June 15th. (Continued from…) 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 early spring wildflowers have finished blooming; it’s time to
watch the developing fruit. A few late spring/summer wildflowers are blooming
now.
I solved part of a mystery on this walk. Some time
previously, I had photographed this…
fungus that looked like an ornate bracket fungus but I
hadn’t been able to identify it. Sometime since my previous walk,
something/someone had…
knocked a section from one of them. Suddenly the mystery was
partially solved. This was composed of several bracket
fungi with…
polypores; I managed to detach a section of one
bracket to comfirm the presence of pores. These individual bracket fungi had
drooped to overlap and, unlike many mushrooms that would simply dry up and fall
off, had dried to give the impression of a single entity. I should have figured
it out but this exposure had certainly clarified what had happened. They were
still leathery to the touch but were dead. Ants had built nests in the snag;
the ants may have eaten the mycelium. Now to try and identify them.
Another surprise. On the uphill side of the
trail, I found several stalks of…
Nakedflower Ticktrefoil (Desmodium nudiflorum) were
blooming. I’d forgotten they were here. I prefer desmodiums to lespedezas – the
clear flowers with the two accent ‘eyes’ - so I was delighted to find these.
The second Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) seedpod
was doing nicely. I tend to miss it now that its weight has caused it to droop
below the leaves (Top) and have to carefully move the leaves aside (Bottom) to
expose it for a good photo.
When I got to the Fishing Area, I found that the Buttonbush
(Cephalanthus occidentalis) bushes had started to bloom.
I found this small hoverfly - Toxomerus geminatus – feeding on
the flowers. (Thanks to Bug Guide for this identification).
This was a good day for dragonflies and damselflies.
This Slaty Skimmer (Libellula
incesta) let me get quite close. While I was
photographing it flew over to a sweetgum leaf out over the water and, a few
minutes later, returned to a…
nearby branch with a mate in tow - literally.
There were also a lot of male Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis) flying around in the area; this
was the favorite perch. I didn’t see any female Blue Dashers in the area.
The Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) seed capsule
was still developing.
I also found another small Strawberry Bush (Euonymus
americanus) bush with developing fruit.
I made my way along to the Old Fort.
Another Buttonbush and a sedge were blooming.
By the trail back down to the Fishing Area, I found more…
Back at the Fishing Area, where I had seen the dragonfly,
there were a…
pair of Blue-fronted Dancers (Argia apicalis) damselflies
that had mated. The female was laying eggs.
A Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) was resting on a branch nearby.
The final ‘find’ for the day were some Annual Blue-eyed
Grasses (Sisyrinchium rosulatum) in bloom.
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