Carrollton Yard – January 2024 (2)

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In the mid-1960s my maternal grandfather collected a dead tree – a snag – and cut it to fit from floor to ceiling in his living room. I was probably about 9 feet tall…with branches. One of my aunts decorated it with artificial ivy; other small items were collected and displayed there. When the house was sold after the deaths of my grandparents in the 1980s, my mother got the tree (I am not sure how she got it from Oklahoma to Texas) and it was installed on the covered porch at the front of my parents’ house…with fewer branches and a little shorter. Now that the house is being sold, it is uninstalled and going with a long-time neighbor to grace his family’s garden in New Mexico.

One of the branches that had to be cut off when the tree was installed on the porch has been in the front garden for a long time…decaying very slowly.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

There are rose bushes by the fence that were planted more recently. They were blooming profusely when the first hard freeze occurred…the blooms still colorful and dehydrated - fragile. Roses have been a popular plant with my family. I can remember by paternal grandmother loving the small in-town house they moved to from the farm in Wichita Falls; the previous owner had planted rose bushes – yellow, red, pink, white – that made many a great bouquet for my sisters and I to take to our elementary school teachers. My parents planted hybrid tea roses in the house they build in Wichita Falls; we each had a rose bush. Mine was the Granada. My dad’s was the Mister Lincoln.

Were the big rocks in the front a selling point? I always enjoy them in the front bed, that dramatically reduces the amount of mowing. They have been in place long enough to have lichen.

Of course – the red yucca are always a joy to photograph. This time of year it is all about the seed pods. My mother got a single plant in a pot and then propagated it to fill a significant portion on the sunny side of the front garden. My sister takes young plants that come up among the mature ones and has planted them in other yards…so the children of these plants are already thriving in family gardens elsewhere.

I realize that the yard will be forever changed with my parents no longer the owners of the place…it will be a place that exists only in memory.

Sequoyah State Park (1)

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Sequoya State Park (near Wagoner, Oklahoma) is about 3 hours from where we live. We opted for an overnight trip last week – staying at one of the duplex cabins in the park. It was a reconnoiter type of trip: how many birds would we see (and the vantage points to see them) and were the onsite cabins/amenities OK (and should we look at other state park destinations in the future). Our arrival was well before check-in time, so we walked down to Inspiration Point. I spotted a damselfly on the walkway almost immediately.

The big event of that walk was a kettle of American White pelicans over the lake. They were far enough away that the images were not very good – but it was fun to watch them swirl – noting how the light made them almost impossible to see for a few seconds; then they would turn and were easily seen.

The fall foliage was just beginning.

There was a rock ‘table’ with stones situated for seats under two trees!

We visited the nature center then drove to a parking area to hike the Fossil Trail that hugged the eastern side of the peninsula. We were rewarded by views of pelicans and cormorants (probably double crested) – still too distant for good images but I liked the color the light gave the water.

There was the usual shelf fungus, insects (katydid…and something that bit me), lichen, plants going to seed…all under a forest canopy with a little fall color.

We were out again at sunset near our cabin – overlooking the western side of the peninsula and the lake beyond. The sky was perfectly clear so there were no interesting reflections off clouds; I included silhouettes of trees instead! There were gulls coming to roost on the water as the sun went down.

Tomorrow the post will include sunrise at Sequoyah!

Daughter’s Yard

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My daughter’s house was built in the 1950s and has some very large mature trees. Even the plants that are not of that vintage, are robust. By the fall – the summer growth has often become overwhelming, so I offer to help with the grand cleanup before winter. On the day we chose – it was cloudy…warm rather than hot. The yard had been mowed the previous day so we could focus on other everything else rather than leaves. It was a good day for the project.

I noticed the holly berries on her two trees had almost all turned orange (or their way to red); those trees didn’t need any maintenance!

There was pokeweed in several places that needed to be pulled (she is still battling it…no truce or peace yet in her yard!). It was growing in the woodpile, between bricks of the patio….and other places too.

