Up over the mountains into the Valley. A yearly excursion to the pumpkin patch. This year, one of the good ones. So many pumpkins. So many different sizes. So many different colors. So many different patterns. So difficult to choose. But mission accomplished. Now to get on with the carving.
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Pincushion Moss (Leucobryum glaucum) provides a soft landing spot for a leaf of Red Maple (Acer rubrum).
This moss can be found in many spots around the globe. In North America it’s found in the eastern and northern US and further north into Canada. In Europe it’s found in the United Kingdom and Ireland to Scandinavia and central European countries. It’s also found in China, Korea, and Japan.
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We think of this time of year as synonymous with rich warm colors. Pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba) listen to a different drummer though. This picture above was taken yesterday. Summer’s emerald green fading to subtle shades of yellow.
This image will be what I’ll be seeing at this same colony of Pawpaws in a couple weeks, showing subdued yellows and tans.
These small trees multiply into colonies by way of basal shoots. “New” trees emerge from these shoots but are actually a single colony of trees that are genetically identical.
Nature is amazing.
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Two days ago, as I was busy snapping pictures of a Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), there was an Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) sitting on a post appearing to be ready for a portrait shot as well.
I got enough images of the Winter Wren that I was quite sure at a least one of them would work for that evening’s post. So I switched to my volunteer and sure enough it posed for me like it had gone to modeling school.
They’re fun to have around with their tail flipping up and down. A teeny bit bigger than a Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor).
The Eastern Phoebe eats mostly insects during the warm months. Once it turns cold, and insects are hard to find they will include berries and other small fruits in their diet.
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Years ago in Tucson, Arizona, I saw my first Coyote (Canis latrans). One would think a logical place to see one. Historically Coyotes have been found in prairies and desert areas of Mexico and central North America. But now they can be found in 49 of the United States with the exception of Hawaii, thanks in part to agriculture, forest fragmentation, expansion of human development, and the decline in populations of their predators which include wolves and cougars, great horned owls, bald and golden eagles and bears.
Two days ago, after all this time, I saw my second Coyote. Extremely quick and elusive, I was unable to get a photo of it. Today though it saw it again and had success in capturing it in pixels.
These critters are opportunistic predators. At the top of their preferences for dining come small mammals like rabbits, voles, shrews, and mice. They’ll also eat skunks, frogs, beavers, birds, insects, berries, road-killed deer and other carrion they might come upon. They normally travel as well as search for food alone or occasionally in pairs.
Sure glad I got pictures today!
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A winter resident that I seldom get to see. This morning though, as I was about to do the breakfast dishes I spied it taking a splish-splash in the birdbath.
A tiny puff of feathers, Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), the smallest wren in North America. And know how chattery the Carolina Wren is? The Winter Wren has much more to say.
What a pure treat to see it this morning!
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The leaves here on the mountain are setting their sights on winter. They’re slowly turning from their many shades of green to warmer colors – yellow, orange, red, purple. Giving way to green chlorophyll pigments breaking down which allows other pigments to show through.
This tree is one of the first to show color in the autumn, a native to eastern North America, Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica). A mostly dioecious tree (meaning each tree produces only female or only male flowers), the female trees have blue-black bloomed drupes or berries which are very popular with migrating birds.
I thoroughly enjoy the leaf colors that these trees produce, mostly brilliant crimson.
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Almost Halloween and the Jack O’Lantern Mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius) are making their presence known. The perfect orange color to go with the name.
Found growing on decaying stumps and buried roots. These mushrooms have a reputation for being luminescent. In order to see the very faint glow you must have your eyes totally accustomed to the dark and you’ll see a faint green glow.
A poisonous mushroom.
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Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), in autumn, creates beautiful patches of scarlet in the woods. Native to eastern and central North America.
And in autumn along with those scarlet leaves you’ll find its deep blue berries (drupes) which support oodles of species of birds through the winter.
Those that might want to bring Virginia Creeper into their yard, growing it in their gardens, will find that it will soon overpopulate those gardens. In the wild though, I’m quite glad to see it — decorating as it grows.
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A note to me: next year, plant more Sunflowers. You need to see more butterflies.
I’m hoping I’ll get the message, and act on it.
The top photo: Monarch at Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). And this: A Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) visiting a Tithonia (Tithonia rotundifolia).
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