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Friday, September 13, 2019

Tree-following: Changes!!

The leaves on the trees around the Art building are still green, but looking a bit dry.
WE HAVE NEWS! The haws on the Russian Hawthorns (Crataegus ambigua) that I’m following have turned red, as you can see in the next photo. Note also the rabbit by the rabbitbrush (Ericameria) which is in its prime right now (the rabbitbrush that is).
Okay, they’re hard to see. The next photo should help (click to enlarge):
Just one cluster of haws on the East Hawthorn (labeled in previous photo).
There are more haws on the West Hawthorn, scattered about.
Rabbit (left) and Rabbitbrush (right).
Many insects were visiting the rabbitbrush flowers. This is just a small sampling, and the photos are fuzzy because everybody was really zipping around. It’s wonderful to see so much activity in Laramie this time of year (mild September so far).
Bee, center of photo.
Not a bee I believe (but I'm NO entomologist).
Above and below—same butterfly, two views.
The fairy(?) castle now leans terribly. Maybe water from the torrential thunderstorm last week undermined it. Or maybe the fairies had a crazy wild party!
After greeting the Woman at the Entrance, who has a bloodshot left eye for some reason (that fairy party?), I took a peek inside the Art building: not much in the way of exhibits, though Agri[culture] is back, with new photos.
My fave.

This is my September report for our monthly virtual tree-following gathering, kindly hosted by The Squirrelbasket. More news from followers here. To join in the fun, check this post for information and encouragement!

8 comments:

  1. hooray for haws! they look nice and plump too, more food for wildlife. Rabbits so often have a guilty look as they run away, the rabbitbrush looks pretty and small polinators like plants with tiny flowers, does it have any perfume as well. What a pity about the fairy castle, I hope they find somewhere warm to spend winter ;) Frances

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    1. Hello, Frances -- good point, rabbits do look "guilty"—as if they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have! I don't detect any perfume in the rabbitbrush flowers (I have some in my yard) ... but then I'm not a pollinator ;) Now I'm off to read about your hawthorn.

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  2. Wonderful! Such activity, such variety...
    I can't believe you caught the rabbit :)

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    1. Pat, it was an accident. But not surprising—I saw four rabbits in the first five minutes I was there! They are doing well this year for some reason.

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  3. The fruits on the haws are luscious! And I surely do like the rabbitbrush. I'll need to check, but I think there's a version of that plant native to West Texas. And those fairies, they know how to party!

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    1. Tina, there must be Ericameria (Chrysothamnus) in West Texas. It's hard to imagine dry country in the western US without it. I also like it ... grows in the slightly alkaline grassland around here, including just outside my fence. I hope to move some small ones into the yard next year.

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  4. Red berries always look so very intensly colourful against green background. Lovely.

    The rabbit and the rabbitbush in the same photo is a nice catch :)

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    1. Thanks, Erika. As I mentioned to Pat, there are lots of rabbits (cottontails) around this year, not sure why.

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