The path to the side of the house overhung by a mature redbud shading the hostas and ferns on both side of the flagstones yielded several armloads of sticks to supplement the wood pile. Hopefully they will have a cookout using their firepit (and burn a lot of the pile) when they have their annual pumpkin carving event.

There was a mimosa that had come up in one corner of the fenced area. We didn’t have a saw, so we cut the top out with big pruners and girded the trunk further down. I’ll brink my saw next time we work.

It didn’t take us long to fill a dumpster with vines and weeds (including pokeweed) that we pulled.

What I thought was a cherry tree turned out to be a crabapple (when I cut open one of the fruits). I learn something new in her yard every time I work there!

The other plant I hadn’t recognized before was (I think) a silverbell. I’ll look next spring for its flowers. It’s a small tree growing under her big oak.

Other beauties in the flower beds that I couldn’t resist: cedar, wood hydrangea, Asian hydrangea, lichen, shelf fungus, southern magnolia seed pods (another huge tree).

I took home 3 magnolia seed pods - hope to watch how the seeds pop out as the pods dry.

We had some productive hours….and we felt good about what we had accomplished!

Shaw Nature Reserve (1)

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My daughter and I made our first visit to the Shaw Nature Reserve last week. I had ordered some native plants to be picked up during the Fall Wildflower Market. We arrived shortly after noon, before the market started, which gave us ample time for a short hike in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden and along the Bush Creek Trail. After checking in at the visitor center (using my Friends of the Springfield (MO) Botanical Gardens for entrance) and getting a token to open the gate to the reserve’s Pinetum Loop Road, we drove all the way around the loop. We stopped to walk out to the Crecent Knoll Overlook. Thistles were one plant that was blooming.

The vegetation was thick with a variety of plants. We stayed on the trails to avoid picking up ticks and sticky seeds! I used my optical zoom to photograph some spheres on the back of a leaf. Galls?

After completing the loop, we parked near the northern trailhead for the Brush Creek Trail. A tree had been cut into sections near the trail (probably after it had fallen on the trail. The saw marks make it difficult to count the rings.

Some of the areas are limestone glades where the plants don’t grow as densely. I noted a very weathered piece of limestone.

The only insect I photographed intentionally was a grasshopper that was not much over an inch long. I was pleased that I managed to focus on it! Will it mature enough to lay eggs before winter?

There was a sculpture among some of the fall wildflowers!

There was an area that had a lot of new-growth ferns. I enjoy photographing fiddleheads. It always seems miraculous that they start out so tightly packed…and unfurl into large fronds!

The persimmons were not ripe yet…but I was thrilled to recognize the bark and fruit (with the sign to confirm the id).

There were several kinds of fungus we saw on the hike as well. Lichen (yes there is algae there too, but I am lumping it with the fungus,

Shelf fungus,

And 2 kinds of mushrooms. The first reminded me of vanilla wafers.

There were 2 groups of the second kind. They were very close to the trail and it looked like someone had kicked the parts of the clump closest to the trail (why do people do that?). These reminded me of small crepes!

Stay tuned for more from our hike at Shaw Nature Reserve in tomorrow’s post.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March 2023 – Egrets +

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The pelicans were the stars of my two visits to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March, but there were plenty of other things to see. The egrets came in a close second to the pelicans. The Snowy Egrets were in breeding plumage.

A cattle egret was as well.

The redbud near the visitor center was blooming and the tree was situated where I could walk up to get some macro images. The flowers are reminded me of orchids!

The trunk of the tree had yellow-orange lichen…always worth a close look.

On my first visit there were a few Snow Geese (one was smaller…probably a Ross’s). They were gone before my second visit.

The Yellowlegs was still around.

I saw two herons: a Great Blue

And a Little Blue. The Great Blue Herons are year-round residents. The Little Blue Herons are only around during the breeding season.

At the turn around point during my second visit, I noticed some vultures in a tree. The ones near the top were Turkey Vultures and there was a lone Black Vulture further down the tree!

