I know what you might be thinking but, no, I didn't put on my PJs and head out on a hike to watch the sunset yesterday 😁

But it was looking like it might be a decent sunset so I decided to take a drive over to the North Fork Timber Swamp Brook and hike around until the sun went down.

There were a couple of 4-wheelers ripping up the trails and several kids on bicycles enjoying the dirt as well. However, I still can't understand why turtles often bury their eggs smack in the middle of the trail? I saw several un-earthed nests right on the sandy trail.

The white-tailed deer were also out and about as they always are in this area. I saw a small herd of half a dozen, or so, bolt away when a 4-wheeler got too close for comfort.

While waiting on the sun to dip below the tree line, I saw a field with many flannel mullein plants that stick out prominently with their pale green leaves and thick, spiked stalks that are loaded with yellow flowers. And the way that the sun was reflecting off of them added to their beauty.

Here are some other common synonyms for this plant:

big taper
flannel plant
great mullein
velvet dock
velvet plant, and
woolly mullein

According to Rutgers University, mullein leaf extracts mixed with wild cherry root have been used for help with arthritis.

I braved the ticks and walked deep into this field which had a mixture of waist-high meadow grasses dotted with small shrubs and trees.

I think it was worth it, as I believe a got a few pretty decent captures. I hope you agree.

BTW, it's always good to wear light-colored clothing as it makes it far easier to spot the ticks. And NJ is tick-central! I was constantly checking for them and removed several dozen out in the field.

However, some of the tiny deer ticks always seem to hitch a ride and I wound up finding two more on me after I got home.

Here's a few reference links incase this @steemit post has got you wanting to know more:

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All images @cognoscere and taken on Saturday 06/10/2017 at the North Fork Timber Swamp Brook in Howell, New Jersey (Sony RX100 V)

I know it as The Cowboy's Toilet Paper, lol. I really like your image of the three mullein plants against the sky. I always wondered about your tick situation. They are maddening and fascinating. I've been working on some tick posts. Which is better than picking off ticks! Stay safe out there!

Thanks @haphazard-hstead, they are cool looking plants IMHO. And the tick situation is really bad and has got me thinking. I've had too many of them follow me home. We have a good mix of the normal ones that are the size of a match head and also lots of the tiny deer ticks that are pretty hard to see unless you look closely.

I'm not going to let it stop me from venturing out into the woods, but I need to beef up my protection mechanisms.

Just as a quick tick tip: Spray your shoes with Permethrin. The first of every month is a good practice. You can get it at Cabela's or other outdoor stores. A step up from that is to treat your socks, pants, and daypack, too, on a regular basis. Read the details on the Permethrin can and keep away from cats. You are in the heart of the deer tick country and the tiny nymph stage is so tiny. Prevention is so much easier than detection, especially when you get into a tick-fest!

Yeah, I'm going to have to step up my game in the fight against these little creatures! Thanks for the info, I'll check it out.

I really like the shot with the grasshopper on the stem of the plant. Great job !!

It's weird because I rarely see grasshoppers in NJ, not sure why, maybe pesticides or some natural predator that's in abundance?

Really excellent photography of this iseful and interesting plant :) thanks so much for sharing. I have read that mullein can also be smoked in order to wean off of tobacco cigarettes.

Thanks @creationofcare, I never heard of that but hopefully mulleins isn't as addictive as tobacco.

They are not addictive, on the contrary, they heal the mucus membranes :)

Flannel Mulleins and a Beautiful Sunset

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