Anybody Seen My Focus?

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 29th, 2015 (Part 1)

-->June 29th. I started to walk again at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia. One of my favorite walks is from the Group Shelter A to the Old Fort and back.This is a rewarding walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been trying to walk it weekly and document the wildflowers I see.

The route, which I described here, here, and here.

The early spring wildflowers have finished blooming; it’s time to watch the developing fruit. A few late spring/summer wildflowers are blooming now.

The seed capsules were still developing on this Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus). The seed capsules may have swollen slightly but there weren’t as many as there had been.

Starry Rosinweeds (Silphium astericus) were still blooming by the trail just beyond the Strawberry Bush. There weren’t many buds waiting to bloom now.

A few critters that I wasn’t able to identify crossed my path.

A pale green leafhopper with cute ‘bug eyes;’ and a…

dragonfly (upper) and damselfly (lower) – probably tenerals (newly emerged) – that I haven’t been able to identify.

I wandered along the edge of the disc golf ‘green’ and found…

scuppernongs developing.

The surviving Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) plants, that had not been eaten, still had berries that were ripening.

The seed capsules on the Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) just past the first bridge, were still healthy.

The Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) bushes were still full of berries. I wonder if these ever ripen.

The seed capsule on the Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) plant was still hard.

The seed capsules on Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) vines were still doing nicely too.

The Nakedflower Ticktrefoil (Desmodium nudiflorum) stalks were still blooming, and some were…

already developing seed pods.

The seed capsules on the witchhazel bush (Hamamelis sp.) were still doing well, as were those on the...

Mountain Azalea (Rhododendron canescens) bush at the top of the cliff.

Just a little further along the trail above the cliff, I’d spotted some bracket fungi at the base of the stump of a dead tree. I took a closer look this time.

From a distance.

The edge and pore surface, that were pure white a week previously, now had a slight purple color.

Closer views of these brackets that I still haven’t identified, but am leaning towards Nigroporus vinosus at the moment.

Then, onto the Fishing Area and the ‘Rock Garden.’

(To be continued…)

Reference:

- Mushroom Expert: Nigroporus vinosus

- Orange Sponge Polypore (Pycnoporellus alboluteus)?

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Road Trip: Wilkes – McDuffie Counties, June 26th, 2015 (Part 2)

June 26th. (Continued from…). Once again, it was time for a road trip to monitor frogs. So, as usual, we used the trip to scout wildflowers.

From Enoch John Road, we crossed Sandtown Road onto Jones Chapel Road, heading for the Fishing Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Part way down the road, we were confronted with more than…

two dozen Variegated Fritillaries (Euptoieta claudia) ravenously feeding on Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) flowers. These were the only flowers in sight and the fritillaries were making the best of them. They were moving so rapidly, I only managed this one shot.

The Fishing Creek WMA isn’t the greatest place for wildflowers but we can count on finding Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis) in a couple of places. These plants are easy to identify, even when they are not in bloom; their…

leaves look leathery with undulating margins but the cardinal characteristic is how they ‘clasp’ around the stem. Several plants had…

developing seed follicles. This one was outstanding, with four follicles.

We drove down to a point overlooking the Fishing Creek inlet to Clarks Hill Lake on the Savannah River, where…

Buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis) were blooming over the water.

A small movement on the ground attracted my attention. It was a…

Small toad – about ½ to ¾ inches long. It hopped ahead of me and stayed in the shade, making photographing it challenging. It’s probably a Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus [Bufo] fowleri). It’s not the first time we’ve seen baby toads in this same spot.

We headed back out of the WMA and turned right on Ohara Standard Road, where we had found Narrowleaf Evening Primrose (Oenothera fructicosa) plants in bloom on our previous trip.

This time, some Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) were still blooming. Being almost the only ‘game in town,’ they had attracted a…

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), and a…

Thread-waisted Wasp (Ammophila sp.), neither of which was discouraged by my presence.

We headed over to the Broad River WMA via Bolton Road where we were tantalized by the sight of…

Clematis sp. seeds. Based on the flowering seasons of Clematis sp., these probably were one of the species with small, bell-shaped flowers. These may have been blooming on our previous trip but we overlooked them because they would blend into their background. We’re going to make a note to look for flowers earlier in the year now that we know precisely where to look for them.

We still had plenty of sunlight left. We can’t start the frog survey until dark when the frogs start to call. So we decided to drive down GA-17 to Clarks Hill WMA. This is a better spot for wildflowers. At the right time of year, we’ve found Birdfoot Violets (Viola pedata), White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba), and Indian Pink (Spigella marilandica). The roadside is mowed and the edge of this zone is often the best plat to find wildflowers.

At the end of one road, we found…

Pigeonwings (Clitoria mariana), and a…

Spiked Hoarypea (Tephrosia spicata).

At the edge of the woods, we saw a…

tree that had been thoroughly worked over by woodpeckers.

Right at the edge of the mowed area, we spotted a lone…

Rosepink (Sabatia angularis) plant in...

bloom. It would have been easy to miss this in the late afternoon sun.

We found one of the gates that is usually closed was open so we took the opportunity to drive through and we made our final spotting of the day.

From a distance, the plants did look like much, but there were a lot of them. When I walked over to them, I could see the similarity of the…

flower heads to the Hoary Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum incanum).

The leaves, however, were quite narrow compared with the Hoary Mountainmint. A little bit of research revealed that this was the Narrowleaf Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium).

Close-up views of the flowers.

Once again, we had a successful trip meeting old friends, encountering some mysteries, and making at least one new friend.

- Road Trip: Wilkes – McDuffie Counties, June 26th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Wilkes County, Georgia: Fishing Creek And Broad River Wildlife Management Areas

- Narrowleaf Evening Primrose (Oenothera fruticosa)

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Road Trip: Wilkes – McDuffie Counties, June 26th, 2015 (Part 1)

June 26th. Once again, it was time for a road trip to monitor frogs. So, as usual, we used the trip to scout wildflowers.

We started the trip at the west end of Enoch John Road. On the section of road between Danburg Road and Anderson Mill Creek, I think I spent more time at the edge of, straddling, or in roadside ditches while photographing flowers.

There were the ‘usual suspects,’…

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata),…

Starry Rosinweed (Silphium astericus),…

Hairy Angelica (Angelica venenosa), and

Heal-all (Prunella vulgaris).

A wild petunia, that I expected would be the Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis), turned out to be the Stalked Wild Petunia (Ruellia pedunculata); a nice surprise.

At the Anderson Mill Swamp, I found a…