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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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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Day 311: Dogwood Berries

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Nov 072014
 

Along Piney Woods Church Road, the dogwoods have lost their leaves, and their berries have ripened to a brilliant red.  Autum truly bestows us endless gifts of brilliant color.  The blossoms may be practically gone, but leaves and berries grace us with shades of purple, red, orange, and yellow….

 

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Day 310: Sun and Star

 Backyard Nature, Native Plants, Piney Woods Church Road 365 Project, Sense of Place  No Responses »
Nov 062014
 

It was another fairly warm and breezy sunny day, though weather forecasters predict an abrupt end to this halcyon Indian summer by the middle of next week.  Meanwhile, I walked Piney Woods Church Road, finding delight in the passage of sunlight through the forest, and pausing to photograph a fallen star — a sweetgum leaf lying on the roadbed at Rico Road, where my daily pilgrimage begins and ends.

 

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