Pages

▼

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Mercer Arboretum

On Friday, we went to the Arboretum with my niece who was down for the day. It was a gorgeous day with perfect weather!

A carnivorous pitcher plant
A Gulf Fritillary

Alexandra enjoying the fish

Being silly with the magnifying glass :-)

A Floss Silk Tree, member of the Kapok-Family - these "thorns" (prickles) are sharp! Alexandra asked if it had been painted green - the green is actually from a high cholorophyll content. Because of this cholorophyll, it can perform photosynthesis even when leaves are absent!
Bumble bee (I even petted this "big" guy who then buzzed and scared me)


Bean Leaf Beetle - a pest to soybean, but pretty cute little guy

A sign of who else lives at the Arboretum...

Cool stump
Cypress Trees - I LOVE these trees! Here's some info I got from this site.

Bald cypress trees love the water. Their buttressed bases help them stand tall in the muddy soil. These are coniferous trees, but they're not evergreen. The soft, feathery needles turn brown and drop off in the fall.

The unusual "knees" of the bald cypress are distinctive. The roots send up knobby extensions that protrude from the water. One theory suggests that the knees extend into the air to help get oxygen to the roots.
at

4 comments:

  1. MommyShan8:13 PM

    Dana,
    You are going to have to give me some nature photography classes when I get back! As always, I learn so much about God's Creation from reading your blog.
    See ya soon,
    MommyShan

    ReplyDelete
  2. live4evermom10:44 AM

    An Arborteum? I'll have to look that up. That would be nice to take my kids too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robin2:51 PM

    I love these pictures! Especially the cyprus trees. That stump was the most unusual stump I've ever seen. I wonder why it grew that way.... hmmm.
    I'm curious about one thing. When you identify these bugs and plants, are you learning this info from a guide, or do you have to come home and pour through sites and books? And if you do, which sites are you using? You have an amazing array of nature in your neck of the woods!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dan10:48 AM

    In the last few weeks I have been taking pictures of different color variations of the Floss Silk Tree flower. If you are interested I´ve just posted them to my tree-species blog.

    ReplyDelete