Tendrils

Fall Shutdown

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Autumn is doing its thing. Leaves turning brilliant colors. Spiders with black and orange stripes on their legs, spinning intricate webs. Black walnuts thumping to the ground with loud warning, as they cascade through leaves, high in the forest canopy.

And a favorite of mine, maidenhair fern, in the genus, Adiantum, shutting down. Turning straw color, and purple. Preparing for the cold winter. Anticipating a spring in which it will send out graceful fronds. Fronds that will thrill me, once again.

Brenda Clements Jones

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6 responses to “Fall Shutdown”

    • Hey Claiborn! So glad you like my post! I’m hoping you’ll be at one of the upcoming outings to Buck Hollow. I can’t be at the first one, coming up next month, but have plans to be at the next one on the 21st.

      Thanks so much for reading my blog!

  2. The Maidenhair Fern is my favorite fern! I have to seek the one growing in my garden out to appreciate its Autumn splendor – thanks for the reminder. I love your descriptive writing – I’m hearing black walnuts on the roof of my garden shed now.

    • Ka – THUMP! Kathy, the black walnut trees are maturing all around me. They are just now becoming large enough to produce nuts. This is new to me, hearing their crashing.

      The area surrounding my cabin was once farm field. Hard to imagine. I’m at 1800 feet, and to get to this elevation requires traveling a rutted, twisty-turny, steep, dirt road. The soil is loaded with *rock*! It must have been a hard-scrabble life.

      The woods that are growing up around me, have been growing for perhaps 50 years. Black walnut is a predominant species that is maturing around me. It will be interesting as time goes by to see what happens, since they are allopathic.

      I hope my ferns are not susceptible to the toxicity!

      Thanks for reading my post Kathy!

  3. The black stems are so thin, a person might wonder how they can supply the leaflets with adequate moisture. And they contrast so well, the thin and black against the wider and green. A lovely fern, the subject in this striking photo.