The cattails (Typha angustifolia) are as high as an elephant’s eye. In fact, one of the gardeners was actively clearing some of these out, saying they were growing outwards and the goldenrod was growing inwards, and without care there would not be any pond after too long. 
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), my favorite milkweed family members.
Some galls on an Eastern Cottonwood.
The fenced path between completed sections (Piers 1 and 6) passes through a construction zone and some remnants of the former wilderness found along these piers. Queen Anne’s Lace, Daucus carota, among others.
Ummmmmm.
Also: a fledgling Common Grackle being being fed by its bright-eyed parent, near the bathing hole used by at least half a dozen bird species throughout the day (fresh water is vital to birds for drinking and bathing). I spotted a Painted Turtle, which I then learned was recently introduced. Three species of ladybugs, which I’ve saving for a future post, and two species of very colorful aphids (likewise). Pier 1, incidentally, is a good places this time of year to be relatively close to Barn Swallows, who zip over the ponds and up to the Promenade and back in their acrobatic insect-hunting.
Backyard and Beyond 
Leave a comment