Hi River Roaders,

This week I’d like to share some recent images that I just found interesting.

One of our trails is lined with art works created by our children. Last week I found a fresh walnut by the art. They are typically eaten by squirrels within a day of falling.

Common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is everywhere along the roads this summer. This is a great pollinator plant that also produces seeds that Goldfinches love.

A Common thread-waisted wasp on our native clematis (Clematis virginiana) growing on the fence at the entrance to the garden.

I am constantly finding new ways of seeing our building. Who knows where this is?

For the past couple of years I’ve noticed this vine acting very much like a non-native invasive. I looked it up and found that it is in fact a native, Melothria pendula, also known as “Mouse Mellon”. The leaves are about two inches across, and you can see one of the small mellons (actually cucumber) in the upper right.

You will see these Virginia jumpseed (Persicaria virginiana) along the entrance driveway. These are actually quite common around Bethesda, and the small flowers are important to the smaller pollinators.

Not that many folks come onto the grounds these days, so I was really pleased to find this collection of bark that someone left on the table by the worship circle.

Fall is the time for spiderwebs. I just missed walking into this one.

It is pretty common to see deer and racoon tracks. This five-toed relatively large track caught my attention. My best guess is skunk. What do you think?

That’s all for this week.

Joe