Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.
In mid-summer there is quite a draw at my wood’s edge. The Sumac is in bloom and pollinators are buzzing all over the flowers. I have two types of Sumac — Winged Sumac and Smooth Sumac, supplied by Mother Nature.
Fruit Of Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra
For The Birds
From blooms to fruit, pleasing different critters. The fruit of the Sumac attracts birds throughout the winter.
Common “Yellow-Shafted” Flicker, Colaptes auratus
Welcome Food During The Snowstorm!
With blinding snow coming down, this Yellow Shafted Flicker was able to find a meal at one of my many Sumacs. This picture was taken in February 2010. We had 72 inches of snow here on the mountain during that winter. It was wonderful!
Winged Sumac, Rhus copallina
And Now The Season Of Color
Sumacs turn brilliant shades in the fall. A little bit at a time. I’m enjoying taking pictures of just one branch or two, dressed in an outstanding scarlet set against the rich emeralds of its past summer finery.
Winged Sumac, Rhus copallina
Or . . .
Or tropical shades of limes and lemons, set against the warm colors of papayas.
Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra
More Color To Come
In the next two months Sumacs will be turning on more scarlet, making the wood’s edges sing. A song I look forward to!
Autumn started this afternoon! Yay! I love to experience the seasons — each and every one — all four, to their fullest potential! As always, autumn is starting slowly. Yes, we’ve had cooler weather, but the leaves are slow to respond and are waiting for the days to get shorter and shorter. I have to really look to see any leaves turning. The patch of Red Maple leaves, above, being true to their name are a beautiful scarlet, but I had to hunt for them. Most trees are still green.
Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida
An Exception
Dogwood is an exception to that rule. If you’re really observant, you’ll notice that the Flowering Dogwood begins, ever so subtly, to turn from green to red, in early July. I noticed this a few years ago and it sorta blew my mind, but every year since, I’ve noticed the same thing happening. Not every Flowering Dogwood tree goes by this pattern, but most that I see here on my mountain do.
Clasping Aster or Late Purple Aster, Symphyotrichum patens
Asters, Asters Everywhere!
On my daily hikes Asters are the most abundant flower. Snowy white asters with sunshine yellow centers that turn to warm burgundy as they mature. Lavender asters – small and even smaller ones. And my favorite – grape purple asters with the name Clasping Asters or Late Purple Asters. The flower of this species is a tiny bit larger than most of the Asters I’m seeing. It’s the smashing grape color that really gets my attention though. I’m really a sucker for a yummy, rich color.
Goldenrod, Species to be determined later!
Brilliant Yellow
I cannot leave out the Goldenrod that greets me each time I hike up the mountain. Beautiful yellow Goldenrod that is such a cheery sight. Oh dear! So many different species (over 50 in North America) that I have not begun to try to figure out which I’ve been running into. I think I’ll leave that to those long winter days when there are no flowers to identify as I hike!
Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae, Blending Right In With Goldenrod
Brilliant Yellow In Insects Too
A frequent sight on the Goldenrod — the adult Locust Borer enjoys the pollen of the Goldenrod. The species gets its name from the larvae that bore into Black Locust Trees.
Silverrod, Solidago bicolor
Bold Identification
One plant in the Solidago (Goldenrod) genus that I feel confident identifying is Silverrod. I just saw it for the first time a few days ago and it fascinates me, looking like a Goldenrod but it is white with just the smallest hint of yellow. Nice to have something with no question of what it is!
Colors To Come!
As the days get shorter, the leaves will respond, shutting down their production of chlorophyll, which will bring about the change in colors that I’m waiting for. I’ll keep you posted!
Yellow is such a happy color! I had a dear friend, Pat Gallagher, whose favorite color was yellow, I think for that very reason. She was a truly happy person. She made a point of doing watercolor paintings, and making quilts with the warm color in it, even in the day when yellow was not favored.
Yellow But Not A Sunflower
The flower below, with its gorgeous curvy stamens is not a Sunflower, but a Wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia). I see it along roadsides at the foot of the mountain where I live. I’ve got one plant of it in the front of my cabin, due to my curiosity about it, and my seed collecting habit. Nice to have it added to the many yellows provided by Woodland Sunflower and Goldenrod!
A Favorite Flower
My Dad’s favorite flower is the sunflower. Whenever I order a bouquet for Mom and Dad, I try to have the florist include sunflowers in the bunch to make both Mom and Dad smile. Yellow and sunflowers, they just work together so well.
Not Yellow
This ladybug is not yellow, but I think she’s pretty happy wandering about in her yellow flowered world. Yellow has a way of attracting birds and insects.
Speaking of bees, do you see the face created by the bees in the picture below? Happy bees!
