Goodness, it's just Red Efts all over the place around here. And I'm not complaining! When I went for a walk at Hammond Hill State Forest yesterday, I crossed paths with six of these juvenile newts, and among them was the tiniest eft I've ever seen (pictured here with a dime for scale):
I didn't know they came so small! Look at this wonderful animal:
I moved the tiny eft off the path to make way for incoming mountain bikes, and the leaf I used as a mini-eft-elevator then made a great stage for one last adorable portrait:
Here's a bigger and bulkier eft I met during the same walk; all efts are beautiful, and it's so cool to get to compare individuals of such different sizes:
It was also great to see Red Columbine blooming next to the path (although I only found the one plant):
A small patch of Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana) made a cool sight with those tiers of whorled leaves:
The small flowers dangling from the top tiers of these plants are lovely, and quite strangely shaped:
I'm so happy to live in a place where Chestnut-sided Warblers are fairly common; they're my favorite warbler species, mostly because of the male's eccentric costume. This male Chestnut-sided Warbler gave me a nice view of his bright yellow cap (one of his best and strangest features):
I also got to admire this female Chestnut-sided Warbler's more muted yellow hat, along with her beautiful striped back:
We really do have lots of cool animals and plants around here!
It was hot and muggy in the woods this afternoon (by Connecticut's standards, anyway), but the flowers and insects sure didn't seem to mind!
The butterflies were out in abundance -- I stood in a single spot and saw at least three different species flitting around. There was this Spicebush Swallowtail:
A Red Admiral:
And a small group of what I think were Pearl Crescents, with the undersides of their wings just as beautiful as the tops:
And a bunch of these grasshoppers (I don't know the exact species) buzzed around my feet every time I took a step:
It was a good day for flowers as well. The Pearl Crescent in the pictures above is on a blackberry flower, and these flowers nearby look to be some sort of raspberry:
This funky plant is Indian Cucumber Root -- its flowers are quite small and easy to overlook, with green petals blending in with the rest of the forest floor, but I think they're rather beautiful (the second picture gives a closer view):
Finally, this stand of Harlequin Blueflag (Iris versicolor) growing on the water's edge was producing some stunning flowers:
And with that, I'm off on another adventure! Tomorrow we leave for New Jersey, and from there it's Copenhagen for a day and Norway for five. So I won't be making any posts for about a week -- but I imagine I will have things to share when I return! :D
