More Roadside Flowers, Spiders, and Fritillaries

On our Monday trek to Hampton today I noticed a vibrant pink flower blooming on a tall, leggy-looking plant.  After consulting the field guide, I have identified this one as a Meadow Beauty – and it looks to be Rhexia mariana, Maryland Meadowbeauty.  Also spotted new this week (it was probably there last week and I did not notice it) is Camphor Weed, Heterotheca subaxillaris.  The Camphor Weed is along the roadside mixed in among the Goldenrod and other plants.  The Meadow Beauty was in a few places.  One large patch I spied on t he right of Highway 92 (as I headed south) just before the turn onto Hampton Road.  Once into Clayton County I spotted it on Lower Woolsey Road in a few places.  One place that it was easy to see was the right side of Lower Woolsey Road near the left turn that takes you just behind the Atlanta Speedway.  Those patches were not large – but it was not hard to see those bright, bubble-gum pink blooms along the roadway.  The beautiful field of Sneezeweed (across the road from the speedway ) that I photographed last week is gone.  The large mower-tractor-thing is still sitting in the field – but all the flowers are gone.  Oh well.  There is still another "field of blooms" near there (to the right on Lower Woolsey Road just past the turn for the speedway) – maybe I will get there tomorrow.  Those fair weather cumulus clouds were there today – with an aqua sky – hopefully if I take along the camera the same will be there tomorrow.

 

This afternoon the backyard was a good place to spend a few minutes.  The giant zinnias I planted back in May are huge and blooming in a variety of colors.  There are blooms in light and bright pink, creamy white, orange and red.  A couple of the blooms are larger than my fist.  One older orange bloom was resting on the rocks that line the bed areas inside the fence.  The faded orange of the bloom against the steely bluish rock was pretty.  I snapped a photo of that.  There was a new bloom – bright pink.  When I adjusted the depth of field to blur the background of green leaves – the pink j umped out.  The blurred green with the bright pink/fuchsia flower with lemon yellow disc flowers – this made a marvelously colorful photo.  When writing this I had to look up what those little yellow parts of the zinnia are called.  A zinnia is a composite flower (others in this family are sunflowers, chrysanthemum, and good ol' sneezeweed to name a few).   Think of how the head of a zinnia looks – the petals around the edge are called the "ray flowers" the yellow tiny flowers that compose the center or edge the center of the zinnia are called the "disc flowers."  For a good photo and written description of composite flowers – and especially a zinnia go to http://www.backyardnatu re.net/fl_comps.htm and scroll about halfway down the page.

 

Aside from the zinnias – there were a couple Black and Yellow Argiope spiders on one of my purple butterfly bushes.  This bush is also home to the egg sac.  While I was busy getting a good shot of one of these and her web I noticed a butterfly getting dangerously close.  The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, is seen often in the yard on the zinnias and the butterfly bushes.  Before it flew away to another yard I got a couple shots of it on a pink zinnia.  Here is a link showing two Gulf Fritillaries on a Mexican Sunflower – and you can spot the disc and the ray flowers on the bloom.  http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/387/

 

Update on the link to the skink info on the blog dated September 8.  Someone emailed me that the link for the skink I provided was no longer working.  I hope this one is!  http://dromus.nhm.uga.edu/~GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=speciespages/species_page&key=efasciatus (I just tried this one and it works – you need to scroll down when you get the page up.  It looks like a blank page until you do.)

