Nature Alphabet Challenge part 2

 And, now, the rest of the alphabet!

N

O

P

Q

Had to turn this one on its side too!

R

S

T

U

V

W

There may be many W's here, but I see one big one that fills the picture side to side.

X

This one is a lazy X.

Can you see who is watching me in the background?

X

This one is an embracing X!

Y

Kind of a two for one!

Z

I want to try this again in spring or summer.

Maybe I can find letter shapes in wildflowers too.

Nature Alphabet Challenge part 1

 My daughter suggested this challenge. Here are the rules as I understand them:

1. Find the letters (upper or lower case) of the alphabet in nature.

2. You may not alter nature in any way.

Here's what I have found so far:

A

(Nothing said I couldn't turn the camera 90 degrees!)

B

Can you see it?

C

D

E

F

G

(Takes a little imagination!)

H

I I I I I I I I

J

K

L

I think the water falling makes an "L".

M

Follow the tree tops.

More when I find them!

Sunrise Lake Birthday Fun

Sylvia and I have birthdays only 2 days apart at the very beginning of August. So today we celebrated with a trip to Sunrise Lake with my kayak. We took turns relaxing on shore and kayaking on the lake.

That dot in the distance is Sylvia in the kayak. ;-)

And it gave me the opportunity to find more wildflowers...water flower wildflowers!

Water Smartweed (Polygonum amphibium)

A close-up of Water Smartweed

Fragrant White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata)

Can you see the sky and clouds reflected in the water?

Yellow Pondlily (Nuphar advena)

Pondlilies serve many communities: Ducks eat the seeds. Moose and deer graze on the greens. Muskrats and Beavers relish the sweet rootstocks, storing catches of them for winter. 

Native Americans and frontier peoples, who cooked and ate the rootstocks like potatoes or pounded them into flour, sometimes raided the animal stockpiles!

(North American Wildlife)

Damselflies (Zygoptera) resting on a Pondlily.

Common Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifola)

According to my references, these will be flowering next month.

It was a lovely afternoon of sun, warmth, and water.

An excellent birthday adventure!

Happy Birthday, all you August babies!

More Wildflowers and a Few Critters

These pictures were all taken in the last 5 days.

I thought that I had pictures of Monarch butterfly eggs and larvae on Milkweed leaves, but the caterpillars were very obviously not Monarchs. Any guesses?

On to those that I can identify.

Common Cattail  (Typha latifola)

Queen Anne's Lace  (Daucus carota)

Swamp Milkweed  (Asclepias incarnata) in the wetlands.

Common Chicory  (Cichorium intybus) growing along the side of the road.

White-tailed Deer, young male  (Odocoileus virginianus)
This is the first buck that I have seen on my property in 16 years!

White-tailed Deer, curious fawn and mother

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
Native Americans used the leaves for tea and the plant for treating nosebleed.

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) growing along the creek

Wild Beach Pea with pea pods (Lathyrus japonicus)

White Heather Aster (Aster ericoides)

Catnip  (Nepeta cataria)  My cat's favorite!

Yes! This is a chipmunk in a tree!
Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) in the Black Cherry Tree (Prunus serotina) eating the cherry fruits.
An American Robin (Turdus migratorius) was eating at the top of the tree at the same time!

GraMary's Michigan Wildflower Journal - Challenge # 44

Here are 11 wildflower pictures taken between June 29 and July 3, 2020.

1.

Common Milkweed
Monarch butterflies need Milkweed to make them taste bad to predators.
Milkweed needs Monarchs to pollinate their flowers.
Read more: Monarchs and Milkweed: A Beautiful Friendship

2.

Common Orange Day Lilies - In my front garden

Common Orange Day Lily - Each bloom really is open only one day!

3.

Canada Thistle - This one is as tall as I am.

4.

Ox-eye Daisies (also known as White Daisy or Field Daisy)
My whole back yard fills with these each June.

5.

Orange Hawkweed 
I often see Tiger Swallowtail butterflies drinking nectar from these.

6.

Wild Iris
There is a whole field of these in the wetlands near the creek.

7.

Wild Beach Pea
These grow abundantly along roadsides and near beaches.

8.

Common Mullein
We used to call this "Girl Scout toilet paper" because
the leaves are so big and soft that they can be used in an "emergency"!

9.

Black-eyed Susan
I always called them "Brown-eyed Susan", but none of the books do.

10.

Heal-All or Self-Heal
Used for cleaning open sores or wounds

11.

St. John's-wort
Used medicinally for depression