July 4-11, 2022 Observations

“As the day unfolds, hold your breath and see, life is a mystery.” -Josh Garrels

Field Observations:

7/7/22 at 8:10am 

The weather is cloudy, barely cool with a gentle breeze. Mosquitoes aren’t bad yet, thank God.

Lots of birds calling. A brilliant blue bird is calling in the trees near this meadow area.

Butterfly weed is growing here and there. Since it likes dry, open habitats this meadow seems as good a place as any.

I also found an ant crawling among the petals and leaves.

7/8/22 at 4:28 pm 

The weather is partly cloudy, with patches of blue sky, and breezy. The wind and rustling leaves are calming, as the swishing and rustling of the leaves whisper the promise of a new day.

The birds I hear are an indigo bunting, a Cardinal, an American Robin, an American Crow, an American Goldfinch, a Song sparrow, a Carolina wren, a house wren, and common yellowthroat. I hear insects buzzing and distant, undistinguishable bird calls.

I see a bee and some ants pollinating the butterfly milkweed. As I lay down I notice an ant making its way across the path. The sky is shifting to more cloudy and no shadows can be seen. The path I am looking closely at consists of common yarrow, plantain, Virginia strawberry, and three-leafed clovers.

Thoughts:

The earth is breathing and singing. I came feeling overwhelmed and am leaving feeling comforted, embraced, refreshed, and thankful; remembering that life is vibrant, beautiful, worth noticing, and persistent.

Until my next visit…

“As the day unfolds, hold your breath and see, life is a mystery.” -Josh Garrels

7:57 AM on 7/11/22 

    Today there is a blue sky and it is very sunny with a balmy temperature of 70 degrees. There is a lot more birdsong this morning and insect noises too.  The vegetation around me varies from knee-high to waist-high, to chest-high to taller than my full height when I go from the nearer edge of my site to the farther edge of my site. The vegetation is a mix of different plants which gives this community the healthy variety it needs to thrive.

    I counted seven large trees in my observation site that make their home in the midst of the meadow. There is a sugar maple, with gray dogwood growing at its base, 3 Northern pin oaks, and 2 Swamp white oaks. I believe the birds like this type of environment because there is space to fly, but there are trees on the outer edges and some within for them to seek cover and build nests. The birds can also enjoy eating the insects that are flying around the openness as well as fruit from the many brambles. 

    Something that has changed since the earlier days I observed is that the ground isn't as saturated with rain. It has had some dry days. This morning the field is glistening with due. 

Signs of Life:

    There are a lot of insects flying among the plants pollinating. I see dragonflies and hear the buzzing of mosquitoes and biting flies.  As I was identifying the trees I was delighted to discover a spring peeper when I looked down! A new bird call I heard this morning that I didn't hear the other days was of the Sandhill crane. 

Species Identification:

Spring Peeper

(Pseudacris crucifer)

Spring peepers are one of the smallest tree frogs. Their bodies are smooth, tan, brown, green, or gray, with lines that look like an X-shaped  on their backs. Their bellies are white to cream-colored, have dark rings on their legs and a dark line between their eyes. They are well camouflaged to look like tree bark which protects them from predators, which include snakes, salamanders, other birds of prey and large carnivorous insects. Though they are good climbers they spend most of their time on the ground. Being about an inch long they are rarely seen, which makes it extra special that I spotted one! They live in meadows, fields, forests and wetlands.

Source: National Wildlife Federation. (2022). Spring Peeper. nwf.org. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Amphibians/Spring-Peeper

Butterfly Milkweed

(Asclepias tuberosa L)

Butterfly milkweed grows in dry open habitats and is very common in the prairies and grasslands of the Midwest and Great Plains. The flower has five petals pointing down and five petals pointing up. Many Native American tribes used dried stems to make ropes as well as for weaving cloth. Different parts of the plant are edible.

Stritch, L. (2022). Butterfly Milkweed. fs.fed.us. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/asclepias_tuberosa.shtml

Indigo Bunting

(Passerina cyanea)

Torkomian, J. (2022). Indigo Bunting. Audubon. National Audubon Society. 

Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/indigo-bunting.

Below is my attempt to capture a picture of the indigo bunting, but as you can see, it is disappointingly hard to see. However, if you zoom in, it is in the middle top third of the photo.

The indigo bunting's habitat is brushy pastures and bushy wood edges. It will build its nest along roadsides, old fields, and edges of woodlands. It eats insects, seeds, and berries that are plentiful in this meadow habitat.

Kaufman, K. (2022, May 5). Indigo bunting. audubon.org. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/indigo-bunting

Red Clover

(Trifolium pratense)

Red clover is a common flower that can be found in fields, roadsides, 

and meadows and grows from spring to fall. It contributes to the health of this ecosystem because it is one of many layers of different-sized plants that together make a great network of vegetation.

Newcomb, L. (1977). Irregular Flowers. In Newcomb's wildflower guide: An ingenious new key system for quick, positive field identification .. (pp. 60–61). essay, Little, Brown & Co.

Creative Reflection:

Meadow Musings

By Eva Webb

The earth is breathing and singing. 

It comforts me, embraces me, 

refreshes me, 

and I can only be 

thankful; 

remembering that life is 

vibrant, 

beautiful, eye-catching, 

and 

persistent.

Question of the Day: 

What is the dominant vegetation form in your ecosystem? 

What major attributes of those organisms and of the habitat seem to interact such 

that this is the dominant vegetation form?

The dominant vegetation forms in my ecosystem are seven trees because they are the largest plants. However, the vegetation forms that are most abundant are the long grasses, taller pollinator plants that grow in fields such as butterfly weed, blackberry brambles, some invasive autumn olive, poison ivy, clovers, and common yarrow to name a few. A major attribute of these organisms is that they grow a lot during the late spring through late summer and slow down their growth in the fall and winter. My particular space gets good exposure to sunlight, wind, and rain so it makes it easier for the plants to flourish.

Until my next visit…