Native Plants Along the Roadside

As you drive along do you notice the blooming native plants?  I like to look at what is blooming.  In the spring you will see orange daylilies and oxeye daisies lining the ditches.  What I have seen blooming along the side of the road this week has made me start carrying the camera around with me.  There is a tall purple flower that I see near wet areas – it is Ironweed, Vernonia altissima.  Another tall purple flowering plant for this time of year is Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium maculatum.  There are a few yellow flowers I have seen – one is in part shade – near the edges of woodland areas -- Woodland Sunflower, Helianthus divaricatus.   These are tall and wiry stemmed plants.  There is another – you see it all along the side of the road and in cow pastures -- Helenium autumnale, Common Sneezeweed or Fall Sneezeweed.  Sneezeweed doesn't make you sneeze.  Well, I guess it sort of does – the name comes from its usage – the leaves of the plant were dried to make snuff that was inhaled for the purpose to cause you to sneeze and rid your body of what ailed it. Sneezeweed is also called Bitter weed.  If cows dine on Bitterweed, their milk will taste bitter.  I have never heard if the cows think it tastes bitter or even if they like to eat it.  You would think something called Bitterweed would not be something good to eat.  The Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis has just started to bloom.  Most of the really tall plants have not – but you can see the yellow peeping from the buds.  Goldenrod gets blamed for a lot of allergy symptoms this time of year.  It is not the culprit.  The pollen from Goldenrod is too large to really cause a problem.  There is another plant blooming now – it hardly gets noticed – Ragweed.   Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia is in the aster family – just as Goldenrod.  Ragweed is a tall plant – six feet.  The blooms are six-inch clusters of tiny, greenish, bell-shaped flowers.  The stems are coarse, hairy and branched.  Your stuffy nose and itchy eyes are more than likely the result of Ragweed pollen flying about.

 

Twice a week I take my daughter to classes in Hampton.  We drive right by the Atlanta Speedway.  There are a couple fields there (right across the road from the racetrack) that are covered with Sneezeweed.  The field is a blanket of yellow.  Yesterday I put the camera in the car with full intent of driving over to take some shots of the fields.  By the time I arrived the sun was too high – and not in a good spot for me at all.  I snapped a few shots – but they were not good and have already be en deleted.  Perhaps I will get back over there early enough to get a good shot – or head over late in the day.   The day I was there – and the sun was not in the right place – the clouds were almost nonexistent.  It would be a much nicer photo with those light, fluffy, fair weather cumulus clouds in a bright blue sky.  The yellow field, blue sky, and white clouds would make a perfect landscape photo.  There is a section of road very near to me with a great crop of Goldenrod on the side about to bloom.  When it finally does bloom – again I am hoping for some good cloud days to add to the photos!

Clouds

Yesterday – for most of the day – was a good cloud day.  I did not get to take a photo of them.  Rats!  I was on the road taking photos to the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia.  It is a nice drive down 75 to Perry (a little south of Macon).  The Middle Georgia Camera Club (Macon, Georgia) handles the photo contest.  They are very nice and fun to chat with.  It is a big job logging in hundreds of photos from people all over the state.  The dates for the fair are October 4 through 14.  You can find out all about it at the website:  www.georgianationalfair.com

 

I love to look at clouds – they are pretty!  Well – most of them are.  Since Humberto was moving through Georgia yesterday the clouds were pretty and numerous.  There were also some storms late yesterday – great clouds formations – but a lot of lightning, wind and rain!  Those big white fluffy clouds are my favorite.  They are called fair weather cumulus clouds – to me they are puffy cotton or a pile of mashed potatoes.  Their flat bases are one of their best features.  It looks like there is an invisible glass plate underneath them.  When you have an expansive view – the plate looks like it goes on to infinity hold up these whipped cream clouds.  These light, fluffy, happy clouds can – and sometimes do – turn into storm clouds.   The thermals and moisture in the air that create the fair weather cumulus will sometimes be so great the development continues into a cumulonimbus cloud.  Individually these are thunderstorms – in a group they are called a squall line.  Late yesterday afternoon – in the Atlanta area – we experienced a squall line.

 

Those fair weather cumulus clouds are beautiful with a vibrant blue sky.  On a day like that – and the sun is usually bright – a polarizing filter comes in handy.  That filter will help keep the sky the vibrant blue in your photo.   Color photos of clouds are wonderful – the bright blue, the clean white – but sometimes I like the look of a black and white cloud photo.  The striking contrast of the white cloud against the darker sky – in monochrome – is a beautiful scene.  Your eye knows the colors it should be.  When you remove the color from the composition – your eye begins to fully examine the cloud – seeing the shape. 

 

There is some uninterrupted space (undeveloped land) near my home.  Can you believe it???  When I see those bright, fluffy clouds in the gorgeous blue sky – I grab the wide angle lens (I have a 14mm Tamron f2.8) and head over there.  The area is a wetland that was in the works and seems to have been forgotten – but it gives me a nice, flat, open space with trees in the distance.  I can get a wide shot of the land, trees, and sky there.  When the trees begin to show fall colors – I am hoping for a sky like yesterday (before the storms) to capture a nice fall scene.

