Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Rambling and grazing

I'm counting on someone out there recognizing this flower; it's blooming in all the weedy places right now and I haven't been able to come up with a name. I spotted this patch on a weekend walk with Luka through an overgrown pasture full of goldenrod, milkweed and thistles.

We had actually been walking on a dirt road around the pasture, but took a detour through the middle of it when I heard insistent osprey calls from the treeline in the distance. I wonder if it wasn't a youngster recently left to fend for itself. Of course, it flew from the perch as we approached, but along the way we came across these flowers and many scattered piles of deer poop which Luka found just delicious! I swear that pup has to put everything in his mouth - thank heavens we haven't wandered across any dead animals yet!

I don't have the enthusiasm for identifying wildflowers that I had in the Spring and wonder why that is. I find myself noticing berries, mostly, and trying to guess which animals they're meant to feed. It took me a while to realize that the ground-level clusters of red berries I'd been seeing were the fruits of Jack in the Pulpit - who eats them, I wonder? The viburnums have set fruit that will persist for months, yet the red dogwood berries are long gone by mid-September. The starlings see to that over the protests of the local mockingbirds. Fallen apples litter the ground, tempting deer and puppy the same, as Fall ambles our way.

6 comments:

Mary said...

Fall is ambling our way...a welcomed relief for many of us but sort of sad, too.

Does Luka "stop, drop, and roll" on unpleasant stuff? Chloe is good for that :o)

I can help you on the ID, but I'm glad you posted tonight!

dguzman said...

I love the way you write, Laura.

I wouldn't dare venture a guess on the flower if you can't ID it; you're far better than I am at that stuff.

Luka eats deer poops? Hee hee! Crazy dog. Glad you're getting out there, walking with him. Good for him and for you.

Anonymous said...

I think the tall white flowers may be boneset. They are related to asters, and this would be the right time for them to be in flower.

RuthieJ said...

My dogs love to snack on deer poop also. Dogs are so goofy sometimes!

I'm glad Sandy knew what that flower was, because there's lots of it blooming around here also. I was thinking they might be asters also, but the blossoms are pretty small.

z-silverlight said...

the flowers. white seafoam statice? maybe?

Larry said...

I just googld jack-in-the pulpit berries.-I realize that I just saw them today and didn't even know it.I'll bet Robins eat them.