It was too hot to do much hard work this week. Mike did some maintenance on the Powertrac and mowed the prairie by the house, Parsnip field and some of the trails.
I walked in the wetland and collected marsh marigold and sedge seeds (and got a strip of bad sunburn on my back in the gap between my shorts and shirt). Canada Anemones are in bloom – big fields of them.

Here’s what the flowers look like.

I found some Marsh Peas (Lathrus palustris).

Lots of Baltimore Checkerspot butterflies.

And a few Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars.

I saw a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth sitting still on a plant of Great Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea) – it’s the only time I’ve ever seen one sitting completely still. Usually their wings are moving so fast that they’re a blur – it was nice to be able to get a good look. I was wondering if it was hurt, but after letting me take several photos, it did fly away. It was difficult to take a picture because it was at the very top of the 6 foot tall plant, at the top of a steep slope along the ditch by the road.
Here’s one photo.

And here’s another more unusual photo of it.

I’m collecting photos of some of the beautiful and interesting insects that I see – I wish I could identify all of them. Here’s one I found on a leaf in the woods.

The upper prairies are looking pretty good this year. Mike mowed some of the areas where Yellow Sweet Clover was blooming, and I pulled some White and Yellow Sweet Clover by hand. But there are lots of prairie plants coming up in both the Narrows Prairie and the Cat’s Paw Prairie – I think they’ll look nice later in the summer. The Black-eyed Susans are just starting to bloom.

And here’s a Wild Rose

On the way back to the house after a walk we saw two fawns in the driveway.

The Phoebe has 6 eggs in her nest, and has started incubating them. She still flies away every time we open the front door.