Of course, our humidity is a lot lower, but even then it is like stepping into an oven in the heat of the day. Heat like that is not unusual at times, but not on a daily basis. July and August are our hottest months, which is worrisome.
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Another delightful family walk in the New Forest today.
First up a Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza sp.)
A Milkwort (Polygala sp.) of some kind…
A Bedstraw (Galium sp.) species. We used the have a yellow species that grew in the garden at our old place.
A puffball (Lycoperdaceae) - suprisingly hard to spot with all the white stones around…
TRIGGER WARNING: SPIDERS
A species of Grass Funnel Web Spider (Agelena sp. probably Agelena labyrinthica). This spider had constructed a sheet web in a large gorse bush which tapered into a funnel retreat. I could just see the spiders front legs poking out the web tunnel. But when I stroked the web with a piece of grass she was decent enough to come scuttling out and pose for a picture.
I love that pattern on the abdomen.
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Kindergarten-level Plant ID at Kendel’s
Going where no one dares to go…
When I was throwing mountains of trimming from my lilacs into the weeds today, I noticed some ferns I hadn’t seen before, at least during the summer. That’s because between April and September, that part of our property is given over entirely to mosquitos and spiders. Since the golden rod and grasses are still below waist high, I figured I’d look more closely. The last two springs I had noticed in other parts of our wilderness what looked like repro parts of ferns, but no leaves. I think they go together.
I think these are Sensitive Ferns. They are also very photogenic, since I have no real skills at photography.
Different stages of opening within this small section of the fern community:
Enlarge to see very pretty texture on the leaves:
Something is not right:
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My husband’s first Father’s Day gift is just about ready to bloom. Catalpas are not native in Michigan, but they grow contented, although they get their leaves very late and lose them very early. The stunning corsages of flowers are worth it, though.
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I was just looking for information on other ferns, and ostrich ferns came up. Their favorite habitat listed was moist thickets. You may need a moisture-sealed greenhouse for that one. Or a steamy bathroom with a skylight.
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Yeah but no. I know my limits I’m death to houseplants. I always forget them and they die. In the ground they gave a fighting chance as long as it is something appropriate for here.
But ferns obviously like you there. There are some that like it here but they’re not as fancy as ostrich ferns.
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l’m excited to see what happens with this yellow blooming Dicentra vine, now called Dactylicapnos scandens. I bought one in a two inch pot in November and it is all over some lattice growing in a large pot. The first flowers are just coloring up now. Dicentra is a plant I first knew as Dutchman’s Pants or Bleeding Heart flower. From what I’m reading it should stay in flower now until (if) we get frost. Being perennial it may start blooming sooner next year. You might have to blow it up some as the flowers are smaller than those on plants I knew as Dicentra.
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That should be lots of fun. I have pink and white bleeding hearts, but they’re not vines, bushy clusters of stems. They’re about 3rd or 4th to bloom in the spring: Crocuses, Daffodils, Hyacinth & Tulips, and then Bleeding Hearts. They take a while, because they die down to the ground in the winter, so must start again each spring. And then they’re done. Lovely while they last, though.
Have fun with this little one. In your climate it should be taking over soon.
That’s what I was remembering was them blooming in spring. But that was very early on and I’d stopped growing it because our dryer climate didn’t seem to please it. Some are pretty fancy and as I remember, have larger flowers.
Not unless I do better watering pots than I have in the past. If these inspire sufficiently the other plants in these pots will have them to thank.
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Which reminds me……
I keep forgetting to water my few potted plants.
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It’s been lovely scrolling and catching up with 200+ posts 
@Kendel your yard reminds me of home- my parents love growing flowers and trees in their big yard in Iowa! The plants in California are fascinating, but it made me really happy to see your peonies and irises!
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It’s fun to see what wildly different things @MarkD Is growing in CA from what I’ve got here in MI. I’m always amazed at the diversity. And then @SkovandOfMitaze shows stuff amazing things from his wildeness adventures…well…everywhere! And all the other great contributions!
I forgot where you are in the world, @KateKnut .
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Little Gray Tree Frog and I surprised each other, while I was putting the hose away. The chair leg is about 2” wide.
Tree frogs have a fun trilling song that is enormous considering the size of the critter. They also change colors a bit, from gray to brown. This dude seemed pretty disappointed not to be able to turn paler.
I love their beautiful markings and that wild yellow in the folds of their legs.
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“Whatcha doing there, Tree Frog?”
“Just hanging around” 
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I’ll bet guy is hard to see away from a plain white surface. Does that sort appearance on a plain surface happen often? I’m guessing no.
They’re quite good at hiding, even when their camo provides no cover. So they seem to have skills as well as beauty. When their camo is helpful, they blend in like some of @SkovandOfMitaze’s snakes.
This little dude was was panicked. I was watering the flowers on the back patio, and saw him move out of the corner of my eye. So I didn’t see where he had come from, which probably had been a better spot, but he didn’t know I hadn’t seen him. He was attempting to stay on the side of the leg opposite of me. When there was no chance of remaining unnoticed, he stayed put, which I have seen them do before.
If he hadn’t been panicked, I would expect him to be in a shadow, under leaves, near some of the rocks we have brought home from the beaches at Lake Huron and Lake Superior, etc. Actually he may had been in one of those spots. I had just cut back the bleeding hearts, which Ihad planted too close to the hydrengea, AND I had moved our modest pile of rocks from the lakes. So maybe I accidentally flushed him out.
The most fun place to find them is evenings on the livingroom window. Every year or so, one frog will figure out where the bugs go, when the lights are on, and camp out for days or weeks on the window, hunting, while the bugs head for the light. Then you get an excellent view of frog’s belly.
Rocks from the lakes: our beaches are not “shell beaches” like oceans. Few of our aquatic species produce shells, most of which come from the hated, destructive zebra muscle. No one wants a memento of such destructive invaders. But many of our beaches provide a wonderful displays beautiful rocks. I need to spend some time with my rocks and rock books this summer. The humble world of sedimentary rock is wonderful and varied.
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I can imagine someone thinking even the frog you photographed on that white chair leg was a wad of old leaves that got washed up on it somehow. Sometimes this can work against them. I was once rushing through the garden sprucing up for visitors, deadheading flower, dead leaves and debris. I grabbed what looked to be dead vegetation. But when I went to toss it in a bin I noticed it was the head and thorax of a large walking stick. I felt horrible and went back to confirm it really was what it looked like. There was it’s abdomen and legs still clinging to the plant. Awful.
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I have felt that way about insects and frogs I’ve hit with weedwhackers accidentally, too.
One of the saddest stories I heard recently was from a farmer who told me that their new haying machines (mowers) kill many fawns hidden in the hayfields. They can’t see them lying there. He said eagles and vultures have been congregating over the mowing as a result, and the does are trying to fight the birds off, not knowing the fawns are dead. I know we have had too many deer lately, but this just seems such a sad thing. There were as many as 20 fawns in a 72 acre area, he said. I am not sure how to fix that.
Wouldn’t have thought of it but on agricultural land where else would they be? Horrible feeling nonetheless to be responsible for unintended deaths of innocents.
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The catalpa is blooming, along with others around the county. The one in front of the Michigan Capitol building is in full bloom, and I got this last photo at a stop light on my way to work yesterday.
It’s hard to turn down a tree that dresses itself in gorgeous, showy coursages. There are still a few waiting to open.
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