Still at Caddo NG, here was what we saw on the third day.
So far the days have been perfect for calm reflections on the ponds!
This might be an ant in the flower. The Starwort (Minuartia muscorum) was really having a good year. Whole fields are covered with this small native. It seems to prefer sunny open fields that are sandy and wetter.
On this trip I have been checking a lot of the milkweeds for Monarch eggs and cats. However, additionally I found other cool critters like these aphids and ants.
The bud on the milkweed looked like a cat/kitty. LOL
Latin for venusta means beautiful. And the name of the spider is Orchard Spider (Leucauge venusta). Indeed, I believe it fits its name. We saw a lot of them in the woods.
Here was a great find for me, a female Sprangled Skimmer (Libellula cyanea)! The bright white stigmas are what clued me in that it might be different. The stigmas on the wings act as a stabilizer while it is in flight.
The wild onions (Allium) were going like gang busters!
The barkless pine tree tricked me for a moment. I thought why was there a power pole left standing here. Hey, it was only for a moment that this thought crossed my mind. 😉
Many of the ditches had water that we had to navigate.
Another first for me was finding a web under a mushroom!
A polpypore shelf fungus was growing around some of the fallen leaves!
And the walk in the woods was complete with Pixie Cup Lichens!
The Annual Blue-eyed Grass opened as we finished for the day. Perfect, right!
Keep looking!
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
Whoa annual blue eyed grass is very different??
Indeed!
Thats a beautiful place. Lucky you to have a job there, if you call it a job 😄
Exactly 😂