 

If you ever get a wild idea to actually look up the name of a cloud you photograph – or just like to observe.  The NOAA has a great photo library – here is a link to the cloud photos:  http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/brs/nwind3.htm.

A Skink in the House

So after the hawk story – the same day – a little later I am walking through the bedroom to put something in my closet. As I turn around to head out of the bedroom – across the room, in the floor – something catches my eye…

There is a skink in the bedroom! You know – one of those cute little five-lined dark lizards with the bright blue tail. Well there is one – in the bedroom floor – about eight inches in length (including the tail). The tail is really about half the size – so the body is only about 4 inches. And I make note that the tail is still attached because in my house – more than likely the cat finds these creatures before I ever know they are here. She will swat at them and put her foot on them – sometimes the tail – and usually what I find is a lizardless tail in the floor and wonder where the rest of it is. AND usually this is in the basement – not my bedroom! I get the all over body shiver when I think about slipping my foot into my Crocs only to find a lizard already there!

OK – so time to think – how can I get something this size out of the house the easiest way? Just last weekend I culled the massive book pile that lives under my side of the bed. A few weeks ago I cleaned out my closet. I am thinking if it heads in either direction I am sunk because there are so many places for this little guy to hide – I would have to take EVERYTHING out to find him! (Yes, I said I cleaned and culled -- but I still have a lot of stuff) Then I remember my daughter has a nice (I made it) butterfly net in the basement. We have used this for skinks in the past – you know catch inside and release OUTSIDE. So I ask her to go get it for me while I keep in eye on the current trespasser. Don't ask about the butterfly net and what she caught with it – it was educational and she is now a vegetarian – so never mind….

With butterfly net in hand I am standing in the doorway of the bedroom wondering what is the best approach. I decide to climb on the bed to try a swoop down from overhead – and it works! It works well until the skink notices the coat hanger that holds the net had a kink in it so it doesn't lay flat to the floor – so the skink escapes due to the kink. It runs under the bed to hide forever in the stacks of books. Oh no! I won't be able to reach for a book or magazine again! I lean the net against the wall in the hallway and head off to make some tea and think of what to do.

As I head back through the bedroom a few minutes later I remember how the cat loves for me to open the blinds so she can lay in the sunshine. Many times I have opened the blinds for her and spied a skink outside the window on the bricks, basking in the sun. Soooo, I think the little guy under the bed must be chilly with the air conditioning blowing – a little sun might be what he is looking for! I raise the blinds about a foot and leave the room. Thirty minutes later – there he is – smack in the middle of a sunspot and all spread out. Again, I grab the trusty butterfly net and creep onto the bed. He saw me coming this time and ran under one of my husband's shoes. I keep the net close with one hand and lift the shoe with the other hand. He scurried up against the old trunk I have in the bedroom – he is slam up against it! So I put the net right in front of him and drop the shoe right behind him. When that shoe hit the floor – he ran so fast – right into the net! YAY! The next minute he was outside under a bush.

We have had skinks in the house before – twice I have found them after the cat did – tail still attached but they had bite marks on their bodies. It has happened in late September both times. The first time I thought the lizard would die – but I put him in an old aquarium with "Reptile Chips" and all the accoutrements courtesy of a trip to PetSmart. The skink healed and lived a happy winter in the aquarium growing fat on crickets from the same PetSmart. When spring arrived, outside he went. The very next September the same thing happened – I was beginning to think I was being conned for a warm place to stay and all the crickets they could eat. I mean really, all they had to was let the cat bite them a little. But last year – no skink wintered over in the basement. I still have the set up: aquarium, light, screened top, water dish, etc. ready if I need them. So far this year – besides the live one in the bedroom – I have only found a tail in the basement. As I sit here now – in the basement – my feet under my workstation – barefoot – I am creeping myself out that a skink might skitter across them at any moment.

Here is a link to see a photo of a skink and read a little information about them.

I have run across one of the males (tannish in color). The young males and females are the pretty dark color with lines and the blue tail. In the yard and around the pond I see them frequently. The very young, very tiny skinks are very cute. The blue of their tails is incredibly bright! They are really very pretty and with the blue tail they are quite a gem of a lizard.