A Sunday Walk in the Park

 

 For the past couple of days it has been raining intermittently, which caused some puddles to form on the walking paths in the park. Yesterday during my walk, I observed a dragonfly diving tail end down into one of the puddles to release her eggs.  Even though it rained last night, by this morning’s walk the puddle the dragonfly was laying her eggs into was completely dried up. As I walked further down the path, I came upon a field of milkweed and saw a monarch butterfly among the leaves. The lifecycle of the monarch butterfly depends very heavily on this plant. The monarchs lay their eggs on the milkweed leaves and when the eggs hatch the caterpillars feed on the plant.  Although it was cooler today, there were very few people on the trails probably because it was, as the Irish would describe, a “soft day.”  It’s the type of weather that produces a soft, diffuse lighting which makes all the green vegetation appear to glow. The ferns in particular looked very lush and green, and it made me feel as though I were in another place and time.  When I looked deep into the woods, I could imagine a medieval figure on horseback galloping by. But the reality is that today I saw almost nothing in the woods, neither bird nor mammal.

Swan vs Muskrat

  

I usually walk in the morning at Connetquot but because it was raining today, I waited until late afternoon. My consolation in delaying my walk was the hope that I might see creatures late in the day that I don't normally see in the morning.  When I came to the bridge near the fish hatchery, I stopped to watch a family of swans as they quietly glided along the pond. The tranquil scene was suddenly interrupted when a muskrat swam in front of one of the adult swans. The swan thrashed at the muskrat, letting it know it didn't like the invasion of its space. The unflustered muskrat just kept swimming, going under the bridge that I was standing on. I waited and watched a few minutes but I did not see it cross under the bridge. I left the pond area because, like the swan, I didn't want close contact with a muskrat.

Sulphur Butterfly and Chicory

“The grass grows long in the meadow,

It’s russet under the sun,

And Chicory, like a blue-eyed girl,

Rises as if to run.”

Louise Driscoll, July Meadow.

Mother Nature can certainly paint a lovely picture and here on her palette are the spring-like colors of chicory, grass and a dainty yellow butterfly. Every summer I am delighted when I see the chicory flowers starting to bloom along the roadways in our area. It is such a hardy wildflower or weed (depending on your point of view) that it sometimes even grows out of cement sidewalk cracks. Although the plant is weedy and not attractive, the flower color is fabulous, as you can see in this photo that was taken in a field, not far from the fish hatchery, at the Connetquot River State Park.

Common Whitetail

 

While walking this morning in Connetquot River State Park, I spotted this common whitetail skimmer. It's easy to see why this dragonfly got its name, with its striking white abdomen. Because only a mature male has a white tail, it's also easy to determine what sex it is. In the second picture the dragonfly is spread out on the ground, sunning itself. Dragonflies often do this in the morning to warm up their wing muscles before starting their day of flying.

Skippers

My black-eyed Susan flowers attract a lot of skippers. Although they are butterflies, skippers resemble moths with their stout and drab bodies.  Their flight is very distinctive because it is bouncy and erratic.

Monarch on Mullein

This is a picture I took about a year ago at the Connetquot River State Park. Although I have taken many thousands of shots since this one, it is still one of  my favorites. This very stately wildflower is mullein and it's nickname is Quaker’s rouge because Quaker girls, who were forbidden to wear makeup, would rub the leaves on their cheeks to cause a blush to appear. The plant is popular with insects, such as this monarch butterfly, because its bright yellow flowers are a good source of nectar.

Song Sparrow

Greeting me this morning, as I was watering the backyard garden, was this cute song sparrow. He was flitting from tree to tree and singing merrily. He put me in such a happy and optimistic mood that my morning chores didn’t bother me in the least.

Red Admiral

The Red Admiral butterfly is a common sight at the Connetquot River State Park. The reason is that horseback riding is permitted at the park and these lovely creatures can get their required moisture and nutrients from horse manure. You can often see one on a mound of manure. I chose not to go with a picture of that.

Ospreys

In some European countries, storks build nests on platforms placed for them on roof tops. Many Europeans believe that having a stork nest on your rooftop is lucky.  We don't have storks in our area but we do have ospreys and they, like the storks, will build nests on high platforms. During the 1950s and 60s, the population of the ospreys declined in our area, the reason mainly being the use of DDT and other pesticides. Fortunately, these birds have made a comeback to Oakdale thanks to the banning of DDT and also the creation of manmade platforms for their nests. This particular osprey nest is close to Rattlesnake Creek and Bubbles Falls, both great fishing spots for this bird that some believe brings our residents good luck.