Ten Little Celebrations – August 2026

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August was a great month of summer activities – trying to dodge afternoons that were way too hot to be outside!

Great cohort signed up for Missouri Master Naturalist core training. I’ve been working on the core training curriculum since last spring and everything began to come together in August….ready for the start of the course in September. I am particularly celebrating the existing Master Naturalists that signed up for all the volunteer tasks I identified!

Webinars when I was traveling. I am celebrating two excellent webinars (creating habitat that works and building a native plant movement in your community) that I watched from my hotel when I travelled to Texas.

Dancing oakworm catepillars. I celebrated getting a video of oakworms in action…and then being able to share it with peoole  visited our table after the caterpillars themselves had worn themselves out (i.e. were no longer dancing).

Stone edge installed around my native plant garden. Getting the edge around my native plant garden was a great addition. I’m celebrating how great it makes the front yard look!

Dark chocolate. Recently I remembered starting my day with a small serving of dark chocolate years ago…and I am celebrating every morning that I revive that tradition!

Mississippi Kites at Lake Springfield. I celebrated the 4 Mississippi Kites that were hunting for breakfast near the Lake Springfield Boathouse one morning I was there. They were finding plenty to eat!

Salmon for lunch. I’m still a little surprised about how easy it is to prepare! I celebrated a lunch on my own while my husband was away.

Sunlight through the spikenard leaves in the morning. The plant is leaning but I celebrate that its fruit is developing and it is still my favorite plant viewed through my office window.

Insectorama and an Io caterpillar. There was a sign that said “don’t touch” for the Io caterpillar and no one did. I celebrated that the visitors got to see it with no negative event!

Yard work done. In August I feel like I need to dodge high temperatures and the sprinklers to get yard work done….so I celebrate with I finally can just do it.

Lake Springfield for Wildflowers

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Many of the wildflowers at the field near the Lake Springfield Boathouse were going to seed…but there were will a few blooms to find and photograph.

My favorites were the lotuses in the shallow water near where the rose mallows were blooming.

There was a honey locust in the trees across the path from the field – the curly seed pods still green.

Of course the bees and skippers were around…

Dragonflies

Turtles on a log off an island in the lake

A Mississippi Kite in a tree eating (there were 4 kites in all…they entertained us with their swoops in the air over the field – finding prey)

The flowers would have been more numerous a few weeks ago – but the outing was more comfortable on a day without a heat advisory/warning!

Lake Springfield’s Hibiscus

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Last week there were quiet a few hibiscus flowers and buds at the edge of Lake Springfield near the Boathouse. I enjoyed photographing the various stages of the bloom. My favorite shapes/color is the underside of the flower!

In the shallow water and just a few feet from the hibiscus are lotus plants. I need a better camera than my phone to take good pictures of them.

Zooming – July 2026

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All the images in this month’s slideshow are from around Springfield: the Lake Springfield Boathouse, Springfield Botanical Gardens/Roston Native Butterfly House, and my yard. There is a lot to see this time of year! The weather has been hot enough that I make short forays for photography rather than longer hikes.

Empty Eggs

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A few weeks ago, I was cutting back the spent stems of coreopsis at the Lake Springfield boathouse garden when I came upon empty eggs in and around a small hole – almost hidden by the remaining foliage. The shells were curled into themselves – no sign of what had emerged although we all thought it was probably turtles.

They had plenty of vegetation to camouflage their escape! A big drift of cone flowers was right next to the nesting site and Lake Springfield is not too far away either.

Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden

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I’ve been volunteering for the weekly maintenance sessions at the Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden this year. It’s been a learning experience. Recently the ‘taskmaster’ sent some pictures from 3 years ago – around the time I first visited the place.

The next time I volunteered, I took some similar pictures to document the way it looks in 2026. The plants are much more established now.

Of course I couldn’t resist taking some closer photos – cone flowers, button bush, cup plant, and some mushrooms that reminded me of roasted marshmallows.

Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden – June 2026

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I am learning to recognize weeds more easily as I’ve volunteered to help maintain the Lake Springfield Boathouse garden….and it is also a great way to observe the garden plants as they develop through the weeks. I walked around and took pictures last week before I started work.

