Nature Notes: Delights of the season

This is the time of year when I delight in watching the leaves turned into sky dancers by the wind.

I'm sure I irritate my industrious neighbors who are busy blowing their leaves to the curb for pick up.

My leaves blow into their yards and I would feel sorry for them if their noisy leaf blowers weren't constantly interrupting the bird's songs much to my annoyance.

I do eventually rake after all the leaves have fallen, which will be soon, but I rake my leaves over my yard to use as mulch, shifting it from one spot to the next but eventually using all of them.

I love the way leaves look, even when they collect on my stairs.

The birds have been very active lately. I guess they are getting ready for winter.

It's also much easier to spot the birds in the trees which don't provide the cover of summer.

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Today's Flowers: A Riot of Color

I took these shots when I was out and about a little over a week ago. I was struck by the riotous mix of fall leaves and late bloomers.

It has gotten much colder and most of the leaves are gone so I doubt this corner looks like this any longer.

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Photohunters: Written

What is written in bark is not always easy to read.

I guess if you want a semi permanence to what is written, a tree is easier than having it written in stone.

Some of what is written in this tree looks like it has been marked through.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and a happy weekend ahead. Click for the home of Photohunters.

Nature Notes: November ending

Wandering around my neglected garden I see some color from volunteer tree popping through the iris and lily beds.

More and more of the trees are shedding their leaves and soon the bare trees of winter will dominate.

There are still some stars that are in full color like my neighbor's Japanese Maple.

The oak trees in front of my house are beginning to shed a lot of their leaves but they still provide a colorful umbrella.

The heron below is actually flipped over. The reflection was clearer than the actual bird so I rotated the image to put the reflection on top.

Some sky is starting to get reflected into the creek as more and more leaves drop.

In the summer I need a flash to photograph this creek because it's so dark but by late fall more natural light is let in.

I like the way bare trees look against the trees that still have some leaves left.

Soon the evergreens will be the main color besides brown left around the lake.

The number of water birds at the lake is already far less than almost any other time of year.

The gulls will be arriving soon but at the moment there are very few of them and far less ducks and geese.

It's much quieter at the lake too without the bird calls which dominate some times of the year.

I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving has a happy one.

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Today's Flowers: last year in the park

I am posting flower shots I took in a park last year since I haven't taken any new flower shots this week.

I don't have anything left in bloom at my house.

I almost posted berries but I have so many old flower shots I've never posted on my blog, I decided to raid my photo archives.

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Photohunters: Juicy

In the summer my garden is filled with juicy treats for the birds and squirrels.

I've never tried a mulberry so they get all they want from the mulberry tree.

The blackberries are another story and I pick them as they ripen although there are plenty for the birds too.

The blackberry below is so ripe the juice probably got on my fingers when I picked it.

This time of year the juicy treats are gone but the birds have all the seeds from flowers I've left as they went to seed. Click for the home of photohunters.

Nature Notes: Weird seed pods and more

I thought I spotted a bunch of tennis balls in an unlikely place at the bottom of the Shelley Lake Dam from a distance.

A closer look made me realize they were strange seed pods which were actually a little larger than a tennis ball. Above is one fairly intact and below is the inside of one.

Looking online, I'm pretty sure I identified the seed pod as belonging to an osage orange tree. My best guess is the tree below is the one that dropped the pods.

The two trees below were also in the vicinity but neither fit the pictures online, and although the tree above wasn't a perfect fit it was closer.

I spotted a lone seagull arriving at Shelley Lake. For some reason they leave in the spring and return in the winter. I have shots of seagulls on snow topped roofs and on frozen parts of the lake in winter but rarely see them around town in the summer.

The oak trees in front of my house are finally getting their fall colors which means we will soon head into winter as the oaks are the last to change here.

I am continuing to go on frequent photo walks at Shelley Lake. My daughter and I walked there while she was home for a visit this weekend.

It's a great time of the year for walking, especially since I handle chilly air a lot better than heat.

We're in layered clothes weather. I start off needing a jacket but peel down before I get around the lake.

I love the upside down colors of trees in the lake. Soon the evergreens will provide most of the color.

We have been having some absolutely gorgeous days with the vivid blue background for the fall foliage.

The woods are alight with color which always catches my eye. It's almost like sunshine with the golds and yellows.

There is almost every stage in terms of the trees at this point from bare to sparse to full of color.

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