Shtinky Puddin' (a character from the Mutts cartoon) is what I decided to call her. Oh, she looks innocent enough, looks almost sweet. Don't let her fool you! Yep, after checking her out for a bit, she let loose a foul stench not unlike one you would find at a frat party chili cookoff. Whew! Not very lady-like...
How do I know she is a female, you might ask? Well, her plastron, or bottom shell is flat. Males will be slightly concave. Also, I found her on land. Stinkpots are usually aquatic except when the females venture on land to lay eggs. 
After a few minutes of torture from the paparazzi, I let Lady Gag Me loose to finish her egg laying business. She was quite happy to wander off and my nose was quite happy she was on her way!
Unfortunately, the nosy bird decided to come INSIDE the building. We scooped him up with a butterfly net and after he voiced a bit of protest, we took him outside and off he flew. Almost every morning he does a fly by, calling out with his deep whistles and prattle. "Whoot... whoot... at,at,at,at,at." Not sure if he is saying "thank you" or iterating a much different message! ;)
A stunning Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly emerges from its chrysalis on a warm, sunny day. I always love these magical moments in nature, when you capture a snippet of life unfolding right before your eyes. The colors on a brand spanking new butterfly are so vibrant, so perfect, so breathtaking.
Pipevine Swallowtails, Battus philenor, rely on members of the pipevine family or birthwort family, Aristolochiaceae, for their main larval food plants. One of the members of this family that lives in Indiana and Ohio is Virginia Snakeroot, Aristolochia serpentaria.
To view the strange flower of Virginia Snakeroot, one must brush aside the leaves on the forest floor. The odd reddish flowers are designed to mimic carrion and are believed to be pollinated by flies.The pollination method of these flowers are interesting. The corolla or tube of the flower is lined with hairs that point inward. This allows entry, but no exit. Once inside, the fly is trapped. The flower will shed pollen onto the insect and then the hairs will wilt. The fly is given its freedom so the process can happen all over again with another flower. Virginia Snakeroot does not live in Indianapolis, yet Pipevine Swallowtails do, so I was puzzled about how that was possible...
Then I recently found out that Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense, is another alternate host plant. It is also in the Birthwort family. Mystery solved! Wild Ginger, with its pretty heart-shaped leaves, is fairly widespread in woodlands throughout Indiana and Ohio and there are even large patches here at Southeastway Park. 
Activities for the entire family, including:
The hackberry galls are very thick and tough. The Hackberry Petiole Gall Psyllid has sclerotized teeth on its abdomen that it scrapes across the inside of the gall until it is cut open. They emerge in the spring and molt into adults when new leaves are forming on the trees. 
A tree fell down in the park and inside we found it was chock-full of honeycomb and wild honey.
It was delish!!! I was a happy camper until Miranda mentioned the botulism risk and then I was a bit freaked out. There is botulism spores found in wild honey, but it is only a risk to infants. We looked this up and found out adult stomachs can take care of the spores. Whew!!! Potential death averted!
Here is a closeup of the honeycomb. Truly amazing! To think that they made this with their mouth and no rulers or protractors were involved. I can't even make cookies uniform and I use my hands for that. 
This one put up a chase, while I was trying to take a photo of a Birdsfoot Violet and find a Pine Warbler that was singing in the tree above me. Talk about multi-tasking! Can you spot the grasshopper in the photo above? It looks just like a stick.
How about now that I have cropped the photo? Using this photo for reference, you can see it is to the left of the tan leaf and above the darker leaf in the left corner, between the two blades of grass. 
The grasshopper is a Carolina Grasshopper, Dissosteira carolina, and has a beautiful yellow and black wing that it flashes as it flies. It folds its wings when it lands and then scurries a few steps away. This leaves the predator (or naturalist) baffled as to where it went. 
Frank Rouse, a naturalist from Holliday Park, is pointing out a nest in our parking lot of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Their nest is a wonder of construction, made of spiderwebs and lichens. Frank taught the class Birds and Binoculars.
Donna Rogler, State Coordinator for Project Learning Tree, is showing the students a leaf. She taught the children all about the trees at our Park.
Jackie Hill(in the bright blue shirt), children's librarian from the Franklin branch of Indianapolis Marion County Public Library, led the program Wolves, Chickens and Pancake Fun. All were entertained with a story, then they flipped pancakes as the ran across the field. 
Fritz Nerding, a cool cat from Garfield Park, allowed everyone to get up close and personal with some slithery friends. He taught the class Super Snakes and educated the children about all the cool adaptations snakes possess. 
