CliffordBlizard

I am an educator and geophilospher, avid reader and husband, owned by multiple dogs and cats and frogs. I hold two degrees in geology, one in education, and a doctorate in environmental science. I love bad puns and good books. My mentors are h.d. thoreau, aldo leopold, and tony hillerman. I seek a deeper sense of place and connection to landscape, landforms, and other-than-human beings.

At Home Among the Goldenrod

Backyard Nature, Insects, Sense of Place No Responses »

Oct 222014

A small late-season bee is hard at work pollinating the goldenrod along Piney Woods Church Road in this image from earlier today.

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Day 295: Cosmic Strings

Agriculture and Husbandry, Backyard Nature, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place No Responses »

Oct 222014

On a sunny, blue-sky Wednesday afternoon, I returned to one of my favorite subjects along Piney Woods Church Road — strands of horsehair in a barbed wire fence. Here, they catch the light (and breeze) to become flowing, cosmic forms.

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Day 294: The Light Within

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

Oct 212014

An oak leaf is illuminated by the morning sun, somewhere along Piney Woods Church Road.

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Forever Aster

Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Sense of Place No Responses »

Oct 202014

Asters of an unidentified species (there are simply too many possibilities out there) continue to bloom along the roadside down Piney Woods Church Road.

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Day 293: Sassafras Turning

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

Oct 202014

Until this project, I had never really noticed, much less appreciated, the brilliant red of the sassafras leaves in autumn, accentuated by the way many of the leaves remain green while others abruptly turn.

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Red Leaf / Blue Sky

Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Sense of Place No Responses »

Oct 192014

A black cherry leaf, against blue sky, photographed on my Piney Woods Church Road saunter earlier today….

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Day 292: The Landscape of the Leaf

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

Oct 192014

I ventured out to Piney Woods Church Road shortly after noon today, and photographed this sweetgum leaf partially illuminated by the sun. In its pale green and dun spaces, I imagine a satellite image of another land, containing verdant forests and stark deserts.

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Yet Another Muscadine Leaf

Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Sense of Place No Responses »

Oct 182014

I could fill entire walls with images of muscadine leaves; or, of course, I could wander into my own backyard, where muscadine blankets practically everything. Another image from this afternoon’s Piney Woods Church Road ramble.

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Day 291: Nepalese Brown-Top in Autumn

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

Oct 182014

I have never been particularly fond of Nepalese Brown-Top, a sort of miniature bamboo that is almost as invasive as the real thing. I have walked many a woodland with this grass as the dominant ground cover. The leaves are relatively uninteresting, the flowers minute and pink. But now, in the midst of autumn, a handful of the leaves are turning a brilliant red, while the others persist in green. What an unexpected plant to reveal the beauty of the autumn time!

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