Sept 10

Last Friday, I drove 45 miles northwest of Alma to hike in the 79-acre Peterson Natural Area, another property of the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. The early morning weather was sunny with a temperature of 52 degrees and no wind. Leaving the car in the parking area off 180thAve., I proceeded west into an expansive grassland with the sun at my back and no trails to follow. The first thing I noticed was that the dewy conditions combined with the angle of the sunrays exposed hundreds of spider webs clinging to the vegetation. At the “bulls eye” of many of the large circular webs was a Yellow Garden Spider. This common, colorful orb weaver creates a delicate, spoked web of silk to capture its prey. At the end of today, it will eat what’s left of the web and make a new one tonight. The smaller, non-circular webs that appear messy and disorganized were created by a tiny 1/8-inch Cobweb Weaver (barely visible). Proceeding west, I came upon a large meadow covered with yellow blossoms. While most of them were from Canadian Goldenrod plants including this one being visited by a grasshopper, a few were of the Lanced-leaved variety. It’s time once again to remind the reader that Goldenrod pollen is not the source of seasonal “hay fever” allergies, but instead it’s the less showy Ragweed. Continuing to explore the meadow, I spotted a few blossoms of Small-flowered White Aster as well as Spotted Knapweed. In a field ahead, I noticed a hue of pastel purple coming from a patch of Purpletop grass whose spikelets bloom this time of year. Even though the Milkweed plants I observed were no longer in bloom, one was being partially consumed by a Monarch caterpillar while another provided a basking place for an adult Monarch. Within a month or so, the adults will begin their 3000-mile migration to Mexico. Still meandering around the meadow, I spotted a Pearl Crescent Butterfly resting on a blade of grass. Next, I turned around and began retracing my steps east where I was amazed how the morning sun reflected off a dewy patch of Purpletop grass. Finally, I reached the car and started my journey home.



Throughout summer
Green had its way
Grasses and shrubs
Meadow’s display
Splashes of white
Queen Anne’s Lace
Milkweed pink
If only a trace
Along comes yellow
To blanket the sod
Autumn approaches
Behold! Goldenrod

D. DeGraaf