Butterfly Weed & Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

This flower is called Butterfly-weed/Pleurisy-Root (Asclepias tuberosa Linnaeus), which is commonly found along road sides and on edges of fields. This wildflower can also can be planted in yards as a drought resistant flower that blooms for most of the summer. The insect on the flower is a Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollos). This photo was taken yesterday (6/17/09) in Granville County, NC.

Transitional Landscapes

Transitional Landscapes

I am in the woods often, and I often run across old cultural remains. These artifacts help me understand the particular landscape a bit more. Typical artifacts I find in the woods include, old vehicles, house foundations, old homesteads, fire ring, barbwire fences, bottles and trash, and simple Native American tools.
Before I go out to a property I usually look at an aerial map, contour map, and other topographic data, but understanding a property isn't complete until an on site visit is conducted. An old barbwire can tell you where the old property boundary use to be. Fences didn't fence the cattle out of streams, just kept the cattle on ones property. Another common finding in the woods are large piles of dirt and maybe some plastic mixed in. This is from the old ways of farming, mainly tobacco farming. A large percentage of this area was in tobacco production, and the old practice was to kill everything off, cover with plastic, scrap away, and replant.

It's interesting to understand the history and seeing the recovery or transition. I really enjoy going into a developed hardwood forest that at
one time was a homestead or a tobacco field. Nature is an amazing phenomenon.

RAIN RAIN

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY, COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY