Happy 4th!

Happy 4th!

So the visit to the grasslands on Thursday was great as usual. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a breeze, but since we go really early it is not too bad. It started out on the roadside to hunt for a plant. I didn’t find it, but maybe it…

Mint-loving Pyrausta

Mint-loving Pyrausta

I was going to make this post about my visit to the grasslands yesterday, but changed my mind this afternoon when I found this visitor on my backdoor. (I am easily distracted.)The Mint-loving Pyrausta (Pyrausta acrionalis) sat there for sometime. There are 61 species of the genus Pyrausta in America north of Mexico. Their larva…

Gaura mollis

Gaura mollis

The Lizardtail is such a nice plant. It has a wet-like feel to it. It is one of the host plants for a White Lined Sphinx moth. I have not seen one on it this year, but I’m still watching for them. The plant can get six feet or so tall. With all the rain…

Drop, float or …

Drop, float or …

Plants have all types of strategies to propagate. Some have seeds that drop to the ground. Some float in the wind, like milkweeds. Some are eaten by critters. Well, you get the idea. The list almost seems endless. Here are a couple and the different stages in the plant life. New Fossil Discovery of a…

Imagination required

Imagination required

When I was growing up on a hot summer day, we were banned from inside the house. My dad worked the night shift so he was sleeping during the daytime. We did not have AC so it did not matter, inside or outside. So we sat around in the shade playing cards, played cars or…

Milkweed

Milkweed

This morning I checked in on Carol Clark’s blog and found that she an excellent explanation of the differences in Green Milkweed and Antelope Horns Milkweed. So check out her post on “Green Milkweed and Antelope Horns Milkweed, Let’s sort those out!“! She has done some other great posts you might want to look over…

Cool Beetle

Cool Beetle

A few years ago while out surveying on the grasslands, I came across this cool beetle. I thought it was a moth, but Suzanne who was with me, knew that it was a beetle. It does not look like the typical beetle. There are always new things to learn! Articles: The Alchemists Had It Right?…

A few beetles

A few beetles

We had company today! My nephews were here and we had a grand time. We looked at bugs, fossils (Devil’s Toenails), and snake vertebras. Of course they took some home. Well, not the bugs. Keep looking!

Spider webs and stuff

On this morning walk, the spider web is what caught my eye first. The funnel spider webs were most interesting to me on the thickness and where they put them. I wondered how spiders catch something when some have such visible webs. At least a lot of them are so visible to us. Then I…

Brown-eyed Susan

Brown-eyed Susan

What a beautiful flower that is going strong right now. The color is spectacular! The critters that visit them are cool too! So many creatures use the Brown-eyed Susans. And all of the above was found just today! In a Remote Amazon Region, Study Shows Indigenous Peoples Have Practiced Forest Conservation for Millennia Keep looking!