Day 190: It’s Raining Somewhere….

 Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  2 Responses »
Jul 092014
 

We are headed for drought, I fear, though the Georgia Drought Monitor still indicates otherwise.  It has been many days without rain, and after some lovely dry and pleasant afternoons, the humidity has returned.  Today, at last, cloud-filled skies came back, as well.  I watched eagerly as Doppler Radar at Weather.com indicated a line of storms building; I could hear occasional thunder rumbling outside.  Alas, the line formed just south of where I live; indeed, my house is close to the northern edge of the rainfall.  The storms lingered as steady showers in some areas, including the spot in this photograph. But somehow, they never reached Piney Woods Church Road.  As I walked back home, a pickup truck rolled by, leaving a cloud of road dust in its wake.  At least it’s raining somewhere….

 

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Roadside Mystery

 Backyard Nature, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Jul 082014
 

On my way back home today, I walked along the forest edge on Rico Road.  Glancing down, I noticed a number of pale white flowers with a pinkish tinge.  The flowers indicate a pea plant of some kind, but most of the roadside peas are flowering vines, which is not the case here.  I searched my plant ID books and have sought help from experts via Facebook.  So far, no answer.  It is a lovely flower, though, and well worthy of a blog post.

The very next day, I was able to confirm that it is Spiked Hoary Pea (Tephrosia spicata), a native of the Southeast and fairly common along roadsides. 

 

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Widow Skimmer

 Backyard Nature, Insects, Natural History, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Jul 082014
 

The large black and white Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is unique among most dragonflies in Georgia, in that it often strays a considerable distance from open water.  To see most dragonflies, it is necessary to visit a wetland, or perhaps a stream or lake edge.  But Widow Skimmers are content with suburban backyards, provided there are good locations for perching and the opportunity to catch prey.  About halfway down Piney Woods Church Road, just past the now-vacant cattle pasture, there is a road bank beside a ditch that has been allowed to grow wild.  I met up with a Widow Skimmer there today, swooping from perch to perch, sometimes pausing to rest and other times racing onward.  It circled the island of wild foliage a few times, and I managed to take its photograph, though some of my images were at such slow shutter speeds that they are in less than stellar focus.  This one is among the best of the lot — not quite frame-worthy, but much better resolution than most of the Loch Ness Monster images out there.  I will learn patience, and return, and try again on another day.

 

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Day 188: In the Moment

 Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  3 Responses »
Jul 082014
 

I have not taken a roadway still life in quite a long time now.  On my stroll late this afternoon, I glanced down by my feet, saw this sweetgum leaf, and knew immediately that it would make a marvelous subject.  This was very much an intuitive shot — the entire process, from slowing down and orienting my camera to framing the image and taking a photograph, happened practically without conscious thought. The result suggests that I ought to consider thinking less often, and acting in the moment much more.

 

Not Thinking

Empty Pasture

 Golden Hour, Sense of Place  2 Responses »
Jul 072014
 

The last of the three black steers of Piney Woods Church Road is gone now.  The other two were taken away months back, leaving him alone in his roadside pasture.  I could often hear him bellowing for companions as I walked up and down the road.  He had to settle for human company, which I tried to provide on some of my walks.  I miss him, even though I think he fancied me more for my sweat than for my occasional efforts at scratching his head and rubbing his ears.  He would gallop (can a steer gallop?) over to where I would stand by the edge of the fence, if he saw me waiting there or if I called to him.  Invariably, that long muscular tongue of his would emerge and reach out through the barbed wire fence in search of available salty flesh to lick.  Still, apart from that proclivity (don’t we all have our peccadilloes?), he really was quite a charming steer.  Now, in the golden hour on a Monday evening in July, his pasture is empty, and I am feeling a little empty, too.

 

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The Flatid Planthopper

 Backyard Nature, Insects  No Responses »
Jul 062014
 

On my walk this afternoon, I glimpsed for the second time a Flatid Planthopper (Anormenis chloris), a tiny white critter less than a quarter inch in length.  It is frightfully difficult to get them into focus (the first time was a complete failure) because of their blindingly white appearance and lack of distinctive features to focus on.  Once onto my efforts with the camera, this particular planthopper made a halfhearted attempt and evasion, turning to face away from me.  At last, I managed to get a few photos in focus.  The Flatid Planthopper feeds on the sap of various shrubs and trees, though it is not considered a garden pest.

 

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A Fly and Its Shadow

 Backyard Nature, Insects, Sense of Place  2 Responses »
Jul 062014
 

I know this fly looks frightfully close to a common housefly (I am confident it isn’t, but am still working on the ID).  I posted earlier today that I tend to balk at posting flies.  But I find this fly beautiful, in a flyish way.  I also appreciate the late afternoon shadow cast by the fly onto the leaf where it rests.  So I am justifying including it here.

 

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Day 187: Oh, Deer!

 Backyard Nature, Golden Hour, Natural History, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  2 Responses »
Jul 062014
 

Our yard on Rico Road has become a haven for White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus).  Going up the driveway around sunset, I sometimes find half a dozen deer about. This time of year, I will often glimpse one or two hanging out beneath our pear tree, undoubtedly waiting for the pears to ripen.  Lately, I have seen spotted fawns in the front yard.  For all that, though, I have rarely seen deer along Piney Woods Church Road. Tonight, at last, almost as an afterthought — I had already taken plenty of photos on my walk, plus spent half an hour chatting with a friend who lives along the road — I glimpsed a pair of deer in a roadside pasture.  By the time my camera was at the ready, the closer of the two was already preparing to flee.  Still, the result is a pleasant image — and, at long last, deer are included among the Piney Woods Church images.  There are so few wild mammal photographs out of the 187 so far.  I can think of only one other photograph, in fact — and Eastern Gray Squirrel.  Insects tend to be slower and more willing to sit still.

 

Oh, Deer!

Savoring the Forest Light: Newman Wetlands Center, Part Three, Color

 Day Hikes, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Jul 062014
 

Here are the same three images from the previous post, all taken at Newman Wetlands Center on 4 July 2014, now in color instead of black and white.  I am not sure which I prefer.  Readers, what are your thoughts?

In taking these photographs, I have begun to appreciate that the woodlands of the Southeastern Piedmont offer inviting landscapes, as well — they are not limited to the Appalachians, seacoasts, and points West.  Of course, this is something that Clyde Butcher has been showing us, through his spectacular photography in the Florida swamps, for many years now.

 

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