I'd almost forgotten how lovely Southford Falls State Park is. Good thing I visited this morning to remind myself!
I wasn't the only one enjoying these shady woods. Hey, is that a furry creature up in that tree?
The ball of fur dozed for a while, but then shifted around to show a ringed tail:
And little paw-hands and a masked face:
What a perfect perch for a sleepy Raccoon! The creature shifted a bit more to find the most comfortable position:
The most comfortable position, of course, would be one that doesn't involve a person pointing and clicking a camera at you, even from a distance. OK, no need to glare, I'm leaving:
Wow, what a beautiful reddish color on this creature's shoulders. Thank you for hanging out here, handsome/adorable Raccoon. (So cool!)
An Eastern Garter Snake was also out and about in the woods:
Garter snakes are always pretty, but I especially like the dark spots behind this individual's head:
Yay, little snake:
Familiar late-spring wildflowers were brightening up the woodland floor, including big patches of Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense):
Feathery plumes of False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum):
And pale floating Spotted Geranium (Geranium maculatum):
Near the park's pond, Eastern Kingbirds chased each other and hunted from high perches:
And dozens of the palest, wispiest damselflies (perhaps newly emerged) fluttered around:
A lovely woods walk indeed!
Today was another good day for birds in the Naugatuck State Forest. I saw three new species that I'd never seen before, all awesome, and all moving too quickly and too far away for pictures: a Wood Thrush (pretty enough, I think, to suit its beautiful song), a pair of Black-throated Blue Warblers, and an American Redstart. (The Wood Thrush has a brilliant white breast, so I'm tempted to make some poorly-formed comment about the patriotic aspect of this trio of birds, but I won't stretch quite that far.)
This Gray Catbird was singing softly near a thick rose bush next to the path:
It was quite a pretty song, all warbling and ramble-y. When it saw me standing there, however, it switched to the mew-like call that gives this bird its name -- an alarm perhaps? I've seen a catbird hanging out around this bush before, which makes me wonder whether there might be a nest in there. Don't worry, little bird, I wouldn't bother your babies. ("Oh, no?")
In another part of the forest, I found this tiny, bizarre bug relaxing on a leaf by the path:
From a distance, this looked like something the trees might have shed after flowering, but nope, it's got eyes and wings. The body parts are a little strangely-proportioned, but it's definitely a creature. After a little research, I'm pretty sure this is some sort of Thick-headed Fly (Myopa sp., I think), so called because their heads are, well, thick, in comparison to their thorax. I have never heard of -- nor seen -- a creature like this before, but I am convinced even more of how weird bugs are!
I've been watching these plants for a little while now, waiting to see what kind of flowers would grow so I could try to identify them:
Presumably these flowers will grow larger, straighten out, and turn white (as they are in the pictures I've found online), because this is most likely False Solomon's Seal. "False" because, well, it's not Solomon's Seal -- another plant that grows in these woods -- although the one plant without its flowers sure looks a lot like the other. Poor plant, named for not being something else. To be fair, though, it has other names as well: Solomon's Plume, or Treacleberry. So I guess it's OK. Also, sometimes I just have to laugh at the silly names people think of for plants. :P
Here's the last picture for the day, an Orange Jelly Fungus growing on a branch:
In a post about birds and flowers, did you expect a fungus to be the brightest thing around? Sometimes nature is surprising like that. :P
