Mark Cassino Photography - Mark's Blog

This is the time of year when squirrels start to run around with an air of frantic desperation. It’s hard to tell what has them so wound up – it’s still warm, the trees are mostly still green, and though the days be shorter the sun still shines in blue skies. Winter’s clouds, rain, and snow are a good ways away yet. However, I admit I feel a lot like the squirrels this time of year – wondering how long the summer weather will last.

And subtle changes have already taken place. This summer was not a great one for dragonflies, and around this time of year it seems that all but the Autumn Meadowhawks and Green Darners disappear. They are fine dragons and worthy of photographs, but diversity is gone. In June and July you can enjoy the challenge of finding Widow Skimmers, Calico Pennants, Spangled Skimmers, Dot Tailed Whitefaces, Ruby Meadowhawks and Halloween Skimmers. When you spy a bit of motion is an invitation to investigate and see what’s there…

That’s less so in mid to late September. Certainly not the case at all in October. And you’re lucky to find any dragonflies in November, in Michigan. That’s when the Autumn Meadowhawk, formerly called the Yellow Legged Meadowhawk, reigns.

Yesterday I toured the woods and forests of the Allegan Game Area, looking for dragonflies. Hours went by without a snap of the shutter – fields north of the river, by the ‘Silo’ off 44th street (it’s really a big sewer pipe propped up on its end), the tall tree savanna off 115th avenue – these and many other places hosted no dragons. It was only in late afternoon, at the end of a small two track that boarders the end of the refuge that I found dragonflies in abundance. Each and everyone one was an Autumn Meadowhawk – but I was glad for finding them.

I’m sitting in my home office on a late summer evening. Outside the crickets crick and the katydids katydid.

I spend a lot of time in this small room – just 10 by 15 feet in dimension. It has five doors, two large windows, one built in bookcase, and a chimney stack running through it. Add to that the desk, tables, three bookcases, sleeper sofa, and cat play tower that I’ve brought in – and you can see that the space get’s pretty cramped.

Years ago, before computers, I fancied that I would turn this room into a gentleman’s library, and painted it what I thought would be a deep forest green. I figured I’d toss in some lush rugs, a few winged back chairs, and loads of books, and spend countless evenings reading here. But the forest green turned out to be more of a jungle green, and I unexpectedly needed a place to hold computers, and so soon the ‘Green Room’ as I called it became my rather crowded home office.

And so I hang out here, and my cats hang out with me. Lately they’ve taken a fancy to sleeping on the last remaining CRT monitor – a pocket of warmth that they seek out, even in late summer.

September. The morning dew is heavier, the days are noticeably shorter, and the nights are cooler. The fireflies have departed for another year. Morning s are silent – no singing birds greeting the dawn; but the evenings are raucous with the cries of crickets and katydids – raising their voices as the sun sets in the west.

Last weekend marked the final days of August. The fields that I love to visit have all been mowed – some last year, some this year. The dragons flit around in the stubble. Maybe it’s the weather patterns, maybe it’s the marsh changing over to a pond – but I saw very few of the familiar red dragons this season. I have only a handful of shots of White-faced, Ruby, or Cherry faced Meadowhawks. Now when I see a glint of red in the mower stubble, I stoop down and find Autumn Meadowhawks – a.k.a. Yellow Legged Meadowhawks.

Last weekend’s trip was no exception. Sunday was a clear, warm day. It felt like autumn only because the air had that haze-free clarity that only autumn skies get. It was warm when the sun was shining, but scattered clouds imposed their shadows on the earth, brining a bit of chill and a bit of gloom. I had toget down in the stubble to get to eye level with the dragons. One actually obelisked when the sun broke out for a few minutes – the only example of this display / cooling behavior I managed to get this season.

There were a few swaths of tall grass in some of the fields – places that the mower missed – and I worked those areas since they were havens to the few dragonflies that were out and around. A pair of diminutive Band Winged Meadowhawks were hanging out in one small clump of grass. There are the smallest of the Michigan Meadowhawks, and rather small compared to most dragonfly species. The clump of grass was in the midst of an enormous ant hill, so I paid a bit of a price every time I laid down to get an eye level shot. And still no shots of the male!

(Note: I had previously mis-identified this as a Fowler’s toad. Given the spots on the underside, this clearly is a very young American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus.)

