On August 13, I conducted my last check of the 15 Bluebird boxes at the Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area, which was something I volunteered to do this spring and summer. There was not any nesting activity in the nest boxes, which was not surprising since it was late in the nesting season. It was a very worthwhile volunteer activity, since I was able to witness many active Bluebird nests, hatchlings and fledglings.
I took advantage of being at Merrimac Farm WMA on the 13th and photographed some of the natural beauty located on the 300 acres, while checking the nesting boxes. However, I was not able to review and process the images until this evening. I was pleased to see that I had successfully captured some of the late summer beauty on the farm. Below are some of those images.
Above: An open field of yellow Goldenrod flowers. (Nikon D700, ISO 200, 24mm, f/11, 1/60 sec.)
Above: Female Monarch butterfly on a thistle flower. (Nikon D700, ISO 200, 200mm, f/8, 1/125 sec.)
Above: Fritillary butterfly on a thistle flower. (Nikon D700, ISO 200, 200mm, f/9, 1/80 sec.)
Above: Queen Anne’s Lace, also called “Wild Carrot,” is a common plant in dry fields, ditches, and open areas. It was introduced from Europe, and the carrots that we eat today were once cultivated from this plant. (Nikon D700, ISO 200, 105mm, f/11, 1/60 sec.)
Above: Queen Anne’s Lace bud that did not bloom. (Nikon D700, ISO 200, 105mm, f/20, 1/40 sec.)
Above: As I was leaving the farm and driving down the dirt road from the stone house on the farm, there were two flocks of turkeys walking along the tree line, but as I approached they quickly moved into the underbrush. I managed to get one image of one of the turkeys just as it was about to disappear. (Nikon D700, ISO 3200, 116mm, f/9, 1/640 sec.)
As most of you know, Hurricane Irene is heading this way this weekend. Therefore, I do not expect to get out to do any photography, but will attempt to shoot some of the action/activity on the lake from the house. If we are lucky, we will only get rain and no wind, and I will not have any interesting hurricane photographs.
Stephen L Tabone Nature Photography 
Could that unknown flower be Queen Anne’s Lace? It wasn’t a very well developed one but did look like those white lacey flowers that bloom all over during the summer.
Hope you and Angela will not have any problems with Irene–
Gorgeous shots of those butterflies–hope to take time this weekend to enjoy all your photos from Italy. I don’t want to be disturbed when I watch–
I not only love your photography but also your commentary. I did not know that about Queen Anne’s Lace is also known as “Wild Carrot.” Around here it is more like a weed and I pull it out all the time. Now I’ll be thinking should I remove it or let it become a carrot when I’m weeding. LOL! Beautiful images and so educational, too! Good luck with Irene, we’re bracing for it, too. As usual, we will probably be without power for days as our block always loses power in a storm.
Good blog post