A trip to the VA Hospital for Larry's appointment last week meant another opportunity to stop by Green Bottom wildlife management area. You might remember this post about GreenBottom when we stopped by there in April. Now it is high summer in the bog, and the place is carpeted with wild hibiscus and American Lotus blossoms. (Edited--I thought they were water lilies but my friend Jenny corrected that. Actual name is N. lutea. Learning something new every day!)
I don't know the name of this little yellow flower--it's new to me. Can anyone identify it?
Deep shade, the sounds of thousands of insects and hundreds of birds filled the hot, humid air (temperatures were near 90 when we stopped).
One of dozens of dragonflies we saw as we followed the boardwalk through the swamp.
Another unknown flower. I'll have to find my flower identification books and take them with me next time we go to Greenbottom.
Another dragonfly. Their wings are so delicate, and their color is iridescent in the sun.
A hibiscus offers tempting pollination opportunities to the many bees that buzzed from flower to flower.
The water is murky, but we could see to the bottom, where tiny fish--or minnows, perhaps? darted quickly out of sight.
In this area the water was covered with green algae, looking uncannily like a field of grass.
Shy jewelweed hides in a shady spot beneath taller growth. This plant places itself near poison ivy often, which is very handy since jewelweed is a great antidote for the ivy. Simply break the stems and smear the jelly-like substance inside over the affected area.
A bee works on the blossom of a plant I call bindweed--I detest it in my gardens but here it has a singular beauty.
Visitors! Raccoons must find this place a paradise.
A little of the sights and sounds--a patch of busy water, and the songs of insects and birds.
Have a lovely day, my friends, and stay cool if you can. It will once again be near 90 degrees here.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
I'm pretty certain the yellow water plants are lotus'. If you come back later in the fall there should be their cool seed pods sticking up in place of the blooms.
ReplyDeleteJenny, you're right! I'll edit the post! I never even thought of lotus because to me that's an oriental plant. Thanks for the correction!
ReplyDelete