Purple Post

(Joe Pie Weed)
I was on a walk-about and saw bits of purple everywhere.

Eye-candy I caught at the local farm stand.

(Bee Balm)

If you look close there are bees buzzing about.

This hedge of Bee Balm makes its home at the edge of the parking lot at work.
It managed to sneak under the fence to our side.

Cone flower in the early morning light.

(Echinacia Purpurea)
Here with a daddy long-legs.

Ruby Tuesday : Pitcher plant blossom

Pitcher plant, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

This shot was taken from under the blossom. My little camera on macro point and shoot and almost in the boggy muck. I couldn't see what it looked like until after the shot was taken.

Bog Trot in June

Out on the boardwalk for another peek at what is blooming in the bog. The boards move a bit as you walk. You hear squish and gurgle with each new step. Where the boards have sunk into the peat you might even get your feet wet.

Stay on the path or you could sink out of sight.

Bunchberry, part of the Dogwood Family
also known as Ground Dogberry.

Sheep Laurel: poisonous to live stock.

I couldn't figure out what these tiny blooms were.
At first I didn't even see them.

It was a warm and muggy day. Sparrows and chickadees where singing in the trees. I was startled twice by frogs and birds when I disturbed their quite spot. A great lunch time trot.

Vermont's State flower : Red Clover

In the tall field grass wildflowers grow and bloom. The smell of the warm moist earth mingled with the sweet fragrance of grass and clover. A gentle breeze made the whole meadow dance about. I could have stayed and sat for hours in the warm sunshine but I needed to return to work.

Ruby Tuesday

Japanese Barberry
Beautiful as it may be it is considered invasive.

Pros:

• Beautiful berries and orange-purple foliage in the fall.
• Folk medicine uses for its antibacterial properties & the treatment of intestinal symptoms.
• Birds nest in the shrubs, protected by its thorny branches.
• Hedges make natural fences.
  
• Roots and stem make a deep yellow natural dye.

Cons:

• Displacing native plant species.
• This in turn reduces the variety of wildlife habitat and forage.
  
• Extremely difficult to eradicate due to its long tap root.

Check the others at: workofthepoet.blogspot.com

Bittersweet

Wild Strawberry with a Light Frost

Wild Strawberry with Light Frost, originally uploaded by addvt2nh.

Frost has come to our region. Most annual plants have been killed by it. And most mornings we are now scraping it from our windshields. The temps go down just below freezing at night and most days are 40 to 60 degrees. The leaves are still falling and there remains a lot of raking to be done.

walk about

Clover

Queen Anne's Lace

Pink Queen Anne's Lace
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Daucus carot, also called Wild Carrot. It is a common plant in dry fields, ditches, and open areas. It was introduced from Europe, and the carrots that we eat today were once cultivated from this plant.

It takes its common name from a British monarch who was adept at lace-making, and the plant's flower certainly is lace-like, resembling an old-fashioned doily.

Activities in the meadow

"He said the pleasantest manner of spending a hot July day was lying from morning till evening on a bank of heath in the middle of the moors, with the bees humming dreamily about among the bloom, and the larks singing high up overhead, and the blue sky and bright sun shining steadily and cloudlessly." ~ Emily Bronte

Blooms in the Garden

a>Zinnas
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