Beavers and Blooms..

Thread petaled native Coneflower
Unusual light pink Asclepias,natural hybrid??
Native Cherokee Rose

Bank of Maidenhair Ferns
"Sargasso" island in a Beaver pond
Jeff,in the third level pond,deep in the woods
Close Up, Beaver Dam #3
The Long View of the Beaver dam,#1
This past week, I had the pleasure of hosting one of my favorite friends for a long weekend. Jeff and I have known each other for more years than I like to think! We have botanized all over the world together...seeing plants in their native environment can give you so much direction in the care and habits of specific plants.

The weather in the Midwest has been incredibly wet, but everything is sooo lush! I have a very special area of the farm that has the most magical ravine of Maidenhair ferns, the sight of which isn't soon forgotten. We had made plans to go to the fernery, I had warned Jeff that the Beaver dams were something else...he had no idea.

After getting to the closest canal to the area,we got out and dragged the canoe over the first dam, and made our way up through the woods. The first large colony of Maidenhairs were up at least three levels of ponds!! We think there are at least seven levels...We stopped at five! The amazing construction of these able rodents is STAGGERING...but cool at the same time. At dusk, if they see you, the Beavers send warning tail smacks you can't ignore. In case you don't know, Beaver can get large...fifty pounds or so I would think, very strong animals.

After we left the woods, we made our way back and spied some beautiful native Cherokee roses, and a special pale pink Asclepias that seems to be a natural hybrid...I'll be collecting seeds of that one! The thread petaled cone flowers are just coming in to bloom as well.