Dallas-Barnhartvale Nature Park
Hank and I went to the Dallas-Barnhartvale Nature Park today.
In the restored wetland, this elderberry is unfurling. The delicate green ball, cradled by purple leaves, will later differentiate into hundreds of creamy-white flowers. And these flowers will eventually develop into berries for black bears to eat. (And! those purple leaves will turn green soon.)
Yellowbell lilies growing together.
Wish I knew what these lichens are called! They are part of the soil crust that covers and protects the grasslands from erosion, dessication, and invasive species.
I took this photo because of the multiple pink fuzzy leaf galls. But looking more closely it is apparent that there is another type of gall growing here. Try to spot it.
The galls closest to the main trunk of this sagebrush bush are developing faster than those farthest from the trunk.
The many glandular hairs on the stems of meadow saxifrage give these plants a bit of an aura.
Happy citizen science day, everyone. Keep on connecting with nature!
Thank you for the great photo essay Vanessa! I think most of your observations are interesting things that most people just walk by and don’t notice. I think your pictures will encourage people to slow down and look at look at small cool stuff!
That’s really kind! Believe me, being observant doesn’t come naturally to me, it’s not an innate skill I possess.
Growing up, my family and I would go camping in Algonquin Park and watch the Perseid meteor shower every year. My brother always saw dozens more meteors than me.
I’ve been really lucky to have some excellent teachers that showed me ways to observe nature. It’s nice to know that being observant is something you can learn, hone, and continually improve 🙂 or else I’d be hopeless!
The large grey lichen in the top picture is probably Diploschistes muscorum (cow pie lichen).
Thanks for the addition Rick. Great to start learning these amazing lichens.
Thanks! I’ll check it out. I scoured over some resources looking for it before giving up, defeated 🙂