It was 80°F, partly cloudy and calm at 1:15 PM on August 21, 2013.
Goldenrods were beginning to show off in the Old Hayfields.
The invasive Japanese stilt grass was becoming large enough to be obvious.
Mosquitoes were again largely absent with only a few thick spots.
The Trails
The goldenrods front Old Hayfield were actually brighter than this photo shows.
A Zabulon skipper was sunning along the Wappinger Creek Trail. They could be found in many places today.
Along that low, sandy section Japanese stilt grass was showing itself. Know it by its shiny mid rib. War has been waged on this new pest since its appearance here a year or two ago. Let's see if we put a dent in it last year.
On the Cary Pines Trail Canada mayflower berries were disappearing as fast as they were ripening.
A perfect fern looked as if it were planted on a log.
Nearby was a favorite partridgeberry in a hollow root, also looking as if it had been deliberately planted.
That "prickley ash" I found a while ago needed closer examination. As I feared, the leaves were toothed - it is more likely Hercules' club. Let's see if the deer allow it to flower.
In the Fern Glen a dragonfly kept returning to one perch.
Another favorite plant to hate is black swallow-wort. These knots seem to be the result of herbacide taking out the main vine, but not the root; all the side shoots come up like angry hornets.
In the Roeller Bed along the road, spikenard berries have been ripening more each week.
A least skipper was soaking up the afternoon sun by the base.
Sneezeweed was opening up near the bridge at the back of the pond.
Closed gentian near the front of the pond never looks much more open than it was today.
Whip-like stalks of jumpseed were reaching over the railing. Its tiny flowers would later become spring-loaded seeds.
In the shrub swamp witch hazel was sporting green seed pods.
What I was looking for was still there: the saddleback caterpillars - a little bigger than they were last week... and armed with even more stinging spines.
The Old Gravel Pit was the remaining mosquito strong hold. White snakeroot might have been better photoed in any of the many other places where it was blooming.
Right at the woods end of the Scotch Pine Alleé was a spotted apatalode caterpillar, looking a bit like Dennis the Menace's dog, Ruff.
