|
Here and There…Now and Then |
Limonium sinuatum (Statice)
Like yesterday, I didn’t get out at all today so I figured I’d take pictures of something in the house. In addition to the orange pincushion protea (Leucospermum cordifolium) that I photographed yesterday, there are some dried statice flowers (Limonium sinuatum) in the kitchen. That’s what today’s flowers are. They really have held their color quite well and their crape paper like petals are very pretty.
Leucospermum cordifolium (Pincushion Protea)
I’ve had good opportunities to get fall-color related pictures or dramatic sky pictures the last few days, but today I was pretty busy at work throughout the day and didn’t get a chance to go out. So, this evening I took some pictures of a flower that is drying out in our kitchen. It is a pincushion protea (Leucospermum cordifolium) and is from a shrub native to South Africa. They make good additions to flower arrangements and are quite striking. As you can see, even after they have started to dry out, they remain quite pretty. Up close, I think of it as a Medusa flower.
Cathy and Luna
We got to have Luna stay at our house for the weekend. Actually, she was only here a little more than 24 hours. Cathy brought her home yesterday and then we took her back to her house this evening. Before we took her back, though, I took a few pictures of her with Cathy. She’s a good dog and quite easy to care for. The sheet on the sofa tells her this is her place to sleep, and she seems to know that quite well.
Patapsco River
It was a rainy morning and early afternoon today. I had planned to have a photo shoot with Iris and Seth but because of the weather we postponed that until tomorrow. I had also arranged to visit our friend, Julia later in the afternoon. Since that wasn’t necessarily an outdoor activity, we met and planned to have a late lunch. We took a wrong turn, however, and ended up taking a walk along Grist Mill Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park (and having an early dinner, instead). The fall color isn’t completely gone but it is certainly past peak.
Dusky Clouds
The clouds were quite dramatic as I drove home this evening. I would have liked to stop and take a picture but the main road has no where to pull over where I’d be able to get a good view of the sunset. I pulled into the nearby shopping center and could see the clouds but the actual sunset was hidden. So, I made do with what I could see. These clouds were to the south of the setting sun and were nice enough, if not full of color, to deserve a picture of two.
Foggy Neighborhood
The roads in our neighborhood are not particularly dramatic, in general. On rare occasions, like this morning, when the fog was fairly thick, they can be fairly beautiful (however search the web for “Dark Hedges Ireland” sometime for a really dramatic lane). As I went out to drive to work today I thought I’d spend a few minutes driving around the neighborhood taking pictures.
It would probably be better without the mailboxes and lamp posts or the minivan parked on the right, but it’s still quite pretty. These are fairly large red oaks, planted in 1968 or 1969, so a little over 45 years old, and going strong. One of the street trees in front of our house, planted at the same time, died and was removed (that’s where Cathy’s marigold bed is now). The other two are still healthy but not as large as these, which are nicely proportioned. The fog adds to the drama, of course.
Lake Needwood
I know I’ve done Lake Needwood recently (see Friday, October 23, 2015) but I went to work that way again today and stopped for some pictures. The sky was an amazing blue and the reflection of the sky was, if anything, more amazing. Many of the trees have lost their leaves but there is still some color left. A little orange, yellow, and red to contrast with the blue. Definitely worth stopping for ten minutes, even if it made me a few minutes late getting to work.
Liquidambar styraciflua (American Sweetgum)
I had my annual physical this morning so took a slightly different route coming in. I also had a little extra time, so I stopped to take some pictures of fall color. These are the leaves of a sweetgum tree, or maybe more properly an American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) to differentiate it from the Chang’s, Chinese, and Turkish Sweetgums, which are L. acalycina, formosana, and orientalis, respectively. If you want a tree with great fall color, this would be a good choice. You might want to look for a variety that doesn’t bear fruit, which can be an annoyance in a yard. There is also a variety called ‘Rotundiloba’ which has rounded lobes in addition to being fruitless. But the species is worthy in itself, especially if planted in a large yard away from where you want to walk barefoot.
Evening Light in the Tops of the Trees
I’ve been enjoying the light after leaving work but because we went off so-called daylight saving time yesterday, the sun sets just about the time I leave work now. When I went out to my car this evening, the evening sun was just on the tops of the trees, both behind my building, where I park, and in front of the building, across the street. This is the view past my building to those across the street, where the trees are on a hill. My office is on the right, just out of the picture, looking out on the Norway spruce.
Marigold
Cathy and I worked a bit in the yard early this afternoon, filling in some bare spots with grass seed. Cathy put down some LeafGro on the bare spots and I spread the seed. I also spent a little time taking pictures. The flower bed that Cathy planted in the front of our yard, where the red oak tree used to be has done well all summer and made it through the light frosts we’ve had with the help of sheets over it at night. This is a bright, cheery marigold, petals glistening with water from recent rain.