wild grapes getting plump
Alas, almost all the grapes are out of reach. I may have to cart a ladder into the park once these show some color!
strife on the loose
Purple loosestrife has established itself at the northwest corner of the park near Route 157. This beautiful flower, unfortunately, is a fast-spreading newcomer species that can become a choking mo...
black swallowtail female
This fluttering critter never landed for long, and never on any surface other than the dirt of the riverbank. The blue is more iridescent than the photos can show...
yellow flower twins
Yellow hawkweed, suggests NH Gardener. If so, we might expect to see it spread...
Venus' looking glass
These flowers weren't open, surely because of the rain. Still, they must be clasping venus'-looking-glass.
beetle pollinates grey dogwood
I'm guessing this is in the Lygaeus genus, but the markings are simpler than any sample images I've found… That drop of sweet dew sure looks satisfying!
fox grape vines and grapelets
Quite a few grape vines grow on the east bank of the Coginchaug as it passes the picnic area… I think they're fox grapes because of the many tendrils (at most leaf nodes), but we'll have more evide...
prickly stage of lady beetle
This wild rose is hosting a lady beetle larva (fourth instar). It took only a quick search on "orange and black spiky bug" -- this distinctive appearance meant I didn't have to wade through long id...
Joe-pye weed
The tightly geometric whorls of four on this plant are dramatic, as are the red tones of its youngest leaves. Until it flowers, though, I’m not sure how to distinguish among Joe-pye weeds… This one...