I needed to get to Sherman by noon but still made a quick stop to photograph a Red-Winged Blackbird. I had been hearing them loud and clear but this one seemed to be posing just for me.

My visits to Hagerman are always a little rushed…I drive portions of the wildlife tour and stop for photography – using my car as a blind. Even so…it seems like the 1.5 hours I allot myself passes very quickly!

Table Rock Lake

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On a sunny day last week, we headed south to Table Rock State Park – situated on the shore of Table Rock Lake. The drive down had many roadcut cliffs….curving highway…scenic. We parked near the boat launch and walked along the paved lakeside trail. There were frequent ad hoc trails going all the way down to the lake…using ‘stairsteps’ in rock down to water level. We saw at least one person fishing. There was rain in the previous days so the eroded rock held small pools of water.

The first side trail we took down to the water included a surprise. There was a whole watermelon at the water’s edge! How did it get there? Did someone put it in the water to cool down then forget it was there? We wondered how long it had been at the edge of the lake since we are well past the season for them to be in grocery stores. It was the only ‘trash’ we saw during our walk!

I was fascinated by the intensity of the color on wet rocks compared to the rocks that had dried out on the shore.

The water itself changed the way the rocks look too. These two pictures are of the same area but the water acts as a distorting lens!

I turned aroud and took some zoomed images of drying debris, a chuck of rock, and the layers in one of the ‘stairs’ – then made my way back up to the paved trail.

We started looking at the sights along the trail. There were limestone boulders along the edge and I started noticing inclusions in some of them. Some areas were forested…with enough underbrush to support communities of lichen and moss….and, my favorite, turkey tails (shelf fungus).

We didn’t see a lot of birds – and I didn’t get any pictures. It was not the best time of day for bird watching. I saw a nuthatch, crows, and turkey vultures…without even going into ‘birding’ mode.

There were not a lot of people in the park this time of year even though the day was warm enough for a picnic (there was one family with one children that was enjoying a snack). It is easy to imagine the place being full of people when the temperature is warmer…and everyone would enjoy the activities on or in the water!

Now to plan some other day trips….take advantage of any pleasant day to do a little more exploring of places within an hour of where we live!

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 28, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

What links litmus paper and lichens? – How did I not know that litmus dye was made from lichens? I remember using red cabbage to tint paper for an elementary school science project with my daughter. We tested everything in the house…discovered that even the fumes from toilet bowl cleaner turned the strips we made bright pink!

How donkeys changed the course of human history – The beast of burden. During Roman times the subspecies used was larger than modern donkeys…specifically bred for the expanding empire.

Jungle realm of the Snake Queens – A 5-part article about 2 Mayan queens: Lady K’abel and Lady Six Sky.

Marriage in Minoan Crete – A surprise – it was very common to marry one’s first cousin!

Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes are rising, putting thousands at risk – A study reveals that there have been increases in rainfall since 2010…an increase of only 0.4-2% of mean annual rainfall leads to the observed rising lakes/flooding.

EPA requirement keeps electric buses out of low-income schools – Low-income school districts often don’t own their school buses; they rely on contractors or subsidized lease deals. So --- they can’t meet the requirement to scrap the old diesel buses.

Ten-minute scan enables detection and cure of the commonest cause of high blood pressure – The hormone aldosterone causes 1 in 15 cases of high blood pressure. This new technology/treatment is a big improvement for the way those cases can be treated.

Dead Humpback Whale Washes Ashore at Assateague Island – This is the second one recently. I am familiar with the place this time…Assateague Island was a place my husband and enjoyed for birding when we lived in Maryland.

China’s population declines for the first time in six decades – Changing demographics in China.

Bees exposed to common weedkiller via wildflower nectar – Evidently the flowers can be contaminated even if they are not sprayed directly!

Our New Neighborhood – January 2023

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It was warmer than I expected when I walked around our neighborhood pond…a pleasant surprise. I photographed the Lambs ear in our flower bed on the way out…both the mother plant and ‘children’ seem to be weathering the winter.

