Continuing our hot afternoon in the forest….

It was too hot to hike so I took a few pictures of wildflowers near the cabin

And looking up from my chair in the shade.

We stayed until just before dusk when the fireflies were beginning to come out…and I took a few pictures across the field as I got into the car. The moon was up and there were some clouds in the sky. Some year I’ll stay longer to see the moths that are active at night – but not this year since I had signed up for the next morning shift in the Butterfly House.

As we made our way back on the rutted road, it got darker. We somehow didn’t notice when we passed the cemetery. The road obviously wasn’t bumpier than when we drove toward the cabin, but we went a bit slower in the gloom and were glad when we got back to the paved road.

The potluck event I wrote about yesterday was for the volunteers and staff that support the Roston Native Butterfly House. It was a very hot day, but we persevered to experience the forest along Bull Creek south of Springfield. After the turn off from the paved road, the way is a rutted historic road which should not be done in a low-clearance vehicle (my daughter has an SUV, and it handled the road well at low speed). Parts of the creek are visible from the road!

The trees form an arch over the road. There were three cars in our group. I shared my insect repellent spray when we got there – didn’t want anyone to get bitten by a tick.

One of the first things I did was see how far along the spicebush fruit was (I knew where there were some female trees from a previous visit). There was one red one and the rest were still green.

The moss on the shed and well roof shingles was about the same as I remembered.

I was glad I brought plenty of water and a peas/corn side dish (cool) for the potluck….and appreciated that the food was in the air-conditioned cabin.

The high point of the evening was seeing some young bluebirds that had been rescued after their parents abandoned them in the their nest box. They were being hand fed and would fledge soon.

More about the adventure tomorrow -