"Out & About" Photo Blog: 2nd Marsh -- August 27th, 2012

The marsh is looking as you'd expect it to at this time of year, as it transitions from summer to fall. Lots of brown, but still more green than brown. The yellows of Goldenrod are everywhere and there are big patches of orange Touch-me-Not. But there's still lots of Himalayan Balsam too, adding its pinks to the mix.

And Wild Cucumber of course...

A niche for one.

An Ash leaf, with its seven leaflets, on the boardwalk.

It's almost as though nature is saying that she wants her trees back.

A Monarch brightens any day.

You don't need a machete yet to get by the Beaver Pond, but you may soon. :-)

After the rain...

One of nature's jumbles, with the first Wild Cucumber fruit that I've seen this year.

A female Cabbage White butterfly on a Queen Anne's Lace "bird nest ". The male joined her for a chat, but she wasn't in a talkative mood.

Himalayan Balsam is scattered through the marsh in the sunnier areas.

It's impossible to see the details of a bee as they're flitting about, but it shows clearly in images. Their legs and antennae are remarkably complex.

As I was watching the bees, a common name for the Himalayan Balsam came to mind-- "Bee-Bums". When the bees are in the blossoms gathering nectar, all you see is their bums, hence the name. Because of the angle I was at, you can see more than just its rear-end in this shot.

I think another of the common names for Himalayan Balsam-- "Poor Man's Orchid"... is appropriate too.

I noticed as the bees left the flower, they brushed their thorax(?) with their legs before they flew off. Not sure what that's about. Just brushing off the loose pollen maybe.

If you see one of these snails, more often than not you see dozens of them. There were 25 or so in this area. They're a species of Land Snail.

Notice their bumpy bodies.