Photography with Belmont Manor and Historic Park Summer Camp

Last week I volunteered to lead a nature photography activity the Howard Country Conservancy’s Summer Nature Camps at Belmont Manor and Historic Park. The day was hot, humid and there was an air quality alert as well. I got there early and took a walk along the path I planned to take with the first group…and that is when I took most of the pictures for the day. I noticed the Norway maple’s ripening samaras (invasive tree that was planted as part of the landscaping around The Cottage),

The wineberries (good to eat but watch out for the thorns),

Thistle seeds ready to blow away with the next strong breeze,

Caterpillars making their tent in the morning sun,

And chicory (from afar it looks like it is mostly stem but the small blue flowers are lovely at close range).

Later in the morning when I was hiking with the 6 to 8 years old campers, I managed to capture a picture of ripening Jack-in-the-Pulpit seeds and

The forest canopy reflected in a mud puddle. It was getting hotter all the time and our hike lasted less than 45 minutes.

With the older group (9-12 years old) we headed to the formal gardens. It was after lunch and me tried to stick to the shade as much as possible. It worked for a little while. We took a lot of pictures at the water lily pond. Many of the children were as patient as I was to get a picture of a dragonfly on a water lily bud.

I liked the margins of the lily pads – the green, the black water, the glint of the sun…and tiny piece of brown debris.

We misted everyone with water we’d brought to make spider webs more visible and managed to stay out as long as the morning group even though the temperature was hotter than in the morning. Everyone welcomed the cool of the nature center building when we got back!

Eastern Painted Turtle at Kenilworth Gardens

On one of our visits to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, there was a crowd around one of the ponds looking at – not lotuses or water lilies – but a turtle. I think a child had spotted it first but then everyone around looked too. It was surprising how difficult it was to see it in the pond. It was a rather small one and it was sitting in a puddle of water on a lily pad.

It seems more interested in the bees that were visiting a nearby flower than it was the people at the edge pf the pond.

I took enough pictures to identify it as a young Eastern Painted Turtle when I got home. On other visits we saw other turtles but they were in the water and not very photogenic. Maybe it was the season. We are past the time when the turtles need to sun on logs to get warm!

Kenilworth Water Lilies

The two dominate plants at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens during June and July are the water lilies and the lotuses. The sign for the visitor center has a water lily design. The flowers rest at almost the same level as the leaves very near the water surface while the lotuses are above the water – the leaves being a layer that flutters below the flowers that are higher still. I like photographing water lilies – particularly ones that have a lot of color and the background is dark enough to set off the color.

I always wonder what causes the plants to grow only in part of a pond. Perhaps it has to do with water depth.

During our visit in late June there were quite a few geese in one of the ponds that was filled completely with water lilies. They moved through the heavy foliage. They just swim through the foliage and the plants close behind the big birds. I zoomed in (series below) to get a closer look at the geese and noticed that some were juveniles – just beginning to get their adult markings.

As usual – I looked particularly to find flowers that be being visited by bees. Do you think these two bees are the same kind of bee? The lighting makes it hard to tell.