Mates for life; a pair of Canadian Geese. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
Shaking it’s tail feathers while hunting for a meal. It’s all in a day’s work. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
Canadian Geese live in communal groups, migrate in groups, and depend upon community. These Canadians summer in North America; they are prolific immigrants to the Chicago area. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
Ok, so since I teased you on the last post, mentioning my visit to Montrose Harbor’s dog beach I thought it honorable to show you a few images! Though it was a weekday, still activity abounded. This is the largest dog beach in Lincoln Park so great space for all dog personalities.
Dog beach at far north end of Montrose Harbor’s public beach area. You can see the dividing fence in the background separating dogs and THEIR people from other people. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Enjoying the waves. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
All join in! Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
It’s mine!! Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Dogs are a good excuse to play!! Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Relaxing is also allowed. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Fungi (mushrooms) and algae produce lichen on this dead tree stump. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Yesterday’s post of Lichen was witness to what happens when fungi and algae live together. The fungi benefit from algae that make food through photosynthesis. These images show the lush diversity within these miniature communities. I always feel the presence of a superior entity (God, to me) when I observe such creations.
Colony of mushrooms appear after rains; on less moist days the fungi thrives underground. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Never seen this kind of fungi. The variety at Starved Rock after a few days of rain were many and diverse. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Fungi ring around the tree stump. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
This tree hosts a prolific, rich community. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
The moist walls of the canyon supports more miniature communities. Copyright 2017, Pamela Breitberg.
My macro lens is one of my favorites because with its use I have permission to stare at others. I can spend time intimately observing the tiny, abundant insect communities that most often are ignored. Sometimes I am surprised when my camera captures details and subjects that were unnoticed by me. This image is a prime example of such recorded evidence. I was focused on the Comma butterfly. I saw the one fly above the butterfly. I did not see the one below. And I absolutely did not realize the “spots” on the adjacent leaf were alive!
So much goes on around us all the time that is oblivious to us. Such findings make me keenly aware that my ability to see the world and make sense of it continually needs practice. This is true with people as well as nature.
Comma butterfly with others of the community. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
This morning I am reminded of how little I yet have learned, how much there still is to learn. Providing background information of my natural subjects is one of my strategies to mark my passion for nature’s wonders as contagious. Today, the best I can hope for is to instill you with a sense of awe; specifically an awe in the multiplicity of Sedges. If that’s too ambitious of me, please just enjoy the pictures I share!
Caricology is the study of this large species, Sedge (carex). The identification of the sedges in these images remains a mystery to me. I’m content to know that I still haven’t learned it all; actually I’m excited to know I’m not done exploring life’s mysteries.
The Sedges alongside the riverbank were expected natives. Connecting this river with the forest through which it flowed brought together two moist loving species that do not usually mingle with each other. My eye focused on a colony of Mayapples (Podophyllum). Mayapples are woodland natives that stir folktale imaginations in my mind with each springtime encounter. Here they were sharing the forest floor with Sedges. Crouching down as I hunted for yet-to-bloom Mayapple flowers I quickly became fascinated by the stringy fuzz of these Sedges.
Mayapples and Sedges communing together. Copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg
Sedges among the Mayapple. Copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg
Sedge in Cook County Forest Preserve, Chicago. Copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg
-Read other Mayapple posts of mine:
-Illinois is host to over 200 “Sedges, grasses and non-flowering plants”: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/grass_index.htm .
Young (brown heads) and elder (white heads) Brown Pelicans gather at Anglin’s Pier in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, much to my pleasure. copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg
Scruffy looking Brown Pelican adults groom and stealthily watch anglers and tourists. copyright 2015 Pamela Breitberg