Lilac Libations

Earlier this week, ProfessorRoush noticed that one of his "old French" lilacs was blooming.  It is not, in itself, an unusual occurrence for a lilac to bloom here in the Fall, although I am always grateful and attentive when they do.  This year, this old and anonymous Syringa vulgaris has already dropped most of its leaves but is quite prolific in bloom, a half-dozen inflorescences adding fragrance to the cool morning air.  A neighboring pink 'Maiden's Blush' and lilac-colored 'Wonderblue' are also blooming in this row, more sparsely, but blooming nonetheless.

When I first noticed the bloom, I merely thought "well, that will be my blog subject for the week," and snapped a few pictures to document the occasion in time and memory.  The shrub is ugly at this time of the year, bare and worn, and the panicles mildly out of place against a background of drying prairie, but the presence of a lilac out-of-season is still a gift from the gods and an occasion to celebrate.

I was entirely unprepared, however, two days later, when I saw a Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly flitting about the blooms, and I failed to capture more than a blurred butterfly-silhouette at the time.  I was more deliberate and careful today, however, when I noticed, not one, but several Monarchs on the fragrant blooms.

They were patient, these Monarchs, uncaring that I hovered nearby as they slowly made their way over the panicles, briefly feeding at each floret as they went round and round the inflorescences, silhouetted and then in full glory to my phone camera.  One of my frequent failings as a photographer is to capture images of insects in perfect focus on plants, but these golden subjects were nearly posing still, allowing the lens and the photographer to sync up for a frozen moment of glory.

As I marveled and frantically took photo after photo, I finally noticed that not just Monarchs, but other butterflies were taking advantage of the offering of late-season nectar.  The fuzzy-bodied Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) in the photo at the right, is likely the third "flight" or generation of this year, but it too was patient enough to pose for the admiring ProfessorRoush.  I owe the ID, by the way, to this amazing Pocket Guide to Kansas butterflies.

A "libation" is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a deity or spirit, and in this time, in this place, the lilac is surely offering a libation, its precious remaining energy as nectar, to these delicate deities of the wind.  God Speed, Monarchs and Skippers all, on your travels to the future.   May the flowers in your path be sweet and the wind be always at your back. 

Quivera Roadtrip

ProfessorRoush took a vacation from work and gardening Friday and, with his beloved Mrs. ProfessorRoush, made a 2.5 hour daytrip west and south to explore the Quivera National Wildlife Refuge near Stafford, Kansas (population 925).  Quivera NWR is a 22135 acre sand prairie and inland salt marsh smack dab on the central migratory flyway, and it supports the vast migration of hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and the much more rare Whooping Crane, as well as 340 other species of migratory birds and the Monarch Butterfly. Established in 1955, it is a virtual oasis for these migrations and sits among ancient sand dunes covered by grasslands, rare geography, geology and ecology for any area, but especially for Kansas. 

Panorama of Little Salt Marsh, Quivera National Wildlife Refuge

ProfessorRoush was interested in exploring his newfound hobby of birding, adding a dozen species to his Life List, and the ever-tolerant Mrs. ProfessorRoush may have initially viewed it as an unavoidable hardship but also showed minor signs of excitement with binoculars in her hands.  It was a gorgeous, perfect weather day, but this is really the wrong season for birding and witnessing the mass migration.  However, my amateur naturalist came out and I made up for the current sparsity of  wildlife by exploring the abundant native Kansas flora you see pictured here in bloom. 

Some, like the Prickly Poppy (Argemone polyanthemos) pictured at the right, are old familiar friends.   I briefly considered that this might be the Hedge-Hog Prickly Poppy (Argemone squarrosa), but it doesn't have the more abundant stem and leaf prickles of the latter, so I believe I've got it right.  Other forbs, like the Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) pictured at the top and above left, were recognizable, but displayed its yellow form rather than the orange flower I'm used to. 

Prairie Spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalist) added abundant blue accents along the roadsides to the yellow native sunflowers that were just beginning to bloom.  At least I think it was Prairie Spiderwort.   It could also be Common Spiderwort or Long-Bracted Spiderwort, but unlike the former it has hair on its sepals, and it branches more than I would expect for the latter.   While I have plenty of sunflowers to view on my own prairie, Spiderwort is more rare here in the dryer climate of the Flint Hills.   

Of course, there was an abundance of other milkweed in bloom, in this case Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa).

And the Showy Milkweed came complete with a Monarch butterfly (Danus plexippus)!

Leaving the park, driving along roads which were essentially just bulldozed out of the sand dunes, I was delighted to run into these roadside clumps of Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) growing wild and displaying infrequent large orange squash-like flowers.  Based on my reading the mature gourds are not edible, and the crushed leaves give off a fetid odor that give the plant its species name.  

My botanical skills fail, however, in finding an identity for these clumps of pink-flowering shrubs near the water edge, however.   Anyone have any ideas?   Clump-like forms about 3 feet tall and wide, they seemed to be favored perches for the abundant Red-Winged Blackbirds of the area, but I couldn't get close enough for an other than wind-tossed-and-blurry-iPhone picture.  It does, however, with some oil-paint and blurring filters, make a nice photo suitable for framing (below)!