Pearly Everlasting

Pearly Everlasting is a wild summer perennial that attracts butterflies and other insects.  It grows and blooms into the fall and doesn't need any caring at all....It makes excellent dried flower arrangements for wreaths and vases, and some use the dried flowers to make a calming herb pillow....A homeopathic tincture can be made using this flower to treat sciatica and some forms of arthritis....

What about using the flowers in a tea? Sure, you can do that too!!

Speaking of which....

Ribbit....Ribbit

The Eastern American Toad is also known as a "hop toad" because they move around in short hops, instead of long leaps.  He was just coming out of his burrow which was buried under the damp moss and twigs deep in the forest.  He is getting ready for his night on the town.

 

He was a charming little character,

not to mention curious....

Toads are among the last amphibians to hibernate each fall.  They may be seen into late November.

Crab Spider

This summer, while harvesting our red clover, we came across this Crab Spider.  They do not build webs to trap their prey.  Instead, they rely on stealth to subdue butterflies, beetles, bees, and wasps.  Crab Spiders can change their color to match the flower they are sitting on. They can become fully camouflaged in their surroundings in about two weeks.

They produce silk for drop lines and reproductive purposes.  If you look closely in the photo above, you can see the silk line.

The Crab Spider used his drop line to get down safely from the flower to this rock.