Looking north into the swampy margin of Beaver Brook from Bouchard Bridge. The nest box is intended for wood ducks (Aix sponsa), but I've never seen them there. Mostly, the red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) use it as a perch. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A summer skyscape above the swampy Beaver Brook. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A female red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) perched on a reed. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

The Merrimack River flows gently between forested banks, hidden from the suburban sprawl all around. Summer, Town of Andover Conservation Commission, Andover, MA

This swampy backwater of the Merrimack River supports a variety of aquatic plants and animals, and slow-water fish. Summer, Town of Andover Conservation Commission, Andover, MA

Gibbs Falls running low in the middle of a dry summer. The geologically recent change in its path is even more apparent in these conditions, and the casual observer might suppose that the waterfall moves farther to the left in normal, higher rainfall conditions. This is not so, and the waterfall flows pretty much where we see it now even in flood conditions. Summer, Crawford Path, White Mountain National Forest

Looking down into Saco Lake from Idlewild overlook. Summer, Saco Lake Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Looking southwest across Saco Lake from Idlewild overlook. At left is the shoulder of Mount Willard. Next in the distance is Mount Willey. At center, Mount Tom. To the right, the shoulder of Mount Avalon. Summer, Saco Lake Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A steep hillside overlooking the narrow west end of the Mill Pond is covered with great laurel (Rhododendron maximum) and young maples (Acer sp.). Great laurel is one of the most common shrubs in the wooded areas of Mine Falls Park, but it is only conspicuous when it blooms in spring and summer, and when its leathery leaves are the only green thing on the forest floor in the dead of winter. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

A dragonfly patrols his territory, keeping other males of the same species away from his chosen stretch of the shore. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) lurking in the Mill Pond. Spring, Mine Falls Park

The silver maple (Acer saccharinum) turns white, showing the underside of its leaves, right before a thunderstorm. This is not some mystical power of the silver maple, but a consequence of its normal growth. Its leaves are angled to be stable in the prevailing winds, but an unusual wind, such as the gusts preceding a thunderstorm, makes the leaves flutter or turn over completely, revaling their silvery undersides. Spring, Mine Falls Park

Water spider (family Cybaeidae). The surface he's standing on is actually water with a dense growth of tiny duckweed (Lemna minor) floating on it. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 78 Times.

An aquatic flower garden, including pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) soft rush (Juncus effusus) and common cattail (Typha latifolia), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 91 Times.

Water strider (Gerris sp.), late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 35 Times.

Two water striders (Gerris sp.) eat a fallen mayfly (family Ephemeridae) while a smaller water strider waits his turn, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 32 Times.

Water strider (Gerris sp.) on the still water of the Mill Pond, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 32 Times.

A dragonfly rests on twig of a black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 50 Times.

Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) loitering in the shallows of the canal, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 28 Times.

A water strider (Gerris sp.) floating above pink granite, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 33 Times.

A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the first one I saw in 2007, on a flower overhanging the Mill Pond, mid-summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 50 Times.

This is the beaver (Castor canadensis) lodge that was built on the north shore of the Mill Pond in 2006. By 2007, it had been abandoned and then reoccupied. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 29 Times.

Water spider (family Cybaeidae), mid-spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 51 Times.

Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) basking on a log, mid-spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 66 Times.

Trail bridges on the Saco Lake Trail get you past a place where the rock face touches the lake itself, early fall, Crawford Notch Downloaded 33 Times.

A stair-step horseshoe-shaped waterfall below the main part of Bemis Falls on Bemis Brook, late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 35 Times.

A stair-step horseshoe-shaped waterfall below the main part of Bemis Falls on Bemis Brook, late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 31 Times.

Coliseum Falls on Bemis Brook, late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 41 Times.

Coliseum Falls on Bemis Brook, late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 30 Times.

Silver Cascade, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 34 Times.

Silver Cascade, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 34 Times.

Arethusa Falls with far less water than usual, late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 36 Times.

Overlooking Saco Lake from Idlewild Overlook, Crawford Depot on opposite shore, Mount Tom in background, summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 36 Times.

Looking northwest from Idlewild Overlook across Saco Lake, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 31 Times.

Ripley Falls, summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 39 Times.