The dying back of vegetation makes it easier to see nests in the trees and the reeds/grasses at the side of the pond. Was this one built by a red-winged blackbird last spring?

There are many leaves decaying in the pond…and bright green algae. I wondered if there might be some interesting macroinvertebrates in the water. We did see a lot of dragonflies in the summer so their larvae might be in the water. Maybe I will get a small net to see what is hiding in the decaying leaves.

I always stop to look at the weeping willow at the edge of the pond that has grown around a metal stake. The leaves are gone now…but the lichen on the trunk is colorful! I took pictures at various magnifications with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e). I’ll continue to check the lichen on my walks around the neighborhood pond…see how much it changes when the weather is warmer.

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - December 2022

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It was a foggy morning at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center; I opted to do macro and zoomed images rather than landscape compositions…and am relatively pleased with the way they turned out. There are remnants of the native plants in the area around the nature center: berries providing splashes of color along with the subtle colors but interesting shapes of dried plant parts and seeds…

The Beautyberry near the main entrance has wrinkled berries now that there has been more wintery weather.

I took a short walk down one of the trails. Some desiccated fungus on a downed limb was close enough to the trail to photograph.

Another branch had some interesting lichen that seemed to be growing more upward that usual. I regretted that I didn’t have a better camera with me to photograph it.

The other end of the branch must have broken recently…the shape reminded me of an open mouth or cave surrounded my lichen!

I long ago had ago had this stump be cut/exposed. The bark was gone from around the edges, but the rings were still easily visible. I didn’t take the time to count them.

The patches of missing back on a standing tree (probably dead) were probably the work of something looking for insects – maybe a woodpecker?

I started taking macro pictures of tree trunks…realized that it was more interesting if there was a patch of something rather than just the bark; lichen is the most common find…a bit of green and different shape among the crinkles of bark.

As I walked on the path, the floor of the forest was covered with small plants protruding from the thick layer of leaves. I realized that these small plants were an indicator that the area was not overly browsed by deer as so many places in Maryland had been…and a good indication that the native plantings I want to add around my house will survive!

Last but not least – I took one picture looking upward through the winter tree branches. Maybe next month I will do more landscape images from around the nature center….or maybe it will be cold enough to hike down to the water and take some ice pictures!

Carrollton Yard – July 2022 (3)

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The final in my Carrollton Yard in July posts….

The ferns are on the north side of the house and generally in the shade. The place is well watered by the sprinkler system. But even with those advantaged, the 100+ days are damaging the fronds. The ones that get the most sun were brown…cooked in the heart. I noticed that almost all of them that were still green (even a little ) were producing spores.

The mulberry trees in my parents house are very old…and several have been cut down completely.  The ones that remain have been dramatically trimmed to reduce the weight of their canopy. There was a pile of recently trimmed branches at the back of the large patio…cut by the crew into fireplace length (plenty for my mother’s enjoyment of almost daily winter fires!). I took pictures of the cut ends…and realized that even the smallest ones took over a decade to grow!

And the mulberries are still putting out leaflets on their trunks and big branches! There were at eye level on the trunk closest to my parents’ garden room. The room is the best in the house – where they work on puzzles and spend a lot of their day. The few of their backyard is spectacular from that room!

I enjoyed the garden decorations among the foliage. Most have been in place for years – some are toys left over from when grandchildren were young (the youngest is now in his 20s).

On the edge of the side patio there is a rock with several kinds of lichen.

I used my phone’s (Samsung Galaxy S10e) digital magnification to get closer views. I like the colors and texture of the lichen and then the bare rock where, perhaps, some long ago lichen weakened the rock and water eventually washed it and the rock particles away.

I will be traveling to Carrollton again later this month…and look for other perspectives/changes in the Carrollton yard.

Last Trip to Maryland

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We opted to drive to Maryland one last time…for the closing on the house there and last goodbyes to some favorite places. We started out shortly after 6:30 AM for the two-day drive – with a much longer drive on the 1st day. The first stop from Springfield was the Route 66 rest stop along I-44 near Conway. Our route was the interstate along the old Route 66 until St. Louis.

