Nancy’s Walk

Nancy Soucy (Class of 2010) led a wonderful walk at the Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail for Carolyn Aldhizer, Linda & Sam Chancellor, Ralph Johansen, Ellen Melvin & guest, Phillip & Joan Mercer, Karen Naples, Marylou Rethman & guest, Jean ‘JJ’ Romano, Don & Karen Schuster, Peter Sutherland, Susan Warmer, and me. Flowers & butterflies were abundant.

A tall, rough-leaved white-flowered deciduous plant (Verbesina virginica) that goes by a plethora of common names including crownbeard, frostweed, frost beard, and ice plant full of flowers and pollinators. Nancy below points out crownbeard and another white-flowered plant to Linda Chancellor with Ralph Johansen & Jean ‘JJ’ Romano in the background.

Intermixed with the crownbeard was snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea), another white-flowered plant that attracts pollinators and has lots of common names including cat tongue (my personal favorite) and salt & pepper. Note the dramatic black anthers …

This plant sometimes is called a bee & butterfly magnet, as this zebra longwing butterfly (Heliconius charithona), seen only by the last laggards, demonstrates.

Nancy also pointed out yet another wonderful pollinator plant, tall ironweed (Vernonia gigantea), and extolled its photogenicity …

Butterflies spotted by Nancy included a common buckeye, many mangrove buckeye, yellow sulphur, gulf fritillary, zebra longwing, and lots of white peacocks …

A long dock provides a scenic view of the Indian River Lagoon show here with JJ Romano & Susan Warmer in the distance.

The return to the parking lot is through a tremendous tunnel of mangroves with Don Schuster providing scale …

Thank you to Nancy for yet another wonderful walk!