Rare Sights

I've seen some rare things as of late.  Today I saw a Sherman's Fox Squirrel.  It was the third one I've seen in the past three weeks.  Strange.  I had gone 10 years without seeing one.  The photo above is by Fiona Sunquist, a neighbor of ours.

Yesterday, Lupine and I scared an American Bittern at the edge of our lake.  I've never seen one here.  They are not rare, but seeing one is.  I'm sure they've been here every winter.  I'll be more observant.  The photo above is by William L. Newton.  Nice.

 

Today, I went on a ride with Chad Parker in Etoniah State Forest.  We looked at Conradina etonia, a rare plant indeed.  It only grows in Putnam county.  I helped do survey work over 10 years ago to help find hundreds of these plants.  The picture above is also copyrighted, but I can't read the name very well.  Shirley Dorton?