As I approached the river I found myself surrounded by the alien invaders. Thousands of them had colonized the banks of the Grasse River downstream of Morley.

Dame’s Rocket – Hesperis matronalis

Dame’s Rocket in the woods

As the opposite side of the river came into view it became clear that the Dame’s Rocket had claimed that territory too.

What wasn’t clear was the air. A smokey haze had settled over the area.

Smoke on the water – Fire in Quebec. The smoke has drifted about 250 miles south, southwest to here from fires burning through the Wemotachi First Nation lands in central Quebec. The smoke is predicted to drift as far away as Massachusetts and New Hampshire as the fires continue to burn.

I also managed to get one shot off at what looks to be another alien mutant. It’s often called a Hummingbird Moth but I prefer to call it a Lobster Bee since my wife ‘named’ it such when she excitedly called me to look at our very first sighting of one 30 some years ago.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth – Hemaris thysbe

Getting a photo of a Lobster Bee is tough, they don’t hold still for a second. Like their namesake the Hummingbird they don’t actually land and dart from one flower to the next, hovering for only the briefest time at each. I was so involved chasing that moth around I forgot to get any flower photos of the Dame’s Rocket. Since it’s raining today I figured a pic from last year would be appropriate to use.

It looks like Phlox but don’t let it fool ya. The leaves are opposite and the long seed pods are common among it’s Mustard Family relatives. You’ll also end up short if you start pulling Dame’s Rocket flower petals with ‘She Loves Me’ since there are only 4 instead of Phlox’s 5. So if you’re looking for love stay away from Dame’s Rocket and go look for something odd.