Phlox Ovata (Mountain Phlox)

We monitored Mountain Phlox yesterday.  It was a beautiful morning and we were able to locate all but two of the populations in the park.

I saw several Viceroy butterflies that look like they were newly emerged.

There were also several Common Whitetail Dragonflies.

Larry has been monitoring with us for several years.  He loves to explore and it is not uncommon for us to have to send out a search party to look for him when it's time to move on.  

This was a stop we made to count a population of Mountain Phlox that has numbered one for as long as I can remember (This year we found two).  

I guess we didn't let Larry know this. He set off down the road.  Luckily he was easy to spot and going in the right direction for our next stop.

Penny found a box turtle with an abnormal shell at our first stop and on the way back to the Lodge we found this little gal crossing the road.  We think she is a female because of her red eyes.  We set her down in the field she was headed toward - as we have been instructed to do.  

Penny told us that box turtles often nest just before a good rain and are therefore more likely encountered.  

Sure enough, it rained late in the afternoon.