It was sunny and hot for most of the day – traversing Illinois and Indiana and most of Kentucky. The only big cities on the route were St. Louis and Louisville. We stopped in Ashland, KY for the night; we had driven out of the hot and dry Midwest and into rain. The last rest stop of the day (in Kentucky) was one that included oak leaf hydrangeas in their landscaping…reminding me that I want to plant one or two in my new yard.

The next day it rained…and rained. Most was not too heavy and did not delay us as we travelled through West Virginia and into Maryland. It did change the type of photography is did at the rest stops I switched to macro photography– lichen, moss, buds, insect, shelf fungus. I took several pictures from inside the car (since I wasn’t driving). Sidling Hill is more interesting from the highway than the eastward rest stop!

And then we were at our old house…more on the time we spent in Maryland tomorrow.

Macro Photography in our Maryland Yard – May 2022

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I made a last macro photography foray around our yard in Maryland --- enjoying the fullness of spring. I started with the usual moss and lichen on the trees in front.

In the front flower beds, the nine-bark bush was in bloom and the pyracantha that I thought had died several years ago has come back from the roots/is blooming.

In the chaos garden, the irises are thriving along with Virginia creeper. Under the deck, there is a fiddlehead of a Christmas fern unfurling.

I decided to not move the dried flowers from daughter’s birth over 30 years ago. They are now in a hollow of the brush pile since I have already cleaned out the compost bin. They have more color in the macro views than I expected!

Carrollton Yard in Early Spring – Macro

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I posted about the larger view of the Carrollton yard last week; today the post is from the macro perspective. I started indoors where my mother had some vases of spring blooms (daffodils and hyacinths) that looked cheery.

A few days later, I walked around the yard…the hyacinths and daffodils were mostly spent so I photographed other flowers: oxalis, Japanese quince, dandelion. The dandelion is my favorite.

The new rose leaves were not wet…but the new leaves must have some waxy material that protects them from cold temperatures this time of year.

A larger rock under one of the old mulberries had several kinds of lichen growing on it. The encrustations overlap and I found myself wondering if, in the overlap, are they melding or overlapping. Lichen are an organism that operate on an entirely different timescale than me do; some might continue to slowly grow and dissolve their rock for thousands of years.

Brookside Gardens Macro – March 2022 (2)

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Continuing the Brookside Gardens macro images…..

The dried flower clusters of the wood hydrangea from last season look fragile but they have endured all winter and many are still on the stalks. A few leaves have survided as well. The leaf I photographed with the macro lens still had some green…was probably still producing food for the plant! Most of the leaves from last season are long gone though.

The witch hazels are one of my favorite winter and spring trees. They bloom very early….and have unusual flowers – streamer petals.

The suction cups of a vine growing on the wall of the visitor center have held it firm all winter! They look so fragile…but are evidently quite durable.

I hadn’t noticed the Deodar cedar in the Brookside 1969-2009 Commemorative Garden before – I only know its name from the sign at its base. The needles and cones were a bit different than the evergreens I see more frequently. Taking a walk with my camera frequently causes me to notice something a little different!

As I walked back to my car – I saw some more familiar pines…took some macro images of the pinecones and a small branch with needles on the ground. I’m always seeking new insight into common items through the macro lens! The fibers in the breaks of the pinecones surprised me.

The pines have a lot of lichen on their trunks and branches…and some of it sluffs off. I thought the pieces in the grass with the dried pine needles made good color and texture compositions.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 5, 2022

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Scientists develop long lasting anti-fogging coating for plastic surfaces that 'self-cleans' – It seem like the current antireflective coating on my glasses is a little ‘sticky’ – making my glasses collect particles easily…need cleaning frequently. It would be great to have something that is self-cleaning! Somehow I doubt this would eliminate the need to clean my glasses but it would be good to get back to the way glasses were before the fancy coatings!

