Early August walks through the two Mer Bleue areas produced some interesting PhotoOps.
The two areas being the Boardwalk at the end of Ridge Road and the nearby "Snowman Trail" on Anderson Road. (I call it the Snowman Trail because it (sort of) looks like a snowman lying on its side)
First series of photos are from the Boardwalk Trail.
We hadn't seen wild turkeys at the Boardwalk before, but three males greeted us when we arrived and a family with about 7 or 8 pullets arrived as we were leaving. The turkey family arrived as the person who feeds the birds at the Boardwalk and Tackaberry Trail, had arrived with a car trunk full of assorted bird food.
The males came down the trail to us looking for food, but when they realized we had none for them, they turned around and walked away.
The family came running to where their breakfast was being served. Heads came up when a squirrel or a bird sounded an alarm.
When they finished breakfast, they scurried off into the bush
The humid nights really showed off the many spider webs in the morning.
A few of the flowers etc. Scroll over for ID.
Young maple tree with new growth
Purple loosestrife
Steeplebush
Impatiens (Touch-me-not)
Cotton grass
Cotton grass
Trails left by (?) that munch of the small leaves
European frog-bit (an invasive plant)
A few days later up Anderson Road at the Snowman Trail. A variety of summer wild flowers were in bloom. Scroll over for ID.
Flat-topped white asters
black-eyed susans
black-eyed susans
yellow clover
Some flowers or other plants had insects resting, hiding in them, or collecting nectar and/or pollen. Scroll over for ID.
Black swallowtail butterfly
Fully loaded bumble bee on tansy
wasp on Queen Ane's lace
Ambush bug on tansy
Ambush bug on tansy
Fly on tansy
I found a huge white (?) trillium, perhaps 18" across with a large seed. Baneberries were in several places.
I came across a huge number of Indian Pipe plants. (a favourite of mine) They are normally mistaken for a mushroom, but they are a perennial.
I counted the plants in a few clumps, but there must have been well over 200 (maybe 300+) plants along a 50 yard length of one trail. The plants varied from new growth to finished and dead.
And then there were the mushrooms...
There was one different one, of which I didn't get a great photo. There seemed to be no "skin" , it was a network of tiny threads.
A toad crossed my path and stopped to allow me to take a few pictures, and a short video of its breathing.
A grey squirrel gave me the once over as I was leaving the trail
