Weeding to Spot Bobwhites

I saw the first bobwhite I've ever seen in my life this morning, while weeding the Apple Valley Memorial Garden.

I figured weeding would not only fulfill a volunteer obligation as a member of the Apple Valley Garden Club, but also help me learn more about gardening and get me down and dirty so I could see more life for my Nature log.

While the bobwhite gets top billing this morning, I was also thrilled to watch an inchworm inch along and then stop, seeming to be thinking about tasting a leaf.  I found it when I was aiming my camera at a moth.   Even the lowly earthworm I found thrilled me, testifying to the good environment in the garden and reminding me of the worm's value in aerating soil and making paths and fertilizer for plant roots.

It's harder to justify my thrill at seeing flies on leaves because we tend to think of only houseflies, not being aware maybe that--as the authors of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects & Spiders point out--there are more than "86,000 known species [of flies], with about 16,300 in North America, and many more awaiting discovery."

I also saw robins and a bird species I couldn't see well enough to identify--and many bird calls or songs I couldn't identify.  And I saw a cabbage white butterfly and a silver-spotted skipper.   Skippers are close relatives of butterflies.

The sight of the bobwhite living in the garden hedges made me think that when I heard what I thought was a turkey-like gobbling from groundhogs was probably the quail chasing a groundhog away from the quail nest.

Wildflowers Lead to Pollinators and Eastern Towhees

While tentatively identifying the beautiful white and lavender wildflowers blooming nearby each May, I had the bonus of seeing my first two skippers of the season feeding off their nectar--the hobomok skipper and the silver-spotted skipper.

Skippers are close relatives of butterflies. 

I also kicked up many probable moths in the undergrowth as I walked into a vacant lot near our yard to get a closer look at the wildflowers.

And, while sitting on my  back deck trying to identify the wildflowers with a field guide, I was treated to the sight of three very sociable eastern towhees, two males and a female, I think. 

I'm not experienced at plant identification and the best possibility I could come up with is "Dame's Rocket", which I've never heard of before.  I used to think these wildflowers were some type of phlox.

I'll be checking with knowledgeable neighbors on these flowers which are everywhere in our area.

(For a little longer blog on this, go to my website:  www.doncomis.simplesite.com)

The lavender mystery wildlflower. (Photo by Don Comis)

The white mystery wildflower.  (Photo by Don Comis)

One of at least three not-very-shy eastern towhees in our yard.  This one is definitely a male.  (Photo by Don Comis)

Adult female eastern towhee.  (Photo by Don Comis)