All Ears (Mostly)

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Natural History, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Sep 052014
 

This evening I set out for Piney Woods Church Road a scant hour before sunset.  The air was a bit cooler, though still rather warm and muggy.  About halfway down the road, beside what was once a mule barn, I noticed a lean and wary Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus).  It stood motionless in the grass, probably hoping to escape unnoticed.  It was completely alert, ears raised — though not quite “all ears”, as it apparently lost a couple of pieces of one of them in some past mishap.  I was able to approach to within eight feet or so of this rabbit before it turned tail and hopped a short distance away.  We parted company, and I continued on my walk.

 

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Approaching Sunset, Fire Ant Mesa

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Aug 222014
 

I miss the American Southwest — the stark expanses of rock and sky, the bright red rock layers, the mesas and canyons. Today I was able to capture a fleeting taste of that along Piney Woods Church Road. As the sun sank low in the sky, I took this photograph of an old fire ant mound (I did not test it for current occupancy.) evocative of a western mesa.  Not quite Utah, but not quite the Eastern Woodlands, either.

 

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Day 228: Morning Light on Greenbrier Leaves

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Aug 162014
 

I was up early today, walking Piney Woods Church Road prior to opening the local artists’ gallery at the Serenbe Institute Community Center from 10 am to noon (where 17 of my images are currently on display).  I am an infrequent morning visitor to the road, and I found myself captivated, yet again, by how sunlight selectively illuminated vines, shrubs, and trees while leaving surrounding areas still dark.  The result is this photograph.

 

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Day 226: White Micrathena

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Aug 142014
 

Walking Piney Woods Church Road late this afternoon, I noticed several new orb webs, glowing in the sunlight.  I crouched down to get underneath one of them, placing myself between the web and the steep edge of the roadbank.  The result was this photograph of a lovely spider, one that turned out to be a new (to me) species from a familiar genus.  Earlier this year, I photographed a Spiny Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis).  This one, though, is the White Micrathena (Micrathena mitrata).  It is a common late-summer orb-weaving spider of the Southeastern Piedmont.

 

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Day 225: Letting the Light Shine Through

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  2 Responses »
Aug 132014
 

The humidity of the past few days had vanished, replaced with clear blue sky and a delightful breeze.  I ventured out to Piney Woods Church Road this evening to take a few photographs in that wonderful hour before sunset. These two are my favorites from the outing.

It has been a challenging week for me — for many of us — as we collectively mourn the untimely passing of Robin Williams.  His humor brought joy to the lives of many.  These images remind me that even in dark times — especially in dark times — we need to keep letting the light shine through.

Thank you, Robin, and good night.

 

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Day 207: Splitting Hairs

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Jul 262014
 

Slender horse hairs on a barbed wire fence along an empty pasture are transfigured in the evening sunlight.  Oh, how I relish those golden hours at day’s end, when spotlights of of angled sunlight illumine fragments I pass along my path down Piney Woods Church Road!  There is such wonder then.

 

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