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Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom Revisited
Today is Halloween. Time for Trick or Treat. But don’t get tricked into thinking that this mushroom is a treat. Visually, *DEFINITELY*. But not a treat to eat. Eat the Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms and you will get treated to headache, stomach cramps, vomiting, and or diarrhrea. Sounds to me like a wicked trick. Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms are…
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And Now Autumn
Gone are the days of carefree summer. Oh but the things to come. Color. The color of Virginia Creeper with it’s crimson leaves. Brilliant color. All the leaves that had been cool greens now becoming warm colors. Rich colors become ubiquitous. Red Maples turning red or orange or yellow. Another Red Maple. This one scarlet…
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Black Gum Tree
Tomorrow’s the first day of autumn. That’s got me thinking of what trees are going to be doing in the next several weeks. So many leaves. Leaves that will be turning the most exquisite warm colors of the color wheel. Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica) is one that comes to mind. It’s a standout in its…
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Autumn
Creeping slowly. Beautiful warm colors. Trees preparing their shut down for winter. In just a few days it will become official. That calendar on the fridge will tell us so. Autumn will be here. As a tiny hint of what’s to come, this Virginia Creeper’s (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) compound leaf with each of its five leaflets…
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White and Red Dogwood Berries
Autumn is approaching. The leaves of some Flowering Dogwoods are getting richer, more and more red. Their crimson berries, or drupes, are in abundance. This is the species of Dogwood that most people think of when “Dogwood” is mentioned. Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) and Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa). Two different Dogwood species. One of seventeen…
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Winged Sumac
Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum) making a not so subtle statement. Look out! Here it comes! Brilliant leaves here now. Rich red, warm orange, soft yellow. Fall is on its way. Use your observation skills. The colors are here and there. Look. Take note. Hints throughout the woods. Replacing the various shades of green with the…
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Flowering Dogwood
The Flowering Dogwood trees (Cornus florida) here in my neck of the woods are just beginning to open as the Eastern Redbud blooms (Cercis canadensis) are on their way into decline. That’s the pattern every year. A slight overlapping of their big show. Like homemade vanilla ice cream with home grown strawberries on top. In…
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American Beech
Hawaiian shave ice. Snow collects in the cone shapes that American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaves make during the winter. It reminds me of a trip long ago. A trip to Hawaii to see a total solar eclipse. A trip to be introduced to Hawaiian shave ice, which brings me back to the subject of my…
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In Praise of Blueberries
In my yard I’ve got a good number of mature blueberry bushes. Twelve? Fourteen? Enough that I can stock my freezer with loads of quarts of luscious berries to last throughout the year. And the birds? They’re welcome to their share. I love that the berries entice them. Of the birds that come to enjoy…
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A New Season
Evening. Last day of summer 2020. I am SO looking forward to a new season. A change of direction. Some positive actions and thinking in all this insanity. Up instead of down. Bright instead of bleak. Health instead of sickness. Bring on AUTUMN.