Bemis brook scoots across broken ledges between Bemis Falls and Fawn Pool, spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 31 Times.

Bemis Falls, spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 38 Times.

Coliseum Falls along Bemis Brook, spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 50 Times.

Another view of Coliseum Falls along Bemis Brook, spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 45 Times.

Mount Willard as seen from Willey Pond. Notice how the top is not a "peak," but a flat shelf. Early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 39 Times.

Gibbs Falls on Gibbs Brook along Crawford Path. Does it look familiar? This is the waterfall I use as a vertical margin on the left side of each page of this Web site. Notice the smooth stone to the left of the main fall, clearly indicating that the water flowed there very recently. Notice the boulder in the pool just over halfway up the waterfall, which slows the flow of the water as it begins its final plunge. Clearly, this boulder fell into that pool very recently and changed the whole character of the waterfall. Summer, Mount Pierce, Crawford Notch Downloaded 49 Times.

Arethusa Falls, late spring, Arethusa Falls, Crawford Notch Downloaded 47 Times.

A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) on the prowl in the Mill Pond, mid-summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 30 Times.

A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) on the prowl in the Mill Pond, mid-summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 35 Times.

Eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), early summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 35 Times.

Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) swims with his body almost completely submerged, late spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 36 Times.

The double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) basks to dry out his non-waterproof feathers, late spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 40 Times.

Beaver (Castor canadensis) lodge in Saco Lake, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 48 Times.

A yellow swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus), also known as the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, on an American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). Early summer, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A spittlebug (Superfamily Cercopoidea) hidden in froth that is sometimes called "snake spit." It is actually a froth of plant sap produced by the larva to hide itself from predators. They are abundant along the edges of the orchard near the Brown Lane Barn. I find them most often on plants like this: Tallish single-stalked plants with stemless leaves. (Don't know the name of the plant.) Early summer, Self-Guided Nature Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A female red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) perched on a reed. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Dragonflies (suborder Epiprocta) basking on the boardwalk. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A dragonfly (suborder Epiprocta) basking on the boardwalk. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum) blooming beside the trail at the western end of Bouchard Bridge. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) with some sort of wasp (family Vespidae) on it. Summer, Riverside Office Park, Andover, MA

Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) with some sort of wasp (family Vespidae) on it. Summer, Riverside Office Park, Andover, MA

This swampy backwater of the Merrimack River supports a variety of aquatic plants and animals, and slow-water fish. Summer, Town of Andover Conservation Commission, Andover, MA

Lupines (Lupinus perennis) and orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca) bathe the meadow near the Elephant Head Trail Head in a riot of color. Late spring, Elephant Head Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum). This may be the same species as the rhododendrons in your garden. Many, even the wild ones, have pink flowers, but nearly all of the wild ones in New Hampshire have white flowers. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum). This may be the same species as the rhododendrons in your garden. Many, even the wild ones, have pink flowers, but nearly all of the wild ones in New Hampshire have white flowers. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum). This may be the same species as the rhododendrons in your garden. Many, even the wild ones, have pink flowers, but nearly all of the wild ones in New Hampshire have white flowers. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

Mouse-ear hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella). Looks like a spindly dandelion, even more so than the common yellow hawkweek (H. pratense). It is also an invader from Eurasia. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

Mouse-ear hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella) close up. Note the "ragged" ends of the ray florets, which give the plant its name. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

A bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) lurking in the Mill Pond. Spring, Mine Falls Park

The silver maple (Acer saccharinum) turns white, showing the underside of its leaves, right before a thunderstorm. This is not some mystical power of the silver maple, but a consequence of its normal growth. Its leaves are angled to be stable in the prevailing winds, but an unusual wind, such as the gusts preceding a thunderstorm, makes the leaves flutter or turn over completely, revaling their silvery undersides. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A little garden of ferns on a granite boulder, late summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 88 Times.

A little garden of ferns on a granite boulder, late summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 79 Times.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) in fruit, summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 35 Times.

Blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis) in fruit. This is why this yellow flower is called the "blue-bead" lily. Summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 41 Times.

Blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis) in fruit, summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 35 Times.

Water spider (family Cybaeidae). The surface he's standing on is actually water with a dense growth of tiny duckweed (Lemna minor) floating on it. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 78 Times.

