Flowers and Plants

Nature’s Stained Glass Window

I already posted a picture from today, my Autumn Color, Domesticated Version, but I also wanted to post a few less suburban images. This afternoon, Cathy and I took a walk in the park, which is really a walk in the woods. The path runs through the woods by a stream and in a couple places crosses the stream on bridges. This first picture is of sycamore leaves reflected in the stream from one of those bridges. I was struck not only by the color but by the patters made in the moving water. This is a still picture, of course, and loses something by that lack of movement, but it still reminds me of a stained glass window, made entirely by the creator of all things.

Sunfish Pond on a Clear, Autumn Day

After crossing the creek (wait, it was a stream a minute ago, is it a creek now?) between bridges and also crossing the orange fencing put in to keep us from doing that (the county has been “rehabilitating” the creek for a couple years now, and it looks to continue for a long time to come) we made our way to Sunfish Pond. The mid-afternoon light on the pond was beautiful, As we walked around so that the sun was to our left, the colors deepened and the reflections stood our more brilliantly. I often find myself jealous of people living in Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, or northern California, where mountains and lakes are so spectacular. This may not be up to the likes of Maroon Lake in Colorado or Lake Louise in Alberta, but for a small pond in a suburban park, I think it’s rather pretty.

Appalachian Melody

I use Appalachian Melody, October 25, 2012 as the title of a photograph similar to this one of the beech leaves. Nevertheless, that’s what autumn leave make me think of, so I”m using it again. Appalachian Melody, as I said in that earlier post, is the title of a song (and album) by the late Mark Heard, and one of those songs that stays with you (or with me, anyhow). It is one of my favorite songs and I think of it often, usually (naturally) this time of year.

Forest Fire

While the first of the four photographs in this post reminds me of a stained glass window, this last one does, as well. The woods were the normal mix of sun and shade this afternoon but in places the sun would hit a tree that still had enough leaves that it would light up in brilliant color. This is one such tree and it was like a blaze in the otherwise brown scenery.

I didn’t actually go check but my guess is that these are beech trees, which often turn a bright yellow before fading to a copper brown later in the fall. They often stay on the tree over the winter, especially on younger trees, giving the woods a bit more character. We are blessed to have both the native American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and the beautiful European beech (Fagus sylvatica) growing locally. They are similarly beautiful trees and there is not much that can compare to a huge old beech tree, either as a specimen in a lawn (but you need a large lawn and a lot of time if you’re going to try this at home) or in a woodland.

Japanese Maples, Dark and Bright

This is the first of two posts for today, both featuring fall color. As the title says, this is the “domesticated” fall color post. The two Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) in this picture have been bred for their fall color (among other things). The one in the background, on the left, is a dark, Burgundy color which is fairly common but still quite nice. The tree on the right, however, which is obviously the main subject of this picture, is an amazing color. I’ve photographed this tree before and even posted a picture, titled Lollipop Tree (November 06, 2013), of leaves from it. It’s got pretty remarkable color and it is consistent from year to year. If I knew what variety it is, I’d plant one, but there are so many varieties, getting one as good as this seems like a long shot. Maybe I should approach the owners and ask if they know the variety and even possibly ask if I could take cuttings next summer (June is the time, apparently). That’s a slow way to get a tree but for this sort of show, it might be worth it.

Asters

I had a follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist who did my cataract surgery this morning and all seems to be as it should be. Before returning to work, I took enough time to take a few pictures of a hedge of asters growing along the building across the street from the eye doctor’s building. It’s quite a nice hedge, growing about three feet tall and maybe six feet wide, running nearly the full length of the property, and absolutely covered with flowers. As is often the case with bluish flowers, they turn out more pink if photographs than they appear to our eyes. In this case I have not attempted to fix that and this photo shows them the way the camera saw them.

Dogwood Leaves

Do you know how you can identify dogwood? By its bark. Also, this time of year, by its leaf color. It seems to me that the trees in our area were taking longer to change colors than normal and I was getting myself ready for a less than amazing year in terms of fall color. In the last few days things have really started to change. The two dogwoods in our front yard are pretty amazingly red. It may not set any records for most colorful, but this year is turning out pretty well.

A Little Fall Color

After church today Cathy and I paid a visit to the cemetery where her father’s grave is. We put flowers on his grave and that of a close family friend who died in 1998 and whose grave is fairly close to Jim’s. It was a beautiful, fall afternoon, cool, bright, and clear. This picture could have been taken anywhere and doesn’t really show that we’re at a cemetery, but I thought it was pretty, anyway.

Phalaenopsis Orchid

We have four orchids growing in our kitchen. Two of them are older and larger and two were in smaller pots until recently, when I repotted them. The oldest is this phalaenopsis, which has bloomed a few times, most recently almost exactly a year ago. I posted a picture of it on Monday, October 14, 2013. Anyway, it’s blooming again and is quite lovely. Orchids are a bit tricky and I’m not convinced that ours are in the best spot. There is a heating and air conditioning vent not too far from them and I think that contributes to them drying out a bit faster than they like. I’ve been meaning to do something about that, but I’m not sure where I’d move them.

Rhus copallinum (Winged Sumac)

Cathy and I went for a walk around the block at work today. It was a beautiful, sunny (and almost hot) day. I took pictures of a few things along the way, including this one of winged sumac (Rhus copallinum), also known as shining, dwarf, or flameleaf sumac. It’s a weed plant native to the area and there is quite a bit of it growing on the empty lot next to my office, especially around the edges. This time of year the leaves turn the most remarkable, deep burgundy fading to a bright, scarlet around the edges.

