Journal for July 7, 2015

We’ve had lots of visitors in the last few weeks, and wonderful summer weather.    The prairies still have their early summer flowers, and the later flowers are poised to start blooming any day.

A few of those early summer flowers…

Thimbleweed

anemone

 

Frostweed – a flower that only blooms in the mornings.

Helianthemum bicknellii 6-20-15

 

White Camas – a plant of ‘special concern’ in Wisconsin

Zigadenus elegans 6-26-15

 

Prairie Larkspur

Larkspur

 

Prairie Coreopsis

Coreopsis palmata 6-26-15 2

 

And one of the late summer flowers – Leadplant – just beginning to bloom

leadplant

 

Butterflyweed flowers have been covered with butterflies – this one has Silvery Checkerspots, Northern Crescents, and one Aphrodite Fritillary.

milkweed blossoms 2

 

We’re seeing lots of hairstreaks – small dark butterflies chasing each other across the tops of the plants.  This is an Edwards’ Hairstreak.

Edwards Hairstreak 6-24-15 1

 

Common Milkweed is in full bloom.  It has wonderfully fragrant flowers, which are very attractive to bees and butterflies.

milkweed blossoms

 

And of course, Monarch caterpillars eat its leaves.

monarch caterpillar

 

We’ve gotten a few new Bench Pictures for our collection …..

A botanical medicine class that wanted to learn about prairie restoration

2015-6-20 botanical medicine class tour

 

Tristin, who is working on Buffalo County prairie restoration

2015-6-29 Marcie Tristin

 

Our friends Shelley and David, and their friends Dick and Ray

2015-7-1 friends

 

And more friends – Chris, Marla, Sol and Ruth.

2015-7-5 Chris Sol Marla Ruth

 

A pair of Sandhill Cranes has been stopping by some of the fields along the road.  We keep hoping they’re scouting out a nest location for next year, and that they’ll choose a place on our land.   One day they wandered through the old hayfield below Sumac Prairie – this picture was taken from the other side of the valley.

Sandhill Cranes 6-22-15

 

A large bobcat on one of the trail cameras

7-4-15 bobcat

 

Marcie and Mike on one of the trail cameras….

7-4-15 m and m

 

And less than 10 minutes later, in the same spot…..

7-4-15 bear

 

The moth watching has been great – warm nights have brought out all the mid-summer moths.

Reversed Haploa
Haploa reversa T 7-4-15 1

 

Green-patched Looper  –  or another, newer name – Hologram Moth

Diachrysia balluca 7-3-15 1

 

Virgin Tiger Moth

Grammia virgo 7-3-15 1

 

Raspberry Pyrausta

Pyrausta signatalis 7-4-15 1

 

Spotted Apatelodes

Apatelodes torrefacta 7-4-15 1

 

Beautiful Wood-nymph

Eudryas grata 7-3-15 2

 

Beautiful Wood-nymphs have bright orange-yellow hind wings which I almost never get to photograph.  Here’s one blurry shot while it was fluttering its way up the sheet.

Eudryas grata 7-3-15 1

 

I’ve had other visitors to my moth sheet too.

A Tree Frog

tree frog

 

And a mouse.

mouse at lights