Underside of a fern leaf, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 45 Times.

Berries of black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 32 Times.

Berries of black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 41 Times.

An aquatic flower garden, including pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) soft rush (Juncus effusus) and common cattail (Typha latifolia), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 91 Times.

Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), a very odd flowering plant that does not photosynthesize, but gets all its nutrients from fungi, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 55 Times.

A dragonfly rests on twig of a black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 50 Times.

Wood sorrel (Oxalis europaea) in bloom. This is the non-native yellow-flowering form. In the mountains, I more often see the North American native O. montana, with its pink-streaked white flowers. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 40 Times.

Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) in bloom, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 38 Times.

Patch of wood sorrel (Oxalis montana). This is the native North American type. The common wood sorrel on your lawn or in your city park is more likely O. europaea, an invasive form. Early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 50 Times.

Bracket fungus on a long-dead tree, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 29 Times.

A leaf of wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) that has been eaten by an insect larva. Notice how the track got larger as the insect grew. Summer, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 31 Times.

Close-up of a leaf of wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) that has been eaten by an insect larva, Summer, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 33 Times.

Various lichens and algae on a large granite outcrop, summer, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 70 Times.

The typical growth habit of the hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium), summer, Pack Mondadnock Downloaded 37 Times.

A bumblebee (Bombus sp.) departs from a purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) with her pollen baskets full, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 45 Times.

A leaf beetle (possibly Acalymma sp.) on a showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 33 Times.

Wasp (family Vespidae) on a showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 36 Times.

Bumblebee (Bombus sp.) on a pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 33 Times.

Bumblebee (Bombus sp.) on a pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 37 Times.

Grasshopper, summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 37 Times.

Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 52 Times.

A bee (family Apidae, possibly Nomada sp.) on a stiff aster (Aster linariifolius), late summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 47 Times.

A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the first one I saw in 2007, on a flower overhanging the Mill Pond, mid-summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 50 Times.

A field of lupines (Lupinus perennis). Some are white when they first open, passing through pink before they become purple. Early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 59 Times.

Rough-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), late summer, Mine Falls Park

Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 28 Times.

Calico aster (Aster lateriflorus), summer, Presidential Range Downloaded 25 Times.

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an aggressive invader, but rather beautiful. It grows everywhere that could be called moist, from the soggy margins of a pond to the low dips in a meadow, and has become one of the most common flowers in New England. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 37 Times.

Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 27 Times.

Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) close up, with the ever-present bumblebee (Bombus sp.), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 28 Times.

Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), a rather beautiful plant with a rather ugly name, summer, Mine Falls Park

Bushy aster (Aster dumosus), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 27 Times.

Bushy aster (Aster dumosus), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 30 Times.

Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), also known as touch-me-not. Notice the peculiar way the flower grows. The stem is attached near the front of the flower, and the narrow base of the flower just ends in mid-air. Also, the flower stalk branches off from a leaf stalk rather than being directly attached to the plant's main stem or branches. The yellow or pale jewelweed (I. pallida) that lives farther south also grows in this odd way. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 30 Times.

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis). Although it has clusters of tiny florets (and the "petals" are not petals, but leaf-like bracts), this little plant is not in the Asteraceae family, but in the dogwood family Cornaceae. Unlike the Asteraceae, the Cornaceae do not have distinct ray and disc florets. Early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 30 Times.

Orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca), early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 26 Times.

Orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca), early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 35 Times.

Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) with a fly on it, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 32 Times.

Close-up of lupine (Lupinus perennis) flower cluster, showing the transition from white at the top to almost purple at the bottom, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 38 Times.

Close-up of lupines (Lupinus perennis). I've sometimes heard them described as looking like little ladies' bonnets. To me, they look like little "thumbs-up" mittens. Early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 32 Times.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), early summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 28 Times.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), early summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 33 Times.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), early summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 33 Times.

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), early summer, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 27 Times.

Oxeye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum), early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 36 Times.

Wild roses (Rosa sp. possibly R. virginiana) in bud in the meadow near the Elephant Head trail head, early summer, Crawford Notch Downloaded 42 Times.

Lupine (Lupinus perennis) and orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca) in the meadow near the Elephant Head trail head, late spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 38 Times.