Ducklings in the evening

Ducklings enjoyed an evening swim with mama mallard. There numbers are down from seven to five.  It could be those large snapping turtles or possibly the fox have been reducing their numbers.  Survival really isn't all that easy in the wild.

Clouds

Big booming clouds of white, gray and purple made for a pretty awesome evening presentation earlier in the week.

Beautiful butterfly

I happened to notice this female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - black form butterfly pass by while mowing the front yard.  Thanks to some flowers we planted, it decided to stop and pay a visit.

These swallowtails are often yellow in color, but as shown above, also have a dark morphed variation, making them a dimorphic species.

Leaf detail

A leaf from our redbud tree.

Nature still finding victories over humankind

Giant Ragweed
(left and right of guy in center)

An article in yesterday's StarTribune, 'Superweeds' emerge to challenge farmers, noted how new large varieties of weeds are developing a resistance to traditional herbicides.

I discovered some super large ragweed along the shores of Bassett Creek Park yesterday.

Another article about the Ebola virus noted how we still haven't figured out a medical treatment for this deadly disease.

So it seems nature is still evolving and picking up a few wins against our best efforts to foil her.

Morning in the park

I rose early this morning to discover heavy dew and fog throughout the park.

Audacity

An Eastern Kingbird chased an American Osprey away from the pond at Bassett Creek Park earlier this week.  I was hoping to get a picture of this beautiful osprey fishing, but alas, I guess it was in this kingbird's territory.  Pretty bold little bird wouldn't you say?