September 2010 report

It's September, we've had our first slightly cooler spell (lows in the low 50s) at Cottage on the Knoll at Cedarcroft Farm. I mowed the trails across the creeks yesterday and can report the state of the wildflowers and wildlife.

The most common wildflower is bidens, with its bright yellow flower. Other common yellow flowers are sunflowers and Jerusalem artichokes (a type of sunflower). Tall thistle, with some ironweed and red clover provide some purple touches; the most common white flowers are Joe Pye weed and whorled milkweed.

Milkweed means Monarch butterflies - I saw a large monarch caterpillar on a whorled milkweed leaf, and a very small one on another one. Monarchs aren't the only butterfly active - we have swarms of butterflies of all colors and sizes. When I mowed Scruffy's paddock, the barn swallows and dragonflies had a field day with the small insects stirred up by the mower.

I scared a duck off the pond in the back 40 and also saw several deer, but no buck rubs yet on the sumac, which will start to turn to a brilliant red in the next few weeks. The creek crossings are much easier now, with rock surfaces. Come, enjoy the autumn, the prettiest time of the year in the woods at Cedarcroft.