Flower Walk in Maudslay State Park

If you ever go to the Newburyport area I highly suggest going to Maudslay State Park. It is a wonderful place for a walk. In May and June it is full of blooming Azaleas and Rhododendron. Bald eagles nest there in the late winter and it has some wonderful paths through a pine grove, along the Merrimac River and in historical gardens.

They frequently offer programs for the public such as historical tours, painting days or flower walks. I was able to attend one of these flower walks. My favorite photograph from the one hour tour was this one of a flying ant suckling at a white peone.

It was difficult lighting at first but I was able to get the ant in mid-flight. The peone's were beginning to lose their petals so I made it just in time to get a good picture of the peone before it passed for the season.

I had good luck with insects that day. I was also able to get this pretty good picture of a bee at a Catawba Rhododendron. The photograph was underexposed but I thought I captured the bee well enough that it is worth posting. On the flower walk I learned that this is a rhododendron and not its close sister the azalea because it has more than seven stamen. Azaleas look very similar but have only five stamen and do not have thick waxy leaves like the rhododendron.

I hope to do much more photography of the special flora at Maudslay State Park over the summer. It is a truly beautiful place to visit.