Rare Baby Ghost Shark Caught in New Zealand’s Chatham Rise – What an odd-looking animal. There is a 3-minute video that shows adult sharks.

Deer Mice: Get to Know North America’s Most Abundant Mammal – So small we might not notice them most of the time. A good overview of deer mice. They are vectors for Lyme disease and hantavirus….but provide food for hawks, eagles, and owls…coyotes and foxes.

Lichens Are in an Evolutionary Race Against Climate Change – They can be found almost everywhere…but are very slow growing. That slow growth makes it more challenging for them to adjust to changing temperatures.

Nearly 300 Million Visited National Park System in 2021, But Most To Just 25 Parks – I’ve been to 17 of the 25!

An insulin patch that sticks inside a person’s cheek – I’m sure most diabetics that must take injections would welcome an alternative.

Covid-19 Community Levels – In case you haven’t seen it already – this site has a map of the US with the counties color coded. The county where I live and the counties around it are green.

Bronze Age burial mound discovered in England – In Oxford…under traces of St. Mary’s College built in the 15th century.

Surprise small-cell lung cancer discovery suggests new treatment – New work from University of Virginia Health System (which was designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center on Feb. 1).

An Ornate, 5,000-Year-Old Stone Drum Is the U.K.’s Most Significant Prehistoric Art Find in a Century – Found buried alongside skeletons of 3 children cuddled together.  

A Winter Hike at Mt. Pleasant (2)

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Continuing my outdoors photography at Howard Country Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant….

The nature center has a lot of windows and they have been upgraded to make them more visible to birds…prevent bird strikes. The upgrade enhanced the place as a nature center – featuring an owl, a curled up fox, cattails, and milkweed with a Monarch butterfly.

I did a close of two butterfly images on the glass (tiger swallowtail and monarch).

And then a macro shot to show the small holes.

While I had the macro lens on my phone – I took pictures of some of the rock façade of the nature center.

I’d put the lens back in my pocket before I walked over to the area near the Honors garden for some more close ups: an old pump with rusting pins holding the handle in place and the lichen growing on a split rail fence nearby.

On the way back to the car, I put the macro lens back on my phone and took pictures of the witch hazel blooming beside the drive to the old farmhouse. The ribbon-like petals are unusual and last a long time. It might be my favorite tree at Mt. Pleasant!

Overall – the two photographic highpoints of my time at Mt. Pleasant were the skunk cabbage and witch hazel!

Macro Photography Practice (1 and 2)

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My husband got me started on a more advanced form (for me) of macro photography by sending me some YouTube links (this one from Micael Widell was the first) and identifying the gear that would work with my Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. After talking to me about the possibilities with my camera and sending some sample images he had captured with a similar set up on his more substantial camera to encourage me (posted a few weeks ago here), he ordered the filter adapter for my camera…

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And the macro lens.

I used the same diffuser that fits over the front of the camera as he used with his camera (we got another one since we will be going into the field together once I get enough practice).

The new gear purchases were about $100. Here’s the way my camera looks ready for my practice – from the front and back. The idea is to be able to hand hold the camera (i.e. no tripod) – often with one hand – when in the field.

The technique works best with manual focus and flash…two features of my camera that I haven’t used very much. The idea is to set the manual focus to a particular distance and then leave it alone in the field and simply move the camera to get the focus desired.

It was easier for me to start with plants in my yard in my first sessions. I found that I could get reasonable results with autofocus (still having to move the camera to get the focus on the part of the image I wanted) for plants…but it takes more time than manual focus….which would be problematic for insects that are more likely to move.

Here are the collection of my best images from my first two practice sessions.

Black eyed susans

Mint flowers

Lichen and moss

Ninebark leaves

Bush cut branch and water droplets on leaves

Wild strawberry

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And finally – an insect during my second practice session.

The image below is cropped from the image on the left above.

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Overall I am pleased with my first attempts…but still need more practice!

Tree Trunk Macros – Part 2

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A few days ago, I posted some macro images of our sycamore and cherry tree trunks. Today the macro images are of our Thundercloud Plum and Red Oak tree trunks.