Fall Color, Outside My Window

My office isn’t much to speak of. It isn’t terribly large and it certainly isn’t fancy. The furniture is simple, utilitarian, and almost industrial. I don’t have more than a desk and chair, a bookcase, and a file cabinet. Well, I do have some plants and pictures on the wall, so it’s a bit more than a monastic cell.

Also, and this is significant, this is the view out my window. I could do a lot worse, especially this time of year.

Mushroom

A mushroom person would probably be able to take one look at this and tell us what it is (please speak up, if you can), but I have no real idea. I mean, I know it’s a mushroom but I won’t even hazard a guess at to which type. It’s pretty, though, and was growing under a pine tree in our church yard. Hopefully I didn’t attract too much attention lying on the ground after church. It’s what I do.

Raindrops On Morning Glory

We have a reasonably small purple morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) growing outside our front door. Many mornings we are greeted by a few new flowers which, by the evening have closed up for the day. If I want a picture, that usually means I need to stop and take it as I’m on the way out the door, which isn’t generally the best time. Today, the fact that the flowers were partially closed and downward facing wasn’t a real problem. The rain we had was covering the outside of the flowers and they were quite beautiful.

American Persimmon

Cathy brought this home today to confirm what she thought it was. It’s an American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), and is a member of the family Ebenaceae, the ebony family. The heartwood of the persimmon is a wonderful, dark, ebony, although trees have to be quite old before they produce enough heartwood to be commercially productive. The fruit is terrific, as long as you wait long enough to eat it. Before it is fully ripe, it will turn your mouth inside out with its astringency. Usually, at least around here, waiting for the first frost is a good idea.

Milkweed Seed

Today, I took a bunch of pictures of milkweed seed. specifically, this is Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed). I enjoyed lying on the ground watching the spider-web-thin filaments shimmer in the afternoon sun, trembling in even the slightest breeze. I’m not as happy with the pictures as I might be, but this one is pretty good.

Fall is in full swing here now and most of the flowers have been replaced with seeds, and of course, soon the predominant color in the back yard will be brown.

Drying Leaf

There were some mushrooms in the yard this evening and I got some pictures of one of them, but they aren’t as interesting as the mushroom was in person (or in fungus, I guess). I also took some pictures of leaves that have fallen from the maple tree in the center of the yard. They are mostly read and orange but I found this one to be the most interesting. The picture doesn’t really do it justice but I love the deep, earthy tones of this drying leaf.

Butterfly Weed Seeds

Autumn is upon us. The black-eyed Susan flowers have all dropped their petals and trees are starting to get a bit of color in their leaves (color other than green, that is). Many plants that have given us brightly colored flowers all summer are now giving us more subtle things to look at. The Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed), with its bright orange or yellow flowers has been transformed through a greed pot stage to this, where the pods are breaking open and the seeds are beginning to emerge. The seeds of the milkweeds have these filaments (called pappus, from the ancient Greek word pappos and Latin pappus, meaning “old man”) which enable them to be carried by the wind and spread far and wide.

Purple Coneflower

All the black-eye Susan flowers have been reduced to little black balls of seeds. Most of the coneflowers have, as well. This is the last coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) with a bloom still on it. The purple is faded and the petals are splotched and weathered. This, too, shall soon fall, in keeping with our common name for the season. But I don’t mind. Some people love the summer and want it to go on forever. Not me. I love the autumn best of all. Welcome.

Grass

I met Maureen and Sokho for lunch today over at Fallsgrove and when I came back to the car I noticed this grass growing in the area between two rows of cars. Rather than use all underground drainage in parking lots, the current style seems to be to leave spaces every few rows and turn them into drainage ditches but with ornamental plants that can take a certain amount of flooding. I think this is a nice trend and some of the plants used are quite nice. This grass, for example, it nice. This photo has the feel of the country, not the middle of a busy parking lot.

Sesame Seeds

I like plants and gardening and I know a little about both. I try to know a something about the plants from which most of our vegetable foods come. Sesame seeds have been a bit of an exception. I knew that they come from an herbaceous (non-woody) plant that grows in tropical regions, but beyond that didn’t know much about them. Four countries, Burma, India, China, and Sudan account for more than half the world sesame seed production (about 56% of 4.76 million metric tons). The sesame plant, Sesamum indicum, is an annual, growing to about three feet in height, bearing (usually) yellow flowers, and producing the seeds in small capsules.

Crab-Apple Stump

For yesterday’s photo I posted a picture of a man cutting a fairly tall but completely dead tree in our next door neighbor’s yard. Today I cut down a much smaller but equally dead crab-apple in my Brady and Albert’s front yard. While a chain saw makes a big difference when doing something like this, unless you have a well tuned saw and unless you know how to deal with a few problems, it can be as much a frustration as anything. My saw runs fast. Until recently it ran so fast that when I squeezed the throttle it would stall. I managed to adjust it a bit and now it runs well when cutting. I need to slow the idle speed a little.

The real problem I’m having now is that my shoulder gives out before the work is done. So, I cut a little while, then rest (and rest the saw). Then, back to work. I managed to get the tree down this far before my arm refused to do any more work for the day. Sorry, guys, but I’ll be back to cut the rest of it when I get the chance. Thanks for the firewood.