Steamy Jungle Fen Part 1

The outer and inner world can get to be too much sometimes, so we took a break from it at the Fen yesterday.

It was like a sultry tropical jungle, in between rains.  The wetlands and prairie were covered with incredibly colorful drifts of wildflowers of every description, most notably the masses of dusty pink joe-pyeweed, deep purple ironweed, bright yellow coneflowers and the beginning of goldenrod sprays, galaxies of delicate white flower stars of all kinds, and too many others to name.

It was encouraging to see hundreds of honeybees stocking up, and monarchs.  If you look closely, you’ll spy the large praying mantis hanging out on some white flowers.  We were glad to see some turtles in the stream, indicating the improved quality of the water.

I went a little crazy with photography, so I’ll post this in two parts.  The second part includes our always-pleasant visit to Peifer Orchards to buy local produce.

 

 

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