We discovered a new animal on our land this week – in a large den on Fallen Oak Point. We were especially curious because the hole was so big – at least a foot in diameter.

We’ve seen a few holes that size before, but we’ve never figured out what kinds of animals live in them.

This is the hole – in a sandy place on the hillside.

We borrowed a special camera from our friend Danny to see if we could figure out who lives there. It’s a digital camera connected to a motion sensor, and inside a weather-proof case. It took me a few tries to get it set up right, and then we got some photos – it’s a badger!

There are deer and fawns everywhere right now – they’ve forgotten about hunting season, so they aren’t very afraid of us.

We’ve had more rain, so there are lots of mushrooms in the woods.

Shaggy Manes

Coral Fungus

There are more Giant Swallowtails this year than I’ve ever seen before. One morning I counted 16 along the driveway. The rain has made muddy puddles where they can sip up salts. I like them so much that I’ve been taking lots of pictures!

The other summer butterflies are appearing.

Viceroys

Red Spotted Purples

Mike found some great butterflies on the driveway on one of his walks – Viceroys, Northern Crescents, and a White Admiral.

He also saw a Brown Snake.

There are new flowers blooming.

False Dandelion (Krigia biflora)

This photo is nice because you can see that each one of the “petals” is actually a flower.

This is its more normal “dandelion like” look.

Low Bindweed (Calystegia spithamaea)

Figwort (Scrophularia lanceolata)

Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)

Wild White Indigo (Baptisia alba)

Wild Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum canadense)

Balsam Ragwort (Senecio paupercula)

Yellow Star-grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

Honewort (Cryptotaenia canadensis)

Buttercup (Ranunculus acris)– not a native but a nice flower

The raspberries are in bloom

This is Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron) – an unusual fern that grows along the cabin trail.

I saw a rust on one of our Cedar trees. It’s Cedar-apple rust – a rust that primarily infects cedar trees, but apple is its alternate host. It doesn’t harm the apple trees, but it makes spots on the leaves and on the fruit.

The plants on the floor of the woods are taller now, higher than my knees. When I walk through them I scare up moths and all kinds of other insects. Most of the moths are small and brown and white with ragged edges on their wings.

I’ve read that when aspens are girdled, the exposed wood turns red after a day or two. I’ve looked for the red color, but I’d never seen it until this week. I walked up to Fallen Oak Point to work on my girdling project, and found that some of the trees I had girdled a day or so before had turned red.

This rabbit was munching on the grass outside our kitchen window.

The woodchucks and their babies are exploring the rocks behind the house.