I went out for a brief stroll with our dog, Calla, between rainstorms this afternoon and found the first Choke Cherry shrub (Prunus serotina) with red berries. Most of the others have green berries that have barely started to turn colour. A quick taste confirmed that they were indeed Choke Cherries. Nothing else causes the mouth to pucker up so quickly.
It won't be long before every walk in wooded areas in this part of the country will result in one's legs being covered with little green bur-like seeds. They are the seeds of Enchanter's Nightshade (Circaea lutetiana). The hooked hairs on the seeds also collect water as can be seen in this photo. Who knew that such a pesty thing could also be so beautiful?
On the last part of the walk, I found this Green Lacewing on a Milkweed leaf. At least that is what I think it is as it looks like the one on the California Bug People web site.
3 comments:
Ah, but could you please describe the rain?
May I take it that you don't remember rain? I remember Kansas summers like that.
Actually we have had a very dry, very hot summer here too. We had our first "rain" for the summer yesterday, last night and off and on most of today. This particular rain is very hot and is coming with thunder and lightening, but no tornados. I forgot to check the rain gauge when I was out.
Our chokecherries are just moving from that translucent green to a delicate red, and though we love to make jelly from them, I can't stand that furry taste they leave in my throat! What an odd year; our blueberries are ready before our raspberries. It is positively tropical up here!Wonderful pics of the leafhopper; some people see green and brown when they glance at their natural surroundings, but some of the colours out there are astounding - bright oranges and reds and yellows that could top any plastic toy!
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