The sloped garden has a wild look – but not as wild as a prairie. It becomes a background for special event pictures, and the Boathouse terrace looks over it to the lake. It needs to look good from every direction! There are rock paths through the slope to allow for easier maintenance.

It is a great place for some macro photography of native wildflowers.

Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden

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Volunteering to maintain the Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden is a new type of volunteering for me! So far it has been all about pulling weeds and taking out debris from last season. The goal is to get the garden on the lake side of the boathouse iv prime shape for early summer pictures (the place is popular for weddings). The plants are mostly native, so they grow well if left alone. There are stone paths through the sloped garden to make it easier to reach weeds among the plants we want to thrive.

All the volunteers come with gloves and a bucket…maybe some hand tools. The bucket is for holding what we are taking away from the garden area that gets dumped in a natural area nearby to decay.

The crew of Master Naturalists meets on the same day every week and works for a couple of hours or more. At this point I am still new to the tasks but learning fast; hopefully part of the learning will be figuring out how to do it in a way that my back does not hurt!

Zooming – February 2026

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The images from this month were all close to home: my yard, my neighborhood, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, and Lake Springfield Greater Ozarks Audubon Trail. There was a mix of snow and winter images….the beginnings of spring. There would have been more places if the big snow had not cancelled two hikes that had originally been planned for February! Enjoy the zoomed images of my times outdoors during this month!

Lake Springfield Greater Ozarks Audubon Trail

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I had a form to drop off at the Lake Springfield Boathouse on a sunny day when the temperature was in the upper 50s. I opted to take the Greater Ozarks Audubon Trail to the overlook  (the trail head is just past the boathouse).

I took a picture of sycamore near the edge of the water. It still had a lot of seeds from last season.

The trail is up ledges of rock….gentle steps most of the time.

Most of the trees are deciduous but there are quite a few eastern redcedars there too. I zoomed in to take a collection moss and redcedar on fallen log – an intimate landscape.

At the top there is an overlook of Lake Springfield. I didn’t stay long because there were other people waiting to enjoy the scene too.

I walked down the hill and saw some honey locust pods on the ground…looked up to see the thorns in the tree! Nearer my car, I noted goose (?) prints in the area at the edge of the parking lot. There were a lot of Canada geese around!

I remembered that there were mallows down near the water’s edge…their seed pods were open and empty.

The last time I was on this trail was in Fall 2024 when I took the Identifying Woody Plants class; it was hot that day and my back was hurting for the entire hike. This time I did it with my hiking poles and didn’t have any problem at all!

Zooming - January 2026

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The zoomed imaging from this month were taking in my daughter’s yard in Springfield MO, my yard in Nixa MO, Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield MO, the Lake Springfield Boathouse and the Texas Welcome Center on US 75. It was not a big photography month. I expect February will have more if the weather does not cause cancellations of winter hikes I have planned.

Lake Springfield – January 2026

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There was an ‘eagle’ event at the Lake Springfield Boathouse last weekend. The temperature was in the 20s and a little breezy…but I bundled up and headed out. The parking lot still had plenty of spaces when I got there. The spotting scopes were set up on the lakeside deck of the boathouse…but they were on ducks rather than bald eagles! Evidently there had been a couple of eagles sighted before the event started – from a nearby lookout, not visible from the boathouse. After watching the ducks for a little while, I opted to switch my photography to plants.

The sycamore at the edge of the lake was catching the light.

I walked around to look for seed pods…and anything else interesting in the plantings around the boathouse. The beautyberries were shriveled but still retained some color. A bush trimmed to keep it within the bed displayed a cracked stump. The browns and off-white colors dominate in winter but there were some green leaves of some bulbs coming up in one bed.

It was a short foray into the cold – testing out my gear from some winter wellness hiking over the next few weeks.

Ten Little Celebrations – July 2025

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July was a great month to be outdoors – even though it was very hot…plenty to celebrate.

Rescuing a large cecropia caterpillar from the trash. One of my morning shifts at the Butterfly House started with quite a surprise….finding a cecropia caterpillar in the trash while I was cleaning up before opening. I celebrated that I happened to look down before I threw in the messy paper towel…and could easily return the caterpillar to the table display.

Luna caterpillars making cocoons. I celebrated when my 40 or so Luna Moth caterpillars started making their cocoons. When they were all large caterpillars, it was challenging to keep them sufficiently supplied with sweet gum leaves.

