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Persimmons
September 27, 2025 Persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) are quite common up here. That is in part because this fruit is a favorite of Black Bears (Ursus americanus), which helps in the distribution of its seeds. The fruit looks like this right now. I generally see them growing to be 1 to 1.5 inch diameter little round…
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A View Of Autumn
September 26, 2025 Dappled sunlight reaching down through the leaves. Reds and greens being spotlighted. Red Maple (Acer rubrum) just beginning to add scarlet to the landscape. Red Maple trees are incredibly common in eastern North America, and can easily be found from Newfoundland and Manitoba in Canada, down to Florida and Texas in its…
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Crooked-stem Aster
September 24, 2025 So many species of Asters decorating the roadside coming up the mountain. This one is Crooked-stem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides). It gets its common name from its stems which change direction at each node, where a leaf emerges. Like other Asters, this one is made up of many many tiny flowers called florets,…
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Happy Astronomical Autumn!
September 22, 2025 This afternoon we have gone from summer into autumn. I adore living in an area that has four seasons, getting to experience each one’s splendors. This is a picture of Jack-In-The-Pulpit berries (Arisaema triphyllum). They turn this brilliant shade of scarlet in early autumn. Each of the berries generally contains one to…
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Yucca Gloriosa
September 21, 2025 A thunderstorm overnight, with the tiniest bit of much needed rain. Here a few of those raindrops still on blooms of Yucca Gloriosa (Yucca gloriosa). This is a species of Yucca that is native to the southeastern United States which blooms in late summer, early autumn for me. Yuccas have a special…
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Texture Against The Sky
September 20, 2025 The end of summer and the leaflets of Black Walnut trees (Juglans nigra) are one by one turning yellow and dropping to the ground. Also dropping to the ground are the “nuts” which are not true nuts but are actually drupes. What a surprise to discover that. Something that I really enjoy…
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Spicebush Berries
September 19, 2025 Drupes (berries) on Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) turning to their lovely crimson coloring, as autumn approaches. As autumn further advances, these drupes will all turn their bright red, and the leaves will become a rich yellow. Those leaves, when crushed emit a luscious spicy aroma. Thanks to that spicy aroma, deer tend to…
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White Flowers In The Genus Solidago
September 18, 2025 There are only two species of plants in the genus, Solidago (Goldenrod), that produce flowers that are white, all the others, as you might guess have rich, bright yellow flowers. This is one of those plants with white colored flowers, Silverrod (Solidago bicolor) which grows up here on my mountain, and is…