An orange blur crossed my path: my first European skipper of the season.
Yarrow is an interesting plant. It doesn't seem to attract many butterflies, but the things it does attract are unusual.
The antennae told me immediately that this was probably a fly; the face confirmed it. My old text said thick-headed flies are ususually found on flowers and parasitize wasps and bumble bees.
Once would be one thing, but several times I noticed a bug perched on top of a grass stalk.
Gray dogwood was blooming everywhere filling the air with its punky odor.
By the Old Pumphouse angelica was making its annual appearance.
A passerby reminded me why I consider the Appendix special - that spot where the Cary Pines and Wappinger Creek Trails meet at the creek. I'd have missed dead man's fingers and coral fungus. And our discussion of the black-throated green and pine warblers was interrupted when a great blue heron glided in for a landing.
It was sprinkling when I eventually got to the Fern Glen.
Around the limestone cobble twinleaf pods would soon be popping.
Back in the acid shale columbine was forming seed pods.
In the fen elderberry was thinking about it (along the pond it had already started).
I thought blueberry had already blossomed. I turned around and found the berries of one I knew. Oh yes, maleberry. Closer inspection revealed the little brown capsule of last years seeds.
By the stone bridge the colony of Indian cucumber root was looking even better than last year. It's a tiny member of the lily family.
Near the kiosk Bowman's root was blooming in several locations.
