Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Beautiful Things Now Under Snow






Yesterday, my son and I went back to the Keddie Cascades Trail to see if we could find the hellgrammite I had seen there on Saturday with my nature journaling class.  We scored.  It was under the same rock beneath a spout of water coming out of a rock wall at trailside.  Not too surprising really as it was so cold it couldn't move very fast.  Also, there was really no place to go.  It had a suitable puddle in which to grow until metamorphosing into an adult Dobsonfly.  The top photo is what it looked like in the water.  Then I placed it on a rock for a better view and photo then replaced it.  I'll check on it again when the snow melts, perhaps this weekend.  The next two photos are of a Maidenhair Fern, a species we missed on the Saturday trip.  And last, two photos of Rattlesnake Plantain.  This is not a real plantain, such as you find in the Family Plantaginaceae.  It's an orchid.  I'll see what I can find out about this odd name.  I assume the rattlesnake part refers to the pattern on each leaf.

No comments:

Post a Comment