Today was a repeat of yesterday, but without the mink. I cut a lot of knotweed and yanked out a few other bits and pieces around the edges of the pond. I found more turtlehead and more buttonbush, more water plantain and lots of sedges to admire, and freed up some space for things like maple trees:

Some butter-and-eggs and thistles had cleverly moved off-shore in an attempt to evade me, but my jurisdiction reaches that far and I was able to pull them out by the roots:

Two black-crowned night herons, one adult and one juvenile, were watching over the pond when a great blue heron arrived with a mighty croak. (Scared me half to death.) The adult night heron wisely moved over and made room in the big dead tree:

Here's the young'un:

The goldenrod is really coming on strong now:

The cup plants are still holding their own:

I found another cicada. (Or the same one? Hard to tell.)

There are elderberries ripening:

I must admit I've never seen the appeal of elderberries, but I know people who love a nice elderberry pie. Another fruit I don't enjoy is blackberries, which I've realized is probably what we have growing at Beechwood, even if I thought they might be dewberries. (I've never encountered blackberries growing before so I wasn't expecting them, although it seems pretty obvious now.) I tasted one this morning and it fit with my very limited experience of eating blackberries: they don't taste like much of anything. I just don't get the point.