More and more cocoons…and then I took the last 4 Luna caterpillars to the Butterfly House. I celebrated some quite days with only rustlings from the pupa inside the cocoons.

The first Luna Moths emerging. The first moths started to emerge…3 males in one day! I celebrated that so many of the cocoons seem viable too…so many more of these beautiful moths will be emerging soon.

A late afternoon barbeque picnic and evening mothing. I celebrated with a great meal with fellow Butterfly House docents…and then seeing how lights and sheets in the evening attract moths.

Dayl ilies at the Botanical. I celebrate the profusion of color and form of the day lilies every year about this time.

Finding S. Fred Prince’s The rainbow in the grass; wildflowers of the Marvel Cave Ozark. I was doing my usual look at botanical books for next month and happened upon this beautiful one from the early 1900s about the wildflowers in the Branson MO area….close to where I live!

Seeing cattle egrets. As I drove north from Dallas, I saw a flock of cattle egrets flying over the highway. It must be a good year for producing young.

Lake Springfield Boathouse Garden. My husband and I always enjoy the plantings around the building…and the walk down toward the field of wildflowers. We went early enough in the day that it wasn’t too hot.

Sunflowers at the assisted living home. My sister planted sunflowers in a big pot (and some of the seeds must have spilled because several plants are growing in the soil next to the pot). I celebrated that they are thriving and the memory that my niece brought a sunflower seedling in a cup home from kindergarten, and my mother propagated them along the alley for years. That niece is getting ready to have her second child soon.

Zooming - July 2025

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The places for this month zoomed images include: my neighborhood/yard, Fantastic Caverns, my dad’s assisted living home, Springfield Botanical Gardens, and Lake Springfield Boathouse. It was a good month to be out and about in the morning…before the heat of the day! The early summer flowers doing well: arugula, cone flowers, day lilies, sunflowers, prickly pear cactus, button bush, and Missouri Evening Primrose. Enjoy the July 2025 slideshow!

Lake Springfield Boathouse – July 2025

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The garden around the Lake Springfield Boathouse is maintained by Springfield Plateau Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalists. I’m not part of that team but I do enjoy their results. My husband was looking for a place to practice a technique for photographing bees and the first place I looked was a good starting location for him: the buttonbush near the front door of the building! I took a few pictures before he even got his gear unloaded!

While he tried out his new technique, I photographed the other plantings. The second place I hoped to find insects/bees was the cup plant, but it wasn’t blooming yet. It did have buds…so should be a great place to check later in the season.

We headed past the purple martin houses (which were very busy) to the meadow area. The milkweed was blooming but the flowers looked less colorful than I expected, and they were not attracting large number of insects either. The bee balm was more attractive to bees than the milkweed. There was a spiderweb that looked a little like a hammock in some dried stems from last season; it was highlighted by the heavy dew. I took some backlit images of 2 plants that were not blooming but had interesting shapes.

One of the pictures I took of an insect on a milkweed leaf had a surprise when I looked at it on my big monitor at home: a tiny egg (maybe a Monarch egg)!

Across the walking trail there are brambles and trees. The locust was full of still-green pods and vetch was blooming in the undergrowth.

It was a productive morning activity. My husband thought maybe it was not warm enough for peak insect sightings; he might have been right but, with the humidity, it was the best time for us to be there!

Meadow at Lake Springfield Boathouse

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I opted to drive myself the Lake Springfield boathouse last week so I could photograph the meadow/prairie and the other plantings near the boathouse before the rest of the Identifying Woody Plants class arrived. The beautyberry was spectacular! I am so glad I planted some in my yard recently and hope it makes it through the winter to be a great plant next year.

The common milkweed had already been cut down but there were several pods spilling their seeds where the plants once stood.

The asters seemed to be hosting the most insects in the meadow/prairie area. I was thrilled to see Monarch butterflies; they were large ones…the ones that go all the way to Mexico for the winter. The thistles were releasing their seeds and the golden rods were the second most popular nectar plant for insects.

It was a great day to see the meadow in fall glory!