Fading
Even fading yellow appeals to me. These sunflowers, in the two pictures below, well beyond their peak, are beautiful!
New Yellow
And a most comforting sight, a bud of a sunflower, just thinking of opening, starting a new life, providing sustenance for birds, and bees.
I suppose some would say I enjoy playing with my food! I love to set up still lifes with all the colors that come out of the garden. As summer is drawing to a close, the garden provides so many objects for me to arrange in still lifes for me to make into art!
Garden Just Outside The Kitchen
Red, yellow, burgundy, large, small, striped, solid. Tomatoes in so many shades of lusciousness! Green, red, yellow, orange bell peppers. Jalepeño, poblano, Anaheim, ancho, habanero, all destined for the picante salsa that comes out of the canner. Another ART!
Farmer’s Market
A feast for the eyes, the farmer’s market fills the gaps. Things that aren’t grown in the garden just outside the kitchen. Surprises. Vegetables I’ve never seen before. Fruits I’ve never heard of.
Chilly Days Ahead
Though autumn is ahead of us, and temperatures are dropping we’ll stay warm with our ART from the garden!
Today was a busy day here at the cabin. It was my Mr. Wonderful’s birthday, so I didn’t get out on a hike. But yesterday I found some fun critters in a large clump of Goldenrod in a power line right-of-way, up by the waterfall. Maybe right now I should be calling that a water-trickle, rather than a waterfall though. There is not much water flowing over those rocks. I was looking through my photographs yesterday and noticed some picts of the waterfall from back in June. My, what a difference! There sure was water flowing then!
A Pair of Mating Locust Borers, Megacyllene robiniae
So Much Activity
What a busy place it was up there at about 2400 feet. There were several pairs of Locust Borers busy taking care of perpetuating the species. I guess they find those black and yellow stripes irresistible!
Soldier Beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus
More Critters
There were also Soldier Beetles busy up there, feeding on the pollen of the Goldenrod. Many Soldier Beetles. Both the Soldier Beetle and the Locust Borer particularly enjoy Goldenrod pollen.
Soldier Beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus
What Will Tomorrow Find
Looking forward to my hike tomorrow morning. What beautiful colors, intriguing insects, new trees will I discover?
Each day as I start out on my hike there is anticipation. What new things will I find? Summer is drawing to a close and with it, the days, which earlier this season had been extremely wet, are now quite dry. The waterfall which I pass along the way is a mere trickle compared to the rushing torrent it had once been. But still there is that anticipation. What new insect will surprise me. What new flower will startle me with its sparkle of color?
Leaves Of The Clasping Aster
Yesterday’s New Thrills
As my hike was nearing an end yesterday, as I approached my last mile, I was thinking that perhaps there would be few new “discoveries” for this season. After all how many new flowers can come about, this late in the growing season? Silly me! No sooner had those thoughts crossed my mind, when I spied an unusual color up on the side of the road, at the top of a cut that VDOT had made for water runoff. A lovely soft, grape color. What I found was a new plant! A Clasping Aster that gets its name from the fashion in which the rough textured leaves surround the stems. If you look closely at the photo above, I think you’ll be able to see what I’m talking about.
Clasping Aster, Symphyotrichum patens
Sunshine Yellow Centers
Had I captured these photos when the flowers were just a bit earlier in their development their centers would have been a bright yellow, much like a daisy with purple petals. Along with the grape-purple petals, these blooms differ from the other asters that are so plentiful up here, in that they are a good bit larger. These blooms are about 1.25 inches across.
Gemmed Satyr, Cyllopsis gemma
But Wait, There’s More!
This was yesterday, when I was thinking there would be no more surprises, right? Well, just a little bit further down the road there was a butterfly skittering around trying his best to get my attention. He was trying with all his might to get my attention but he wasn’t all that cooperative as a model. Despite that, I managed to capture him in pixels and I didn’t realize what I had captured until I got back to my studio.
Gemmed Satyr, Cyllopsis gemma
New Butterfly
This fellow is a Gemmed Satyr, who gets his name because of the sparkly eye-spots on his hindwings which look like gems stones. The book that I found this fellow in, Butterflies Through Binoculars, says that this butterfly is, “small and inconspicuous.” How very true until you take a photograph of him and look carefully at the picture! New to me, and mighty cool!
As I hike each day, there are so many things that are new to me. So many animals, so many insects and spiders and the plants! So many new plants! I can hardly keep up. What with taking the photographs, bringing them home and identifying what in the world I have captured in pixels.
The Ferns
One type of plant that has always fascinated me is the fern, so it’s nice that they are pretty common up here where I hike every day. They are different than other plants in many ways and as I learn about them, I’ll fill you in! One place that I will be checking is Ellen Honeycutt’s post on ferns which has a wealth of information in it.
