Photographic Study of the Purple Thistle (Cirsium horridulum Michaux)

The purple thistle or horrible thistle, made its appearance as usual this year in spite of the colder than normal weather. The only difference I observed involves those feeding on the flowers. Normally in a field of thistle this time of year I watch butterflies of all types fluttering from flower to flower, stopping to rest a bit and then continuing. In spite of all the thistle observed last week, I spotted only one butterfly who landed and flew quickly away.

Regardless, I liked studying and photographing the different stages of the plant, from the not quite open flowers, on to one recently opened and in its prime, to another with the bumble bee feeding, and finally to one spilling the white downy aftermath of the bloom.

Birding at Paynes Prairie State Preserve

While walking around and hiking the two days we stayed here we did some casual birding. Around the lake area we saw a number of Yellow-rumped warblers. We checked out the area two days in a row, continuing to see them and not catching a glimpse of any other species hanging around. We passed a man who told us he saw an eagle soaring over the lake, but the eagle moved on by the time we arrived.

While hiking we heard a number of Towhees, Parulas, and even some Sandhill Cranes passing overhead. Our best birding took place at the junction of the road leading to the visitor center where Lake Trail meets it. We saw activity everywhere, mostly Yellow-rumped warblers again but this time a definite mix.

We finally saw a Parula there, and a lone Prairie Warbler (at least he was the only one we saw) fed for some time in the area, peering around branches and leaves to check out the camera.

I still haven’t developed the discipline of keeping good field notes on species seen when we do casual walks and hikes. That definitely needs to be on my To Do list of skills to develop.

 The overhead insects held more interest than me and my camera.

It took several shots to get this one. Not only did he stay in the leaves, but the wind kept fooling the autofocus so I ended up on manual.

A Hike at Paynes Prairie State Preserve

A colder, and much wetter than normal winter, resulting in a fierce spring allergy season caused us to postpone a lot of hiking and travel so far this year. Colder is OK, rainier is OK, combined they tend to keep you confined to the RV doing things that could be done at home in more comfort.

A new-to-us larger RV prompted us to get moving again. We used and enjoyed our Roadtrek 190 Versatile for almost 4 years. Our two week trip last November showed us the limitations for us in terms of space (photographers carry a lot of gear), and a comment during a routine maintenance that parts were no longer available for most of our appliances, so we would need to replace them completely as they broke down, prompted us to start looking for a larger, newer motor home. We found a 2013 Coachman Freelander 21 QB lightly used at a reasonable price, and made the plunge.

We decided to take our two day shake-down cruise to Paynes Prairie State Preserve. The drive consists of highways and two lane roads and driving through a few towns. All systems worked fine, though we made many notes for improvements we want to make (naturally).

We took a three hour hike on Monday morning, starting on the Chacala Trail with the intention of linking to the Jackson Gap trail. We encountered a lot of standing water, but a recent burn along the trail made circumventing the puddles easier. Almost one-half mile into the hike, the trail turned into a stream of running water, with pooling in areas. We retraced our steps, and walked along the road to the Visitor Center, then back to the campground via the Lake Trail.

The saw palmetto showed signs of growth along the burn area. The tendrils against the dark background caught my eye, and I tried to capture the beauty of them in the sun.