-
Redbud and NO Nitrogen Fixing
Redbud (Cercis canadensis). It isn’t surprising at all to find that the Redbud is in the legume family (Fabaceae). Those seedpods certainly look like they belong in the family that includes beans, peas, lentils, and soybeans. Something that immediately pops into my mind when I hear “legume” is that it is nitrogen fixer. Nearly 80%…
-
Aster Seedheads
Asters are dainty flowers that resemble daisies. Flowers that are just the right size for a dollhouse. They generally bloom in late summer into autumn. I love the ones that are lavender, blooming as the trees are beginning to change color. Blooming all along the dirt road coming up my mountain. There’s also one that…
-
Blueberry Bushes in Autumn
Some Blueberry Bushes celebrate autumn in an amazing way. The area around my cabin is a perfect illustration of this. Some of my bushes are really kicking up their heals with joy. I can’t tell you which species or cultivars these bushes are. I’ve got between 10 and 15 bushes, most of which were put…
-
Autumn Color Change
During the summer months the trees around us are covered with green leaves. The green color in those leaves is thanks to a green pigment, chlorophyll, that the leaves use to capture the sun’s energy. That energy is used to change water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen, in a process called photosynthesis. Glucose…
-
Frost
It was the coldest morning so far this autumn. At 32° not extremely cold but cold enough to please this lover of winter. Driving down the mountain on my way to yoga the changing leaves delighted me with their warm colors. Water running through the gravel and dirt of the road hadn’t gotten an opportunity…
-
Red Maples
Red Maple (Acer rubrum). Up here in the mountains I’m seeing the peak of autumnal color. If you haven’t noticed, come on up. It’s ubiquitous. Even down below, in the lowlands, the colors are changing to knockout warmth and brilliance. Come, take a deep breath, slow down, let go of all that is making you…
-
Turkey Tail Mushroom
Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor). A mushroom that’s commonly found throughout North America, also in Asia and Europe. It lives on standing dead trees, fallen trees or their stumps. And sometimes they’re found on wounds of living trees as well. Turkey Tail Mushroom is saprophytic, which means that it creates enzymes which break down the…
-
Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom Revisited
Today is Halloween. Time for Trick or Treat. But don’t get tricked into thinking that this mushroom is a treat. Visually, *DEFINITELY*. But not a treat to eat. Eat the Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms and you will get treated to headache, stomach cramps, vomiting, and or diarrhrea. Sounds to me like a wicked trick. Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms are…
-
A Drop of Rain
A glimpse of the whole world in a drop of rain. Rain on the needles of Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana). Three days of rain. One would think I’d be ready for it to stop. For the sun to come out and wipe the moisture away with a gentle brush. No I won’t wish the rain…
-
More Hickory
Continuing on a thread that I started yesterday. These nuts are Bitternut Hickory. All Hickory nuts are edible but with this one, as the name implies, is one that you might want to skip. There are much better nuts in the woods. Some moths have the Hickory tree as their host plant. One that is…