Crow’s Nest: Love Summer

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Photo: Daniel Barringer

I’ve written more than one blog post before about how much I love summer: the long hours of daylight, the flowers, the easy living of not getting up in the dark and the cold and needing to layer up my clothing. By autumn I’m usually ready for the change, and I will admit that the heat, humidity, and biting insects do bother me. This year—the heat!

On the other hand, now that it’s a little cooler, I’m taking stock of everything that is around me to enjoy. Above, Great Spangled Fritillary on butterfly weed (terrible name), Asclepias tuberosa. You can find this plant around the visitor center barn, as well as scattered in our meadows.

Below, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on blazing star, Liatris spicata. This plant has declined where it once occurred in meadows on the preserve, possibly due to shade as the forest around the meadows matures or due to competition from invasive plants. But we did plant a few some years ago by launching seed balls into the parking lot meadow, and these grew from those seeds.

Photo: Daniel Barringer