September 24th.  Fall has come to Raymond Brook Marsh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 25th. Reflection on the Blackledge River near River Road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Blackledge River Bridge abutment - the trail above.

 

Lots of different Asters in bloom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) berries.

 

September 26th.  A late morning walk starting from Cranberry Bog in East Hampton, CT.  A pair of Ladybird beetles.

 

A Locust Borer (Megacyllene robiniae) feeding on Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) pollen.

 

These beetles are pretty good wasp mimics, especially in lateral view.  (Mimicry doesn't have to be perfect, just good enough to fool whichever predators are likely to feed on the prey.)

 

Larvae bore feeding tunnels in Black Locust.

 

Adults emerge in the fall.  This specimen has been around for awhile; its scaly yellow markings mostly worn away.

 

A particulary perfect Aster (probably New York Aster - Aster noveboracensis).

 

 

 

I saw several of these green-tinged mushrooms with caps up to four inches across.  ID anyone?

 

"Books" of Mica gleam from a Quartz matrix.

 

A female Olive-green Swamp Grasshopper (Paroxya clavuliger). (Yes, I know it's brown.  So much for common names.)

 

Fruits of Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) resemble miniature tomatoes - no surprise as they're in the same genus.

 

Several domestic chickens had escaped from a yard adjacent to the trail.  They're fun to watch.

 

 

 

The origins of the phrase "chicken scratching" for poor handwriting.