February 2 at Cutler Park

[urbpan]

I'd like to mark all the corners of the year with visits to places that fill me with the awe of nature. It might not always be possible, and honestly I wasn't even thinking of the date when I decided to bring Charlie to Cutler Park--it was just warm.



If you haven't seen me post about this place before (it's been a while, I guess) it's a large cattail swamp on the bank of the Charles, along busy Rt. 95, the highway that circumscribes the Boston metro area.




This is a gall on the stem of a blueberry plant. A tiny wasp laid her eggs there, causing this weird growth to form, protecting the developing larvae. When the baby wasps were ready to leave, each in their own separate chamber, they chewed their way to the surface, making the many holes.
Using this book I determined that the wasps were probably Hemadas nubilipennis.


Walking on midwinter's day makes one hunger to find color and life. Here's a few flowerings of Nectria, a fungus feeding on (in this case) a tree root damaged by footsteps.


A bridge under the railroad tracks is a tempting spot for a photo.


It's also a tempting spot for rogue muralists.

Comments

[detroitos.livejournal.com]

Nice. I'd love to see something other than snow.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I hear that!

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

Great shots! That wasp gall gives me the heebies, though.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Really? How come?

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

Clusters of small dark holes. *shiver*