It's Raining Cat and Dogs

I had just settled in to watch some TV when I heard a roar of rain coming down. A check of our weather station confirmed "It's Raining Cat and Dogs" (at bottom of display). At one point the rain rate was 3.33 inches/hour, with an average rate of 0.72 inches/hours. Since June 30th we've received over 11 inches of rain.

This Year's Fawns

This year's fawns are starting to come out of their hiding places.

The mothers and fawns are socializing with other members of the herd.

"Mommy, who is this guy?"

In the past two months the fawns have gone from wobbly legs to speeding bullets.

The Bat is Back

Its been less than a week since my last encounter with a bat in our garage. I'm not sure if this is the same bat as last time but the plan this time is to relocate the bat to our barn which is 1/2 mile away.

The bat just hanging around in the garage.

The bat easily climbed off the wall and into the net.

This was a very tired bat that didn't try to escape the net but just wanted to sleep.

Once relocated to our barn the bat still wanted some sleep.

Okay, now I know it's time to let sleeping bats lie.

Eastern Swallowtail Butterflies

The Monarch butterflies have moved into the neighborhood and are everywhere. I've now set my sights on finding Eastern Swallowtail butterflies.

It's easy to find Monarch butterflies, just look for Bull thistles.

After a lot of looking (mowing fields) I found this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on a Bull thistle.

This is a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, the females have blue markings along the hindwing. Some female Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are dark-colored with a marginal row of yellow spots.

The blue markings along the hindwing identify this Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) as a female.

Eastern Black Swallowtail

Bath Time

Very little rain this weekend and I was able to "brush-hog" some of the overgrown fields. During my afternoon wildlife drive around the property I found this doe giving a fawn a bath in a newly mowed area.

Bat Rescue

I found this motionless bat on the floor of our garage this afternoon. This happens once or twice a year then bats get in the garage and can't find the way out. After a couple of days without food or water we'll find the bats on the floor and they won't move.

The standard procedure is to put on heavy welding gloves, pick up the bat and place its face in a shallow tray of water. This bat immediately started drinking the water.

After a couple of minutes the bat was scampering around the garage looking for the door. I moved the bat outdoor and placed it in some shrubbery.

Monarch Butterflies

Some Monarch Butterflies are migrating through our neighborhood and if I'm lucky I can get a few photos.

This Monarch landed in a large patch of Bull Thistles, which made my approch more difficult.

A Monarch on common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

A Monarch on Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), also known as Butterflyweed.

A pair of Monarchs mating.

Harvesting Garlic

In between rain storms I was able to get this year's crop of garlic out of the ground and into the lawn cart.

The garlic hanging in our barn for a couple of weeks to dry and cure before storing.

Wildflowers - Wild Bergamot

The Wild Bergamot is starting to bloom in our neighborhood. Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), also commonly known as Bee Balm should not be confused with Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) which is another member of the mint family Lamiaceae.

Wild Bergamot is a favorite of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds, including this Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) butterfly.

This is another wildflower that I will be collecting seeds from.

50th Anniversary

Yesterday, July 17th, was our 50th wedding anniversary.

Some photos from the archives.

A relaxing dinner at the Barstow House restaurant in Nichols. I guess we haven't changed much in 50 years. (Except for my mustache, which I was requested to shave for the wedding and then re-grew. This mustache has been with me for 49 years and 11 months.)

Indigo Milk Cap Mushroom

This summer's warn/wet weather is producing lots of different mushrooms on our property, including this Indigo Milk Cap (Lactarius indigo) mushroom, commonly known as a blue milk mushroom.

The blue milk mushroom gets its name from the blue milk, or latex, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken. This blue mushroom is considered a "superior edible" species with firm flesh that becomes grayish when cooked.

Chanterelle Mushrooms

We started out to pick blueberries but ended up harvesting mushrooms. En route to our blueberry patch behind our house we found a bumper crop of chanterelle mushrooms.

Chanterelles are a highly prized gourmet mushroom that can't be grown commercially but grows wild on our property.

The continuous rain and warm weather this summer has produced a bumper crop of Chanterelles.

A lot of the Chanterelles in this patch were waterlogged from all the rain. I picked some of the better mushrooms. I found lots of mushroom ""buttons" starting to emerge and will stop back in a couple of days to pick from a fresh crop.

After some cleaning and a light rinse these Chanterelles are ready to fry and freeze.

Found While Mowing The Lawn

We hadn't been able to mow our lawn for over two weeks due to traveling and the weather. Here are a few of the things I found while mowing.

After two weeks of rain, these bright orange, poisonous Jack-o'lantern (Omphalotus illudens) mushrooms were found at the base of a chestnut tree stump.

I found these newly hatched baby birds in a small white spruce tree.

I found this Bullfrog looking for a meal in the wet grass near our barn.

Wildflowers - Scarlet Beebalm

A small patch of wild Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) along our creek survived the recent flooding and is in bloom.

I only know of a couple of patches of Scarlet Beebalm in the neighborhood and will try to collect some seeds to propagate in new locations.

Feeding Time

This year's spring fawns are growing rapidly as they feed on the green grass.

Sometimes the fawns want a change from grass and look for some "comfort food".

"Junior this isn't the time or place for a meal!!!"

"Great meal Mom."

"My Mom makes the best comfort food."