More artwork, this time created by some kind of leaf miner:

There was a welcome coolness in the air this morning, although the dampness remains, and I got a lot of work done before it got too hot. I cut down a bunch of Japanese knotweed and pulled some of the usual tansy, Queen Anne's lace, and thistles. The knotweed's showy flowers are helpful in giving away its location:

It was too early, cool and damp for this bumblebee to be up and about -- I had to give him a few minutes to collect his thoughts and move on before I cut down the knotweed he'd been resting on:

More insect life:

Here's a funnel web spider in its complex home:

(Aha, researching funnel web spiders has just given me the name of the Unnecessarily Long spiders I saw the other day: they're really called running crab spiders.)

Bugs are interesting but my favourite sighting today was a mink running across the path as I arrived at Beechwood. That's the second time I've seen one there -- they must like hunting in the pond.

I was afraid all our turtlehead had disappeared, but no, here it comes!

I love that flower. We have it in that lavender colour and also in white. I'm also finding more great blue lobelia around the site. It's very encouraging to see these things doing well.

I keep heading for purple thistles to pull them up, only to discover they're really purple asters starting to bloom:

I'll be darned, these dewberries are actually ripening into a dark purple/black as promised:

Stay tuned for a taste test soon.