Late Bloomers

     Friday we came upon this still blooming Soapwort Gentian while collecting seeds at Campbell Prairie.  It was nestled in amongst thick dried grasses and so survived our first hard frost.  Most flowers have long since gone to seed - even the asters.

     This prompted me to look for lingering blooms in my garden.

Johnny Jump Up

Lavender

cultivated Turtle Head

Black-eyed Susan

While out taking these photos today I ran into a bee - taking advantage of the nectar remaining.

Wooly Bear

     It's wooly bear time.  

I don't remember seeing any last fall, but there have been several crawling around the garden the past few weeks.

I'm usually hesitant to pick up insects, but there is something irresistible about these furry guys.  Their tiny feet tickle.  They roll into nice little balls. 

     Folklore posits the severity of the coming winter can be predicted by the length of the caterpillar's light brown middle; the longer the middle, the milder the winter.  

I think that's good news for us this year.

Honorary Monitor

This is Cedar, Denise's little 3 month old Brittany Spaniel.  Circumstances necessitated his accompanying us on our monitoring excursion Friday.  

He should make a good field dog.  He was happy to sniff and explore and didn't mind the rain or mud in the least.

It took the former law enforcement official amongst us nerds to recognize this marijuana plant.  

It is amazing that with all the ground we've covered over the years, especially in the new corridor sites, we have not run into this plant before.  

It is a little late in the season for Cardinal flower to bloom, but there were several doing just that.  They were in shade or in areas mowed several weeks ago.