I’ve been seeing these creatures in the Allegan Game Area, and since they like woods and fields with sandy soil, that seems like a perfect habitat for them. During today’s visit I saw 5 individuals within a few moments of arriving at a sandy field. Here’s one shot:

Sunday. Walking back towards the car after wandering through he fields north of the Kalamazoo River, I look down at a small ribbon the ground, barely clear of the front of my boot. The intricate pattern on the speckled band is intriguing, and I wonder who left a snippet of a patterned shoe lace here.

And then the band suddenly moves – it’s a tiny Hognose snake, barely six inches long and lucky that my foot didn’t fall smack on it.

The little serpent proved to be an interesting photographic subject. Most of the hognose snakes I’ve seen have been brown with darker spots and a light yellow underside - like this one - but this individual is a gray tan with black spots. The snake was patient with me as I snapped a few portraits from different angles, and then I finally left it alone. It slowly made its way along the sandy soil, and was last seen sliding into a patch of thick ferns.

If it can avoid becoming a meal to some larger predator, it should have an ample supply of crickets and grasshoppers these next few weeks. Let’s hope it grows to be a formidable serpent - and I’ll hope to meet it again someday.

Sunday turned out to be a good day for herpetological subjects. After leaving the little Hognose Snake I made my way through several fields and finally down to the old farmstead. The mowed field was full of dragonflies, but they all dove low and clung to the stubble that prickled up from the sandy soil – not many opportunities for nice perching shots.

I made my way down to the pond. The water has receded a bit, though there is still open water at least 20 yards in from where the edge of the marsh used to be. Several frogs jumped into the pond as I bumbled down to the water’s edge, but looking down I noticed this green frog already in the water:

I have to admit that I paused for moment before laying down in the muck to get its photo. If you look closely you can spot a few mosquitoes on the frog’s head – though they are pretty much lost in this web-sized image.

After that I hiked back up to the north end of the cleared field. I tried to stay by the edge of the field, where there are still some patches of long grass, but ultimately I got no dragonfly shots. I guess the dragons are telling me to move on.

Anyhow, I did find another small tree frog or toad way up at the north end of the field. I’m seeing these guys all over the place this year. After a bit of digging, They must be pretty young because they are typically described as being at least 2 inches long.

One thing about these guys – their camouflage is outstanding. Take your eyes off them for an instant and they are lost and gone.

Finally – one shot with a quarter in it for size reference. The little toad was quite accommodating.

Saturday morning. Though it is only late August, an autumnal chill has settled in on the land. My replacement K7 camera arrived earlier in the week, and I’m eager to get out.

Driving into the Allegan forest I see what looks like a hazy, light fog ahead. The clouds have thickened as I’ve headed west, from my house, into the game area. Driving north on 48th street, I look at the cloud of dust spiraling out behind the car and take that as a reassuring sign that while it may be cool, the rain is gone for now.

The car closes in on the mist and suddenly slams into a wall of water – a fine driving rain that splatters down heavily from the clouds above. Well, so much for signs. A mile down the road the rain passes and soon dust is billowing up behind the car again – and then again another micro downpour drenches the landscape.

I make my way a narrow two track to a small clearing, deep in the young forest. Here the grass has gown long and is dotted with patches of lupine and vetch. I spot one of the small toads I’ve been seeing this year, originally thinking it was a cricket hopping through the grass. But it manages to disappear before I get a shot. Wandering around in the tall grass I still up blue dasher, white faced meadowhawks, and several green darners – but they all settle back into the low grass some distance off, reluctant to fly around an perch in the cool damp day.

And then - another downpour. Here’s a snap of the road into the forest, just as the rain is starting to come down:

And one shot of an eastern tailed blue, the only decent macro shot of the day:

After an hour or so, I decided to call it quits for that day. The rain followed my home, and for the rest of the morning and the afternoon the mini downpours rolled though . Fortunately, Sunday was somewhat a better day for photos – more in my next post.

Here it is, late August, and autumn is already sticking her fingers into the pie. Well - two shots form last spring - the wildflower called Spring Beauty

A shot from early May -

And another from very late in the season - May 24th! How long ago does *that* seem…

A young buck at twilight - taken in West Virginia (plenty of deer there!)