On early evening of August 28, an aggressive storm passed through southwestern Johnson County. On the radar images it included a bright red dot, which centered on our neighborhood. And the images were correct. At its peak for perhaps 12 minutes, the air was a slurry of shredded leaves and rain, which was blowing horizontally. 

Since my misadventure with the Camouflaged Looper/Wavy-lined Emerald recently, I’ve had more awareness of moths in general. I always knew they were out there; almost every time you walk through the grass on the Greenway you scare up a tiny fluttering thing. 

Responding to my hummingbird story, Infatuated with Hummingbirds, Eric Miller asked why only one species was in the eastern USA. I needed a certain piece of research for a comprehensive answer, and finally located it, misfiled. For many decades, it was accepted wisdom that the ruby-throat was the only hummer species in the east. 

The thick, muggy air is stifling, but the sound of cold running water brings soothing thoughts of an oasis as I inch along a wooded stream corridor. I’m looking for the invasive species garlic mustard, honeysuckle, Japanese hedge parsley and poison hemlock hidden among the thick carpet of native spring flora.