June 11th. Heavy equipment including this pavement saw stored at the Route 85 parking area. No doubt staged for work installing more pedestrial walk lights nearby where the trail crosses the road.

 

Trailer for the (mechanical) Bobcats.

 

Just a general view of the trail to show how lush it is compared to early spring.

 

Pasture or Carolina Roses (Rosa carolina) have started blooming.

 

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) will be blooming soon.

 

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is blooming too.

 

 

 

Cow-wheat (Melampyrum lineare).

 

Remarkably, a couple of Pink Lady's-slipper orchids (Cypripedium acaule) are still blooming...

 

...if showing their age in their withering sepals and petals. Note the yellow pollen ball (Pollinium) not successful in attaching itself to a bee and transferring pollen to another orchid.

 

Fleabane (Erigeron sp.).

 

 

 

 

 

A Mustard (Brassica sp.).

 

Common Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) berries forming.

 

White Clover (Trifolium repens) and Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens).

 

I won't try to identify this calypterate muscoid fly, though I can tell that it's a female because the eyes don't meet at the top of the head.

 

I often see detatched (by bird predators) dragonfly wings along the trail, but today I saw several similar sets of Fishfly (Family Corydalidae) wings. There must have been a hatch recently. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corydalidae

 

Two (young?) female Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) below a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).

 

Just one female Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) laying eggs this morning.

 

This one has a bum left eye and I think I've seen it before. Note the Sow Bug or Pill Bug (Class Isopoda of the Arthropods) to the right of the bad eye.

 

Now the Sow Bug is above the turtle's nose.

 

 

 

June 12th. The Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) perched near the nest.

 

I couldn't see any activity on the nest. Maybe the eggs haven't hatched yet.

 

First blossoms on Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium).

 

Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium sp.).

 

Wild Madder (Galium mollugo), a Bedstraw.

 

 

 

June 13th. After showers last night, the Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is hunkered down on the nest.

 

An afternoon stop at Cranberry Bog, and the small barnyard east of there. This sheep was the only animal outside.

 

 

 

Not sure what sheep think about but this one seems to be forming an opinion.

 

At the Cranberry Bog parking lot, Long-styled Sweet-cicily (Osmorhiza longistylis).

 

Can you spot the fly? ;-)

 

 

 

The compound leaves show in this photo (among the leaves of other things).

 

A slightly better view of the leaves.

 

June 14th. Butter-and-eggs or Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) has finally started blooming.

 

 

 

Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare, formerly Chrysanthemum leucathemum).

 

One of two Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) around today. This looks like a young bird not yet displaying adult plumage.

 

June 15th. Near Old Hartford Road and Route 2, a Veery (Catharus fuscescens).

 

A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at the beaver pond of Day Meadow Brook by River Road.

 

 

 

The first Water-lilies (Nymphaea odorata) versus yellow Pond-lilies (Nuphar vareigatum) of the year for me. Covered in tiny flies. But what's that maroon stem in the background?

 

It's Water-shield (Brassenia schreberi) and it produces smaller lily pads compared to the other species.

 

Quite an impressive flower close up. Read about Water-shield here: https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/water-shield