natureswondersbyclyde

     Lake Onalaska, an 8,400-acre backwater off the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, is a wildlife refuge of several habitats, including islands of tall grass and wild rice, islands of large, riparian trees, large mud flats, channels of shallow water and deeper water.  And during summer it is loaded with flocks of several kinds of birds that are noticeable on computer screens because of a live camera in the refuge.  Lake Onalaska is one of the best places in the United States to experience a diversity of wildlife in big numbers in summer, whether in person, or by computer screen.      A beautiful background of distant wooded hills bordering the Mississippi adds to the grandeur of Lake Onalaska.  It's like beauty in a lovely shell.      Flocks of non-breeding American white pelicans, double-crested cormorants and ring-billed gulls rest on the flats and in the shallows through much of the day, everyday, during summer.  All th...

     September is my favorite time of year.  Although most vegetation is still green, as in summer, September is the time of summer's maturity in the Middle Atlantic States, which starts around the Autumn Equinox.  At that time, a peaceful, bountiful feeling prevails here; most plant growth has stopped and gone to seed and the bustle of wildlife raising young ceased as those critters prepare for the coming winter.  Bird song is no longer heard.        The amount of daylight each succeeding day decreases toward winter.  Sunrise is now in the east instead of the northeast and sunset is in the west instead of in the northwest.  The sun is noticeably lower in the sky and shadows are longer, and lie differently than in July.        Many pretty, sunny September mornings begin quietly and still, with a different, relaxed "feel" than earlier in summer when plants were growing rapidly and wildlife was busil...

     I stopped at a favorite, peaceful place behind a dam on Mill Creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the middle of September to enjoy nature.  The creek has little current and is bordered on both sides by leafy-green riparian trees, including ash-leafed maples and black walnuts.        At first, I saw no wildlife with my eyes alone.  But with 16 power binoculars, I saw several blue-colored bluet damselflies standing on mats of algae and duckweed along the shorelines, and on twigs protruding from the shallows.  I also noticed an eastern phoebe perched on a twig of a tree hanging over the water, while it watched for flying insects to catch with its beak and consume.  And I saw a couple of young green frogs and a painted turtle half-hidden among algae and duckweed carpets on the water.      I also noticed a tiny cove of clear, shallow water with no current along a shoreline.  That little backwater was p...

     I stopped for an hour and a half one warm afternoon in late August, 2022, in a shaded spot under trees off a farmland road along a clear-flowing stream a mile south of New Holland, Pennsylvania to enjoy nature.  The stream was bordered for many yards on both sides by green, sun-filled thickets of shrubbery and young trees.  The stream and thickets together create a pretty wildlife oasis in manicured cropland.        Sitting in that one spot, I saw several kinds of wildlife going about their daily business.  A couple of gray catbirds and a northern cardinal were scrambling about in red-twig dogwood bushes and eating the dark-blue berries of that shrubbery.  A song sparrow hopped along a narrow, stream-side mudflat to consume various invertebrates.  He was hard to see because he was brown on brown.  And a little later I saw a few American goldfinches ingesting strands of algae from a shallow backwater with no curre...

     By August, varying-sized, green mats of algae, duckweed and water stargrass float together on the surfaces of certain ponds and still backwaters of creeks in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Algae grows in long, matted strands, and duckweeds are tiny, flat plants that grow in colonies on water surfaces.  Stargrass colonies root in muddy bottoms.  Each plant's long leaves undulate in currents and the single yellow flower barely emerges from the water's surface to be pollinated.       Together, those mats of algae, duckweed, and stargrass in bloom, look like tiny islands in the water, and remind me of lawns with dandelion flowers flourishing in them.  And, those mats of small, aquatic plants create niches that several kinds of small creatures use for a variety of reasons.      Certain kinds of attractive and entertaining damselflies and dragonflies rest on those mats, after aerial feeding forays on small, flying in...

     A half-acre pond at the end of our suburban street in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania harbors at least three adult red-eared sliders, which are a species of freshwater turtles.  I see their heads poked out of the water to breathe and look around.  And I see them basking in sunlight on the stony shores of the pond.      As store-bought, baby turtles, the above-discussed turtles were eventually released into that pond by people who didn't want them anymore.  Those reptiles adapted to life in that impoundment, survived northern winters and grew to adult size, with a top shell length of about seven inches, or a bit more.       Red-eared sliders are native to the southeastern and southcentral United States.  But today, they are flourishing throughout much of the world, because of the pet trade, and being released into, and successfully adapting to, impoundments and slower waterways, where they are better off.  ...

     In August each year, I like to visit several sunny meadows, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, that have moist soil, to enjoy their variety of lovely blossoms.  Each grassy pasture has a unique community of flowering plants that prefer damp soil, so no two meadows are alike.  Some pastures only have a couple kinds of blooming plants in August, while other meadows have several.  And some meadows have more flowering plants of a type than others.        Those bouquets of lovely blooms attract a diversity of pretty bees, butterflies and other kinds of pollinating insects that add to the beauties and intrigues of the flowers.  The blossoms and sap-sipping insects, together, are another example of life adapting well to human-made conditions and activities.  Seeing them, I feel God's nature is still prevalent on Earth.      Each of these grassy, flower-studded pastures has a clear stream running through it, wh...