Flooding...

This is the first set of pictures in a series I think I'm going to start about the weather. I'm mainly doing this because the weather is quite dramatic here in Missouri. Tornadoes, ice storms, droughts, and floods all make up just a fraction of the weather we see here in the good ol' Mo.

So, first up is flooding. This creek swelled more than 14 feet over its flood stage during this flood period in April. The deepest levels were estimated at 20 feet. The second picture shows the creek at its normal stage.

Flooding helps to keep debris down as well as to wash out eroding sandy shores which can pose dangerous in dry situations. Flooding also changes the banks and creek bed shapes. This just shows that flooding isn't always bad. Remember, turn around, don't drown!

Purple Milkweed

Hello again!

Yes, I'm back. And, I have plenty of pictures to put up this time 'round. Paperwork and other things kept me from paying attention to my blog, and I'm quite ready to get back at it.

Now, onto our first plant of the summer vacation. It's colloquially known as Purple Milkweed, and though this strongly varies from location to location, it comes in several different shades from light pink to dark purple and dark pink as we see here. The flowers are grouped in large, umbrella-shaped clusters on top of a taut stem. The leaves are alternate and come up quite large. It prefers sun to part shade and is seen in moist runoff lands. It's a great attractant to butterflies, as we once saw with Butterfly Weed, a happy relative. Be careful though, if you have this. Deer at this up a couple of days after I took this picture. The seeds, however, were spared, and hopefully I can spread them out.

Notice the way the flowers blossom out into five-pointed tubes. The ants help pollinate it just as well as the butterflies.

Scientific name:
Asclepias purpurascens L

*Edit Notice*
This post was edited on July 29, 2008 to correct a misidentification. The information as it is seen now is correct. Please review the comments.

Thank you,
Nate