Day 319: Oak Leaf Landscapes

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Nov 152014
 

This time of year, I find tree leaves, particularly those backlit by the late-day sunlight, absolutely entrancing.  And this is particularly true of white oaks, whose leaves evoke satellite images of foreign landscapes.  Veins form patterns of rivers or roads, patches of lingering green the forest cover.  Like maps, the leaf patterns kindle a yearning for exploration, and awaken memories of childhood days outdoors, pretending I was in Middle Earth, or perhaps an imaginary world of my own devising, inspired by Bridge to Terabithia. 

 

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Day 317: Three Leaves

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

Winter is on the way.  Today was cloudy and blustery; the wind was strong enough to leave my bare fingers almost numb.  The sun almost broke through the clouds, enough for me to cast my shadow against a tree, before retreating again behind a wall of dark gray.  At my feet, though, I passed an endless variety of tranquil still-lifes, my favorite of which was this simple image with shades of red, yellow, and green.

 

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Day 316: Butterflies and Dandelions

 Backyard Nature, Insects, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Nov 122014
 

On this last day before the weather is expected to turn sharply colder, I was surprised to encounter another Buckeye Butterfly (Junonia coenia) along Piney Woods Church Road today.  I assumed it was the same one I had seen just a couple of days earlier, but close comparison of the photographs revealed that this one has slightly different, and much brighter, markings.

Less surprising, perhaps, was another dandelion in full bloom along my way, after an absence of several months.  Such familiar beings as butterflies and dandelions offer me a reassurance of springtime as winter approaches.

 

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A Stroll through the Temple of the Forest: Dauset Trails Nature Center

 Day Hikes, Sense of Place  1 Response »
Nov 112014
 

Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I took a late-day Indian Summer walk through the forest of Dauset Trails Nature Center, in Jackson, Georgia.  The light in the trees was enchanting as the sun dropped lower in the sky.  The forest is so lovely there; trails lead through open woods of pines and hardwoods.

 

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Day 315: A Last Hurrah for Pollinators

 Backyard Nature, Insects, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  1 Response »
Nov 112014
 

Today the weather along Piney Woods Church Road was mild and pleasant, with a high near 7o degrees and sunshine into the mid-afternoon when high clouds moved in.  Tomorrow, though, marks a downward plunge in temperature culminating in our first frost and many days where highs will not rise above the mid-50s.  This cold snap will likely bring an end to the autumn pollinating season.  Today, though, the air was filled with tiny bees and flies, zooming between the scanty flower blossoms lingering on the goldenrod plants still in bloom along the roadway.

 

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The End of the Season

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Nov 102014
 

This bedgraggled, spotted, munched, discolored persimmon leaf has weathered the elements and made it to the end of the season.  As temperatures drop and winds increase later this week, I expect that this leaf will join the others somewhere along Piney Woods Church Road.

 

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