The day had warmed up from 50 F (10 C) to the high 70s (21 C) and the bees came out to inspect the wild flowers around the old rice ponds.
These asters were a big draw and this patch had multiple bees working the blossoms.
Here’s a wider view of the aster patch well lit by the mid-day sun.
I don’t know either the insect or this flower that was growing wild at the edge of a pond.
One of the wasp’s legs was sticking out at an unnatural looking angle, perhaps injured, but it wasn’t slowing him down.
He methodically worked the flower blossoms around the stem, unlike some insects that dart around, seemingly unsatisfied with what is in front of them.
Morning Glories open to the rising sun on the edge of an old rice field pond.
10/14/2018, Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
This has been a banner season for Swamp Sunflowers, I see them thriving all around the wildlife areas I frequent. Surprisingly, despite many of the plants being over 5 ft (1.5 Meters) tall they have not been beaten down by our recent rain and wind storms.
The paths of the labyrinth at Mepkin Abby are currently created by a planting of yellow flowers, mostly Swamp Sunflowers, Helianthus angustifolius. Seen from the Abby’s entrance road it looks like an unkempt field of wildflowers.
As you get closer the entrance to the labyrinth invites you in, where you are surrounded by peaceful yellow. In many places the flowers were up to my shoulders.
In early October the sunflowers and grasses were heavy with blooms, some sagging into the path.
I saw the sign after I had exited the path. I could see I made it about half way before feeling closed in, stepping over the edge in a thin spot along the back. I didn’t realize how many insects there would be and how many unknown plants I would need to brush up against. Long pants and sleeves would have been a good choice for this journey except it was 90 degrees F (32 C).
From Mepkin Abby materials:
Mepkin Abby is a community of Roman Catholic monks established in 1949 on the site of the historic Mepkin Plantation on the Cooper River, north of Charleston, SC. The grounds and gardens are open daily to the public as part of their commitment to share their land.
This labyrinth is a seven circuit pattern and is a unicursal line that winds around itself with no dead ends. Follow the line all the way to the center, then reverse direction to exit.
This single rose was sticking out of a mess of bushes and vines, a lovely beacon on a grey day.
The past few weeks have been poor for getting new images; lots of grey days and thunderstorms at various times throughout the day, there are not many birds around, and the greater Charleston area has been mostly shut down since Monday due to the threat of Hurricane Florence.
I got a quick stroll in at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens on Sunday between rain storms. The air was still so the reflections in the ponds were pretty even though there wasn’t much light.
Magnolia and all of my usual haunts are closed until the storm passes. Florence’s path and power for our area are still hard to predict but I expect I’ll see some changes when we are able to return.
I mentioned back in June that I haven’t seen many water lilies this summer. That remains true all these weeks later.
These were in a small brick-rimmed pond at the back of the plantation house on a National Wildlife Refuge property I recently visited.
The seeds are just starting to form in the outer edges of this sunflower head, while the individual disk florets in the center are still developing.
These large red flowers are so flashy I almost didn’t see the butterfly. I believe the flower is a Texas Star Hibiscus, which grow wild around the edges of my favorite swamp.
The butterfly was intensely inspecting the flowers, but he didn’t stay with any one blossom for more than a moment.
An unopened bloom got its share of attention as the butterfly probed up under the flower’s sepals.
That wasn’t very satisfying, either, and he quickly moved on.
Many of the Buttonbush trees that were so popular with the butterflies in this area last July have died, and those that didn’t have very few blossoms. The harsh weather we had in January may have too much for them.
