Busy Bees and Touch Me Nots.....

It's a lovely time of year to wander down our bike path. The trees and bushes along the path are thick and in full green. Some of the wildflowers are gone....others open to take their place. Years ago learning about wildflowers was a portable hobby for me. The little field guide fit into our car's glove compartment. With kids in the backseat for cross-country travels to Gramma and Grampa's house it gave us something to do to pass the time. We got pretty good at spotting a variety of wildflowers while zipping down the interstate or stopping for a picnic lunch.

That hobby fell by the wayside over the years, but I still have the field guide and can recognize many of the species that decorate our Port Washington bike path. During the past few weeks I've noticed the   orange Spotted Touch-me-nots boasting their fragile beauty.

Also known as jewelweed, my information states that this annual often attracts hummingbirds on their migration routes and bees are important pollinators. The stem juice can relieve itching from poison ivy and can also be used to treat athelet's foot.

Just along the way I also find bushes full of Pale Touch-me-nots with their softer yellow blooms. And bees....lots of busy bees. My photos aren't too clear, but it was fun to watch one been going from one blossom to the next - crawling inside for a few seconds and then backing out to stop at the next one.

Can you spot the black bee butt??

So Fenway and I continue home and just before arriving at the end of the path I spot a quick darting movement in the bushes. I wonder "what kind of small bird"? I stop to look and zip....there she is....a female Ruby Throated hummingbird. She hovers for a second looking at me and then zips back into the bushes. She too is stopping to visit the Touch-me-nots on her way south for the winter.

What a lucky morning!