The Little Things

As I get older, I find more nad more that it's the little things that make me happy. I tend to pass some of these things by, because they're not big and showy; it's easy to miss them.

There are lots of little things at Shabo-Mekaw (to find out more about our country getaway, follow the links at the bottom of this page) this time of year.   For instance, these 'mini-landscapes' that we often walk right over as we hike through the forest. If you stop to pay attention, though, they're really quite beautiful - nature's tiny gardens of shining club moss, sensitive plant, sorrel, and ferns.

False foxglove

 There are a plethora of mushrooms growing here, of seemingly endless types and colors. I've never seen this blue one before.

For whatever reason, this particular stand of joe-pye weed was covered with butterflies...

Purple-headed sneeze weed

Downy lobelia

 Sumac is a beautiful tree with pink or red fruits. I have no idea which species this is - there are 35, including the poison one.

 Naked-Flowered Tick-Trefoil (maybe) and Hairy Hawkweed. The flowers on both of these are smaller than the head of a thumbtack.

 I didn't have time to look up all the mushrooms, but they come in every shape and color. The orange ones are actually much brighter orange than they appear in the photo.

 Mist Flower

  Hoary Mountain Mint

Field milkwort

 Early goldenrod

The eastern rainforest - poplar, oak, mountain laurel, white pine, lots of ferns...

Waterlily pads and some kind of aquatic reed.

Queen Anne's Lace

 Ironweed

 Field Thistle

 Joe-pye weed and butterfly by the pond.

It's almost time to say good-bye to summer... sigh...