A Walk in our Neighborhood – November 2024

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A lot of the leaves have fallen; the oaks are holding on the longest. As I walked around our neighborhood ponds, I took leaf arrangement pictures – on pine needles, in shallow water, in deeper water, and on the path.

I noticed a pine that had dropped cones near the path and picked up a few for my sister to use for a craft project with her grandson.

There are still some green water plants that the community is trying to establish at the edge of the pond. We haven’t had a killing frost yet. I hope they come back stronger and more numerous next year.

There was a very small red eared slider on a branch above the water….on the other end of the pond I saw a large snapping turtle – too far under the water to get a good picture.

The day was in the 60s and sunny – the aeration on the pond created a rainbow.

It was not a long walk; I should make the circuit more often.

August in our Neighborhood

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It was a mostly cloudy morning when I took a walk around our neighborhood last weekend. I noticed that the stonecrop near our front porch was ready to bloom and the seeds had formed on a redbud tree near the entrance path to the ponds.

A willow hangs over the inflow channel to the ponds…shading the area and making a fringe of green almost down to the water.

The native plants that had been in pots several weeks ago when I walked around the neighborhood last have been planted around the shore of the largest pond and there was a stick near one of them with an Eastern Amberwing dragonfly sitting still long enough to be photographed.

A little further along two small red-eared slider turtles were soaking in the warmth of the morning.

I always enjoy photographing magnolia flowers. The season is far enough along for the tree to have some seed pods forming too.

Last time I walked around the neighborhood there was a bullfrog sitting in the shallows of the larger pond. This time, there was one in the shallows of the smaller one. Based on the coloring…it was not the same frog! Both times, the frog seemed very focused on the pond…paid no attention to me walking around to get another perspective.

The fungus on the old stump along my route back home, has changed significantly. There appear to be 5 or 6 different kinds!

Our New Neighborhood – November 2022

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The fall in our neighborhood peaked very quickly. It was already fading by early November but I still enjoyed trying to capture the remnants as I walked around the stormwater ponds. There were some leaves in the shallow water in the trough of concrete that feeds water into the ponds. I stopped to take some pictures looking down from the bridge.

And a few colorful leaves are still on the trees.

The oak leaves were thick at the edge of one pond…some wild asters growing through them…floating on the top of the water. I didn’t notice the fish swimming from under the leaves and water plants until I looked at image on my computer screen!

A red eared slider poked its head out of the water a little further away.

On the loop back toward my house, noticed a little color on along the path

And some brilliant red seedlings at the edge of the pond (will they survive to become trees?).

Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden

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I’d been to the Springfield (Missouri) Botanical Garden before…but not the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden part of it. It was a treat to see it during a free afternoon on our quick trip to Springfield to see our new house.

It was a cool, sunny spring day…not as Zen as the garden probably is on most days because the mowers were at work. The noise does not ‘show’ in the images, so I find myself enjoying the gardens even more via the photos! I was on a mission to photograph the lanterns/sculptures of the garden.

Next time I go – I will stroll. I’m planning to become a member of the place after we move and visit frequently.

Brookside Gardens – Part 1

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Our visit to Brookside Gardens last week was early enough in the day that there were not many other people around. I found quite a lot to photograph so I am spreading the narrative and images over two posts (today and tomorrow). I took a picture of a fork in the path…the only landscape picture of the morning. The gardens are in early summer garb – the greens have deepened from the paler greens of spring. The flowers on the trees this time of year are white from a distance.

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The blooming trees that I noticed were: magnolias, Asian dogwoods (the natives are already showing their green seeds), and catalpas.

We took the time to walk around the paths near the Tea House. We saw several turtles in the water…they all seemed to be Red eared sliders which is not native to Maryland.

There were Canada Geese around but no goslings. I wonder how that was managed!

I didn’t see any of the larger butterflies…just some skippers and cabbage whites. The Wings of Fancy butterfly exhibit was cancelled for this year; hopefully, it will resume in 2022.

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Near the end of our walk, I took was some high key pictures of ginkgo leaves. It was a cloudy day…perfect for this kind of photography.

To be continued with tomorrow’s post….

Springfield Conservation Nature Center

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One of the places I wanted to see while I was in Springfield, Missouri was the Conservation Nature Center. The weather was wet and cold when we arrived. I took a few pictures of the oak trees in the parking lot – noting a school bus (a group that might have been on a field trip) too.

The triangular logo was on the building as we made our way to the door.  The emphasis is on conservation rather than natural resources or nature as in Maryland where we have a Department of Natural Resources. It seems to be a semantic difference that may have some broader implications although it wasn’t obvious looking at the displays in the Springfield Conservation Nature Center.

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The foyer space was used for bird shapes – on the floor and overhead. It was a good display to compare relative sizes of birds.

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There was a wall of windows that looked out onto a small pond and bird feeders. The November birds in Missouri are the ones I recognize from my feeders in Maryland: titmouse, Carolina wren, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, nuthatch. I talked with the volunteer there about the types of naturalist groups in Springfield…and volunteer opportunities. It would be easy to find similar volunteer gigs in Springfield that I have in Maryland; another bit of information for when (and if) we move to Missouri.

There were some live exhibits – turtles, frogs and snakes….some fish.

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I enjoyed the kite-sized mobiles of butterflies and moths overhead in one of the display areas.

It was a good short outing for a late November day. Next time I am in Springfield, I will take to the trails around the nature center.

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