The plum tree bark has fissures and a reddish tinge – maybe from the same pigment that makes its leaves red purple in summer. There are small growths of lichen. The tree is not as well colonized as the cherry but seems to have some the same type of lichen.

The red oak is a mini-ecosystem complete with the lichen (some with a dendritic type of growth) and moss. I appreciate the moss in the winter because it is the greenest thing in our front yard!

The oak also supports some Virginia Creeper vines…with moss and lichen growing under them. The suction cup like attachment to the tree are covered over by the moss.

Overall, this photographic project in our yard has encouraged me to try it someplace else. Maybe I’ll do some tree trunk photography down by the neighborhood pond or into the forest behind our house. Stay tuned.

Tree Trunk Macros – Part 1

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A sunny day in the thirties…I decided to take a quick walk around the yard with my new camera for some landscape pictures and my phone with a 2x magnifying lens with a built in LED light (and clicker) for macro shots. The best images of the morning (before I got too cold) were the macro shots of tree trunks. My gear is simple. I wear both the clicker and the phone with the magnifier around my neck. I can easily hold the phone close to the tree trunk with one hand (often bracing my hand on the tree) and use the clicker to take pictures with the other.

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The sycamore bark is full of texture…fissures old and new. Some parts of the trunk are very smooth, but I am more interested in the cracks and crevices.

I noticed some Virginia Creeper stems on the painted surface of the exterior wall of our basement. They retain some reddish color even in winter. The way they attach to the brick looks like a suction cup!

The cherry tree has lichen and moss growing on it…and a different texture than the sycamore even though there are some occasional curls of bark.

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A larger branch had fallen from the tree and I took a picture of the end of the branch.

I’ll post the macro images of other tree trunks in our yard next week. I’ve also added ‘pick up sticks/branches’ to my list of chores!

Walk at Mt Pleasant – Part 2

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Continuing from yesterday’s post…..

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I took the wide path across the meadow toward the rock wall. I wanted to photograph the tree within a tree – a maple that has roots halfway up the trunk. I came to the shady side first. What a difference the sun makes! I think the early morning sun on the other side made for the best picture I’ve ever taken of the tree.

I also took pictures up and down the stone wall from that point…uphill (the way I was heading) and downhill (where  I had come from….the path I’d used to cross the meadow being the break in the vegetation on the upper right side of the second picture.

The rock wall is always an opportunity to talk about local geology…and lichens and mosses…and what might live in a rock wall. Of all the places at Mt. Pleasant, the rock wall was where I missed the field trips with children the most.

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I got back to the gravel drive and walked toward the Honors Garden. I stopped to photograph the flowerpot people in summer garb and remembered hand made ‘hook’ on the black smith shop.

The witch hazel that was blooming back in December (yellow petals like streamers) now has green immature seed pods. I’d never though to look closely at the small tree in front of the main building this time of year…so it was the first time to photograph the seed pods at this stage.

I got to the Honors Garden. The small pond near the entrance almost always has frogs. This time of year, they are green frogs. They were visible in and near the water. I walked around and then started hearing them – a rubber band chorus of 2 or 3 frogs. I went back for more photos.

There were lots of flowers, of course. I was somewhat disappointed that there were not a lot of butterflies. Maybe it was not quite warm enough for them to be active. The Joe Pye Weed was not quite blooming yet. The light was still great for photography. I liked a backlit fern; the stems contrast dramatically with the fronds.

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And then I spent time trying to photograph an orb weaver spider web! It was a good finale to my morning walk.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Air quality alert. I’m glad I enjoyed some extra time outdoors yesterday because today there is an air quality alert and I will stay indoors. It turns out that the alert is  not about ground level Ozone….it’s particulates (PM2.5) based on the Maryland Department of the Environment site. Our alerts come from Maryland now rather than the EPA because of Maryland’s higher standard of air quality – the desire to warn groups that are susceptible to air quality health issues. It seems like during the pandemic, everyone would need this type of information.