Hummingbird Moths

Hummingbird Moth On Bee Balm
This is a Hummingbird Clear Wing (Hemaris thysbe) on on (Monarda). They fly and move just like hummingbirds, and can remain suspended in the air in front of a flower while they unfurl their long tongues and insert them in flowers to sip their nectar. They even emit an audible hum like hummingbirds.
Bee Balm, Oswego Tea, Bergamot, Horsebalm Botanical Name-Monarda didyma, is in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. In the language of flowers, Monarda symbolizes compassion and sympathy. Bee Balm leaves and flowers and stems are used in alternative medicine. 

 Hummingbird Moth On Bee Balm

Hummingbird Moth On Bee Balm

Hummingbird Moth And A Bee On Bee Balm

A clearwing humming bird moth and a bee buzzing around the bee balm in my garden. There are four species of hummingbird moths in North America. This is a Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), female. Unlike most moths, Hummingbird moths fly during the day. They fly and move just like hummingbirds. Like them, they can remain suspended in the air in front of a flower while they unfurl their long tongues and insert them in flowers to sip their nectar. They even emit an audible hum like hummingbirds. Like most moths they have a very long tongue which they carry rolled under their chins and that they use to reach the nectar of long-necked flowers. Hummingbird moths are members of the sphinx moth family (Sphingidae), which have heavy bodies and long front wings. The wings of hummingbird moths are clear, with a black or brown border, and are nearly invisible when they fly. Males have a flared tail like that of a hovering hummingbird.
This photo was Awarded Capture My Vermont - Photo of the Day, for September 4, 2015.

Hummingbird Moth On Yarrow

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Moonscape

Moonscape View From The Beach

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Button Bush

                           

Button Bush at the beach in Colchester, Vt. Cephalanthus occidentalis L., Common buttonbush, Buttonbush, Button willow, is a shrub whose flowers are distinctive, dense, spherical clusters (heads) with a fringe of pistils protruded beyond the white corollas. This distant relative of coffee (family Rubiaceae) grows in wetland areas. Ducks and other waterfowl eat the seeds.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

My Summer Fun

                                     

Me At White's Beach On A Windy Day

Me Taking Photos At White's Beach On A Windy Day

Me Taking Photos At The Sand Bar

Hanging Out On The Rock Wall Enjoying The Weeping Willow And The Pond

Me On A River Walk

Getting out into nature every chance I get. Thanks Andrea Parker for taking these wonderful photos.

Framed By Driftwood at Delta Beach

Lounging On Driftwood at Delta Beach

Powerful Magic. I've conjured a storm with my Wizard's Staff. Thank you Andrea Parker/Hunton for taking the photos of me. 

Me at the New Haven River

New Haven River
I love the green glow on the water. I'm looking forward to fall color reflecting on this beautiful river.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Echinacea Of A Different Color

Echinacea Of A Different Color
Echinacea's name is rooted in the Greek word “echinos,” meaning "hedgehog," because of its spiny seed head. Technically speaking, this thick and spiky cone is actually hundreds of flowers, all tightly packed together.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Creeping Bellflower

                                            

Creeping Bellflower
Also known as rampion bellflower, like a lot of edible wild plants, a transplant from Europe and Siberia, it was apparently popular as a garden plant (like many weeds in the United States) and, as weeds will do, it rapidly spread from gardens to yards, to forests and fields. The good news, is that you can eat it, and you should–as much as you can find. The leaves and young shoots of Creeping bellflower has a mild flavor, similar to, but not quite like spinach or other mild, leafy greens you’d cook and like a lot of other greens you might forage, creeping bellflower is better cooked than it is raw. You could possibly hide a few leaves in a salad, but it's not worth it, when it’s so much better as a cooked green. Only harvest the basal leaves though, as leaves growing up the flower stalks are relatively small and north worth mentioning. The deep beautiful bell-shaped blue flowers can be added to a salad. The young roots are somewhat sweet and pleasant addition to a salad, boiled in water along with potatoes and other vegetables, and probably also ok in a stir fry.
I found this growing in South Hero, Vt.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Herbed Robert

Herbed Robert (Geranuim robertianum) also known as herb-Robert, red robin, death come quickly, storksbill, fox geranium, stinking Bob, squinter-pip (Shropshire), crow's foot, or (in North America) Roberts geranium, is a common species of cranesbill native to Europe and parts of Asia, North America, and North Africa.
Herb Robert, or what was once known as Saint Robert's Herb, was named after a French monk who lived in 1000 AD, who has cured many people suffering from various diseases using this plant. A supremely therapeutic herb, in its ability to oxygenate the cells, which helps the body to fight disease and renew itself. Herb Robert works to increase the immune response and the body’s ability to regenerate. The herb is renowned in Portugal by traditional doctors and herbalists as the most effective herbal remedy for cancer treatment and prevention. First Nations people have used this plant internally to help with many health ailments and externally for healing wounds, herpes and skin eruptions. According to an article in The Healing Journal, scientists, herbalists, and botanists have discovered that Herb Robert grows especially abundant in areas that have high radiation levels (which include under hydro lines). It is believed that Herb Robert absorbs the radiation from the soil, breaks it down and disperses it.
Herb Robert has been used in the folk medicine of several countries, including as a treatment for diarrhea, to improve functioning of the liver and gallbladder, for toothache and nosebleeds, and used for healing wounds).
Fresh leaves can be eaten or tossed into a mug to make a tea. The flower and leaves can be dried and stored so that it can be used throughout the winter months as a tea or tossed into salads as a nutrient booster. The root can be dried and used. Rubbing fresh leaves on the skin is said to repel mosquitoes, and the entire plant repels rabbits and deer.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS, FAVS AND COMMENTS. AS ALWAYS, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH!  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY ELISE T. MARKS. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE ON WEBSITES, BLOGS OR ANY OTHER MEDIA WITHOUT MY EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION.