Aug 30, 2009 - Wild things in our yard

This White-tailed Deer fawn has been showing up in our yard. At first it was coming with its mother. But it now seems to have become more independent and is coming by itself.

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We are attempting to make one area of our yard into a wildflower garden. Diana bought some Wild Bergamot and planted it in this garden. It established itself last year and this year we have even more of them. Bees and butterflies seem to like Bergamot. I have also seen our hummingbirds sipping nectar from them. When the leaves are crushed, they give off an odor that is a combination of mint and citrus. Native Americans used Bergamot to treat digestive and respiratory ailments.

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Northern Crescents are one of the common butterflies in our yard. It’s a smaller butterfly with a wingspan of only 1 to 1.5 inches. This one is on a Black-eyed Susan.

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This butterfly has all the right markings to identify it as a Great Spangled Fritillary, but the color is wrong. They are usually orange. I looked in Butterflies of the North Woods and found that this tawny colored one is a subspecies called Krautworm’s Fritillary. My favorite insect website, BugGuide.com didn’t even have a category for this subspecies so they added one and my photo became the first one posted in that category.

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Arrowhead plants grow along the shore of our lake. They get their name from the shape of their leaves which do resemble an arrowhead. The white flowers have three petals. The plants also produce edible tubers which have long been gathered by people for food. These tubers are also a favorite food for Tundra and Trumpeter Swans.

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