Lake Springfield with Identifying Woody Plants Class

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This past week the field class I am taking through Missouri State University added new woody plants to our list from a walk near the  Lake Springfield boathouse. I tried to take pictures of most of the new woody plants for this week…and a few from previous weeks:

Marshmallow – Hibiscus – Malvaceae (seed pods)

Green ash – Fraxinus pennsylvanica – Oleaceae (leaves and diamond shapes in the bark)

Black willow – Salix nigra – Salicaceae (leaves/twig)

Osage orange - Maclura pomifera – Moraceae (fruit…and I now have a fruit I am attempting to dry)

Honey locust - Gledistia tricanthos – Fabaceae (tree with drying seed pods)

Privet (non-native) - Ligustrum – Oleaceae (leave with blue fruit)

American hophornbeam – Ostrya virginiana – Betulaceae (leaves with thin, strong twigs)

Post oak – Quercus stellata – Fagaceae (rounded lobed leaves)

Bur oak - Quercus macrocarpa – Fagaceae (leaves…in the red oak group…I also picked up an acorn!)

It was an interesting afternoon…but I was tired afterward.

Lake Springfield – August 2024

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We set out to the Clay Henshaw Memorial Access on Lake Springfield since we had not viewed the lake from that perspective before. It was a little too late in the morning for birding, but I took a few pictures of flowers growing in the area.

There was a large (lotus?) leaf on the water surface that had interesting patterns of green in the deteriorating leaf that curled upward at the edges.

The sun was very bright, and we could feel the temperature rising.

We headed over to the boathouse…. which is our favorite place on the lake. The area around the building is full of native plants created by the area Master Naturalists…some with seed pods already.

As we started toward the meadow, I noticed that that the purple martins have already left. There were a few birds near the feeders…and the moon was visible in the nearly clear sky.

I took pictures of dragonflies that landed on the paved path or in the grass long enough for me to photograph. Most of them didn’t…they were on the prowl for breakfast.

The thistles were attracting skippers, but I didn’t see larger butterflies feeding in the meadow.

The sunny meadow had a lot of tall vegetation…not as colorful as earlier in the season. Many of the meadow plants are producing seed now. The goldenrod has not started blooming yet.

As we got to the far side of the meadow, a bird flew into a tree. I got several reasonably good pictures: a Great Crested Flycatcher!

There are two trenches made by storm runoff in that area…and both are dry right now. It’s been a dry August here.

We turned around and made our way back to the car…pleased with our morning activity before the heat of the day became overwhelming.

Lake Springfield Boathouse – May 2024

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My husband and I enjoy the area near the Lake Springfield Boathouse for its meadow and birds. I forgot about our late May visit until I rediscovered the pictures I took!

The gardens around the boathouse were beginning to bloom and there were gardeners at work while we were there. There is a good stand of milkweed and butterfly weed but I didn’t see any Monarch butterflies.

The Purple Martin houses were full of birds!

Bluebirds were around as well. They are probably utilizing houses in the area, but I saw them near the feeders and nearby trees.

There were a pair of tree swallows on a sign as well. They use the same size house as bluebirds.

The meadow is beginning to bloom but the morning was still cool enough that I didn’t see many insects – a few butterflies and bubble bees.

My husband commented that he missed the meadow we frequented in Maryland that had a path mowed through it – the plants on both sides making it easier to get close to insects for photography. The meadow near the boathouse is one large area: no easy access to the interior.

Lake Springfield – February 2024

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It was a warm day in February when we opted to visit the Lake Springfield (Missouri) Boathouse area. The meadow has been mowed….no standing vegetation from last summer that might have included interesting seed pods. There were people in small boats on the water.

The most numerous birds were Canada geese although there was an occasional duck.

I enjoyed the exercise walking along the paved trail even though there was not much to photograph – savoring that there probably would not be too many February days as balmy.  Then I decided to try some experiments with my Canon Powershot SX-70 HS bridge camera using the top of a large sycamore at the edge of the lake as my subject

I experimented with the Creative Filters mode using art bold, water painting, and grainy black and white. The filters make quite a difference! The art bold is supposed to ‘make subjects look more substantial, like subjects in oil paintings.’ It certainly differentiates the colors in the bark of the sycamore.

A landscape showing the lake with a few geese also looked quite different using the art bold effect.

Overall – a good outing for exercise…and OK for photography too!