We were hiking at Fort Hill in Eastham, on the National Seashore, the other day when this huge crab landed about 6″ away from me with a loud thud. I was pretty startled. I looked up and there was a crow who must have been having lunch when dropped it out of the tree. How bizarre. It almost hit me on the head. I have never been hit by a crab before!
The funny thing was… I had just read a story on the news about a hawk dropping a five pound fish on a lady walking down a city street and I was telling a friend that morning. This hawk was eating a fish up in a tree above her and he must have lost his grip when it fell on her head. She got a couple of cuts and scratches. That was one big fish!
The Seaside Goldenrod wildflowers are gorgeous this year and blooming all around the salt marshes here on Cape Cod. I never knew that were different kinds of Goldenrod.
Seaside Goldenrod has larger flowers than all other Goldenrod flowers. The flower are small, just .25 to .5″. The bloom from August through November near the salt marshes, so you still have plenty of time to see these beautiful wildflowers!
I took this photograph at Fort Hill in Eastham. The meadows are full of Goldenrod.
I’ve seen many of these Fly Amanita mushrooms growing along the trails here on Cape Cod. They can be yellow or orange and are about 6″ tall with an umbrella-shaped cap with flakey white warts. They grow in the woods and pastures.
Watch out! These Fly Amanita are deadly poisonous, so don’t go near them!
I haven’t seen a Box Turtle in our yard since the very beginning of summer. Yesterday this Box Turtle sauntered all the way across our back yard into the woods. I wonder if he was looking for a place to hibernate for the winter.
Prior to hibernation, box turtles tend to move further into the woods, where they dig a chamber for overwintering. Eastern box turtles hibernate at depth of about 10 centimeters and frequently stay within .5 from their summer habitat.
If you hike the Silver Spring Trail along the river at the Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, you will see beautiful pink Water-Willow wildflowers all along the sides of the river. They are so pretty.
Water-Willows are a native, aquatic shrub with magenta flowers whose 5 petals grow in whorls where the bright green leaves join the stems. The flowers are small, 1/2-1″ while the plants grow to be 3-9 feet.
I saw these vibrant pink wildflowers flowers a couple of weeks ago. They were spectacular! Have you ever seen a Water-Willow?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
