In Prospect Park

A walk in Prospect Park never fails to turn up something exciting in the animal/vegetable/mineral kingdoms, even if I’m paying more attention to the conversation. When the conversation is with NYC Wildflower Week’s Mariellé Anzelone, there’s plenty to learn. For instance, I think I can now actually name the two flowers pictured here. That’s one of the mock oranges above (genus Philadelphus) and the purple-flowering raspberry, Rubus odoratus, below.
Meanwhile, larvae of something eating bittersweet nightshade leaves. There were also wooly aphids on this plant, toting their tiny bundles of wooly-ness.Barn swallows nesting on the Boathouse. This is one of several you can see there now. They make their nests out of mud pellets.

Not pictured: a host of butterflies, including pipevine and tiger swallowtails; dragonflies, including a 12-spot; and feeding time at the Nelly’s Lawn red-tailed hawk nest.

A blazing day, but so much cooler under the trees! More tree, please! (And let’s not just plant ’em and forget ’em, as the city’s Million Trees project does.)