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News from the Frog Pond HAPPENING ON THE GREENWAY By Kay Coriell 08/29/09 Bats Our Discovery Walk will be an unusual evening event due to the subject: Bats. Norma Lewis, who has conducted a bat program before for us, will join with her friend Vicky Smith in sharing their extensive knowledge of these unique animals.
There is much misunderstanding about bats, mostly due to movies that dwell on the scary possibilities of creatures like bats, spiders, wolves and snakes. And like those creatures, there is much more to them than is generally known, and very often they would not normally be doing what Hollywood devises for them.
Bats are the only mammal that can actually fly by its own power. Flying squirrels have a membrane between their front and rear legs that allow them to glide with some control from high places to lower perches.
Bats have extended finger bones that act as wing struts with a skin covering, and are very adept at complicated, seemingly erratic flight. They do not see well, but that is no hindrance to their getting around obstacles, and finding tiny insects to capture by mouth or in their tail “ baskets ” . Flying into someones' hair is extremely rare as their echo-location system is highly refined. Reports of these incidents usually occur when people flail around their arms when in the presence of bats in an enclosed space.
All of our native bats are insect eaters. Vampire bats live in the tropics. We will learn more about this at the program. Please come and bring your children. All Discovery Walks are free, sponsored by FROGs.
Our program on Bats will be held at Big Bear Shelter beginning at 8:30 in the evening on Wednesday September 2nd . Children will be especially interested in seeing slides of the various kinds of bats and the live caged fruit bats the presenters will bring.
If the weather is warm enough we might see some Brown bats flying along the river. Franklin has a large colony of bats in the older town buildings that come out about dusk. 08/19/09 Composites On a recent jaunt down Tallulah Falls Trail we discovered quite a few yellow composites blooming. Here's some hints to help tell them apart.
The Wingstem is 7 to 8 feet tall with leafy growths along the thick stems. The terminal flowers are 1 to 2 inches broad with drooping petals. The central cone is composed of pin-cushion-like yellow tubes.
The Sneezeweeds are quickly recognized by the yellow wedge-shaped petals that drape downward like a skirt. Each petal has three small blunt teeth. The center is a dark rounded knob. Its leaves also grow down the stem, forming wings that run together. Sneezeweeds grow up to 4 feet high.
The Black-eyed Susan has a dark brown domed center with many slender yellow-orange petals. The stem and leaves are rough and hairy.
At dusk or on a cloudy day look for the pale yellow Evening Primrose. It has only 4 petals that curl together in sunlight and often grow to 4 to 5 feet tall with slightly toothed alternate leaves.
The Small-flowered Agrimony is recognized by its narrow toothed leaflets with tiny leaves interspersed between the 11 to 15 major leaflets. The terminal spire of tiny yellow flowers may reach 5 feet.
The Downy Sunflower is a unique plant with opposite grayish-green leaves that clasp the hairy stems. The many petaled yellow flowers are 2 inches in width with hairy bracts. The plant is about two feet tall.
The fern-like leaflets of the Partridge Pea have 8 to 15 pairs of leaflets. The yellow flowers grow close to the leaf axils and one of its 5 petals is a bit larger than the others. Six of the ten anthers are purple and 4 are yellow. The leaves are sensitive to touch and often close up.
The Large-flowered Leafcup has 10 to 15 yellow ray petals and is 3 inches wide. Leaves have three prominent pointed lobes that taper to the hairy stem. This plant may grow to ten feet tall.
Watch for some of these interesting summer flowers along the Greenway.
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