BACK TO WALNEY - 7-22-21

We went back to Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, where we always start off at the Visitor Center.  It has a nice area to walk around, and we enjoy seeing the flowers in the front of the house. 

Let's start off with the Common Milkweed.  There were many.  I am always happy to see them as I know how essential they are to the Monarch Butterflies, and others.

Milkweeds are the only plants Monarchs will lay their eggs on.  Unfortunately there weren’t any around today, but a few Cabbage whites were fluttering about.  

The two birds you see on the window are actually decals, to stop birds from getting confused and flying into the mirror image no doubt.

This is Black-eyed susan, a species of Coneflowers (Rudbeckia).  Also known as Yellow ox-eye daisy, English bull's eye, Brown betty, Golden jerusalem and Gloriosa daisy.  It's botanical name is Rudbeckia hirta.  

The description I read said, "the black-eyed susan is a flowering black and yellow plant with curving leaves.  It is culturally important in the Southern United States, and is often used to attract butterflies to gardens.  It long ago spread throughout North America and much of the world.  Black-eyed susan is the state flower of Maryland".

I have shown this before.  It is a circular bed of plants and flowers called the Butterfly Garden.

The plate of stones has been added since the last time we were here.  It says: "This is a puddling stone.  "Puddling" is a behavior common to butterflies.  They often congregate on wet sand or gravel to sip water and they also get salt and minerals needed for survival."  It seemed too late in the day for butterflies, and although it was still light it was in the early evening. 

In the same flower bed, more milkweed...

 but also Garden phlox.  Other names are Fall phlox, Autumn Phlox, Summer phlox, Perennial phlox and Cross-leaved phlox.  Its botanical name is Phlox paniculata.  Garden phlox is native to the United States.  The name phlox comes from the Latin for "flame", reflecting its bright colors.  

It can also become important food sources for not only butterflies, but other insects and hummingbirds.  The sweet aroma of garden flox nectar draws the hummingbird in, allowing the plant to douse the bird in pollen to be carried on to other flowers.  (And I once again thank my plant app "PictureThis", for all the great information it provides.  I take the photo while in the app, and it automatically pops up with all this great information.)

I have a hard time dragging myself away from this area, but the rest of the garden is calling.

The kitchen garden is thriving...

and nearby our bench is waiting.

We have been lucky as it has been vacant the last few times we have been here.  Our timing is specifically for when it is quiet.  We sit and enjoy looking at any birds that may be around, and notice there are grapes growing on the arbor.

The Brown Thrasher was sitting on the top of a roll of chicken wire near the shed next to the kitchen garden.  I was happy as I haven't seen one in a very long time.  It's a clever little bird.  When feeding it can hammer nuts such as acorns in order to remove the shell.  In one case, a bird was observed to dig a hole about 0.59 inch deep, place an acorn in it and hit the acorn until it cracked, considered to be a form of tool usage.

You can read more information about them here.  I was interested to find out that it has great flexibility in catching quick insects, as the amount of vertebrae in its neck exceeds giraffes and camels!  Also, Brown Thrashers have the largest repertoire of songs of the North American birds, and are able to vocalize 3000 distinct songs.

It is the state bird of Georgia, is very territorial and will vigorously defend its nest.  The name "thrasher" does not come from the aggressive nature of the bird, but rather that the name is believed to have come from the thrashing sound it makes when digging through ground debris.  That's one explanation anyway.  The longest known lifespan in the wild is twelve years, but they are susceptible to disease and parasites which can shorten their life considerably.

Maybe it had its eyes on the bees but they were  safely guarded...

and I make sure I don't get too close.  We visited for years when there was no electric fence.  I would love to know the reason why it was erected but, as I have mentioned in other posts, the visitor center has been closed perhaps due to us picking the later time for our arrival.  I make my usual guess that it is to stop animals from raiding the hive.  I remember the Spanish word "peligro".  I learned it while watching episodes of Sesame Street with our son when he was very young. It has been a long time but the word stuck.

It looks like everything is growing well in the kitchen garden.
This is the restored Smoke House used by the family who lived in the old house in the first photo.  

It is time to head down to the pond, which I will tell you about soon.