Thursday, August 27, 2009

Nature Notes: What a Difference a Month Makes

Remember these?

This was the milkweed patch to the south of the house as of July 25. At the time, monarch butterflies were flittering around them, and there was the potential for caterpillars.

Same plants, taken August 19. It was disappointing to find no sign of monarchs, but I was impressed that these huge seed pods had grown so quickly.

Tree frogs seem to be everywhere all of a sudden, and they love to sun themselves on the broad leaves of the milkweeds. They blend in so well that it's hard to see them.

I love their brown hands; they look like they're wearing little gloves.

No clue what this is, but given the size of its pincers I wasn't about to get too close. There were quite a few of these on the milkweeds, too.

There seems to be quite a little ecosystem going on out there in that corner of the yard. It will be fun to see all those pods open and to watch the seeds fly.


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4 comments:

RJ Flamingo said...

Oh my gosh! I thought the frog was a bit of leaf detritus at first! :-) Must be past my bedtime...

Those milkweed are incredible. Here, we grow asclepias (butterfly weed) to attract monarchs. If you had seen caterpillars, those lovely plants would have been eaten down to the stems - including the flowers. Which, oddly enough wouldn't kill them. Just love the colors!

Rambling Woods said...

Vicki..in looking at your milkweed, I thought it looked similar to plants that are growing across the pond. I posted a photo if you want to take a look. If it is milkweed, I would be thrilled. Love the froggy...

Unseen India Tours said...

Beautiful shot !! Loved the lovely colors..Unseen Rajasthan

Carver said...

Great post. It is amazing how fast everything is changing. I like all of the shots and the frog is great.