My First Formal Introduction
I was first introduced to the science side of ferns while taking a class through Piedmont Virginia Community College, Natural History of Virginia. Oh my! I was just in heaven in that class! My brain got filled to overflowing with knowledge during those several months!
Walking Fern
During one of our field trips, I got my first sight of Walking Fern, Asplenium rhizophyllum, a fern that to my eye, does not look like a fern, since the blade, or leaf, does not have a cut-up/frilly/lacy look to it. This is a fern that when one of its long, narrow leaves arches and touches the ground, it can sprout new plants. These leaves can be 1 to 15 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide. Sometimes you can find an old plant surrounded by many new, little plants. This fern is an evergreen plant, with leathery leaves.
Walking Fern, Asplenium rhizophyllum
Hay-scented Fern
A fern that I had heard about but never seen, was Hay-scented Fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, which I stumbled upon about mid-summer of this year. I spied it close to the edge of the dirt road that I always traverse and it seemed to be calling to me. Walking over to it, a little voice in my head told me to rub the fronds and see what it smelled like. Deep in the folds of my brain I knew it was Hay-scented Fern, although I had never seen this type of fern before. Sure enough, it had a beautiful fragrance. The name hay-scented left me wanting a better descriptor for this fern which is both lovely in form and aroma!
Hay-scented Fern, Dennstaedtia punctilobula
Large Patches?
Although, I see in my Peterson Field Guide, Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America, that Hay-scented ferns usually occur in large patches; whole fields or forest gaps filled with feathery fronds, I feel very fortunate just to have found my little patch here on my daily hikes up the mountain. There are many more ferns that I see on a daily basis and I will fill you in on some of them next time I post here!
This morning I was up and out before the butterflies had started on their rounds of checking this flower and that. I was also working against a deadline, so my hike was, still the same route, but was completed in record time. Five miles in two hours. Okay, I won’t win any races, but I still took pictures along the way. I think I did pretty well getting back to the cabin so “quickly!”
A Picture From Two Days Ago
I went through my files to find a butterfly to post. I just felt today, though I didn’t see many, was a butterfly sort of day. I found this Question Mark, Polygonia interrogantionis, among many butterflies that I walked with two days ago. He was particularly patient with me and my camera, so I thought I’d share him with you.
Question Mark, Polygonia interrogationis
Why The Name “Question Mark?”
In this second photograph, you’ll see a Question Mark at one of his favorite foods, rotting fruits and vegetables. This view, with his wings folded up, allows you to see why he is called “Question Mark” and an easy way to tell him from a similar butterfly — a Comma! See the small bright white question mark there? Okay, use your imagination! It’s there! I bet you know what that Comma has on his wings!
The brilliant yellow of Goldenrod is such a cheer for any day in late summer. There are more that 50 species of Goldenrod in North America. That’s a daunting number for someone who is a compulsive classifier. One of these days I will tackle, figuring out which of the 50 species I have here on my mountain!
Common Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Hayfever’s Cause
Though many people think that Goldenrod is responsible for their sneezing, and worse, during the hayfever season, it is Ragweed’s pollen that is the nasty culprit. Perhaps it is understandable. Ragweed takes a backseat when it comes to being noticed. There it sits along all those roadsides, being totally inconspicuous, in green flower — blending in with all the other greens, while the more beautiful Goldenrod stands out with it’s shimmering yellow.
Goldenrod, species to be determined
Pollinators
There are definitely benefits to having Ragweed around. I see many pollinators enjoying the benefits of having it on the mountain as I hike. The flower of the Ragweed is so minuscule that one would have to use a hand lens to enjoy its structure and beauty but it is there for the insects of the world to enjoy. Meanwhile I will enjoy the striking yellow of the Goldenrod, one of the natives that I have in my garden, thanks to Mother Nature’s distribution system, also known as volunteering!
I got my first up close look at this brilliant yellow Wingstem while checking out a wonderful field of Sunflowers that my yoga teacher had planted at her studio. There were so many Sunflower “faces” looking toward the sun, but the Wingstem caught my eye, in a wild patch of various plants, calling out for my attention. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but took lots of photographs.
The “Wings”
The flowers of the Wingstem originate where the leaves meet the stem and flow into the “wings” on the stem.
The Leaves
The leaves of the Wingstem are rough in texture, and pointed at both ends.
What Butterflies Will Seek The Wingstem?
I’m seeing most of these flowers in the lower elevations, but being the seed gatherer that I am, I have one plant blooming in my front yard! I’m hoping I’ll get more, for the Silvery Checkerspot butterflies that use the Wingstem as a host plant and for nectaring.
