On the Path & In the Garden November 23rd, 2012

Photographers often say, in many articles I've read, that November is a quiet month for them. Not much to shoot. It can be a slow month, as we wait for snow to add to the landscape, but you can find subjects in any month if you're interested in nature.

The reason I enjoy my walk on the path so much is to see how things change through the seasons, and how on any given day, small surprises may await me. Even a big one now & then. No big ones today but a few small ones...

This was from a couple days ago... I think it's the same Barred Owl that Jane & I saw a couple weeks ago. A few of our neighbors have seen him in the last week too. He's a treat since it's so seldom that we see one.
























This time he was just across the street, on the path, on a small, scraggly tree, about 15 feet off the ground, and only 40 ft or so from us. We watched him for a few minutes and since he wasn't going anywhere, we continued slowly towards him up the path.

He didn't flinch... just looked around, and occasionally at us. We were about 15 ft from him before he flew off. The only reason he finally left was a guy walking a couple dogs was coming down the path.

This is same fungus as in my last post but in much better light.

The sun slipped behind a cloud so I took this shot and left.

The ditches along our roads, and in this case the path (the path is an old railway bed), are perfect seed-catchers, so there's a huge variety of plants in any ditch.

I don't remember seeing this before. I call it "smoke grass" since it has a similar look to a Smoke Tree from a distance. As you look closer, there are 1000s of tiny seeds on it, which I think is what gives it the smokey look.

This Milkweed is at the start of the path so it's handy if I want to keep an eye on it... great light.

An unknown with nice color and some now-twisted leaves.
Update: John Foster ID'd this as Late Goldenrod.

More ditch plants...

 

I call this one "Pearl Weed". It has tiny, white, rock-hard seeds. They're only about the size of this "o".
Update: Doug Lockrey ID'd it as Gromwell, aka Stoneweed.

The moon doesn't get nearly the attention in the daytime that it does at night, but it's a pretty sight night or day.

Light makes all the difference with some images. Without the 'golden-hour' light, this would be a very ordinary shot. When you click on this image, you'll find that's it's a bigger version than usual. It loses too much at smaller sizes.

In winter in the woods, I often think of Robert Frost's line... "the woods fill up with snow". This time of year they fill up with autumn leaves. They're still dry enough that you get that soft crunch underfoot. Love it.

It's odd how some trees break into 'blocks' as they decompose. I'm guessing it's along the rays that radiate from the trunk's center. But only some trees do it. Why?

A jumble, but a pretty one I think. It's 'good' old Dog-Strangling Vine again.

It stands out this time of year, draped over branches, and twisted around trunks and pretty much anything else that's in its path.

The odd leaf still hangs on to their respective trees in the background.

And some garden shots... a last look at summer.

The Stone family kids in better light.

We had the sprinkler on and late afternoon sun came streaming though it.

Weigela bush & Forget-Me-Nots.

I love the yellows & greens of Hostas in the fall.

Cupid, clutching a Dove.

Our neighbor's cat ("Mini") spends 'half' her life in our yard... either watching birds like she is here, or hunting them. Chipmunks & squirrels have to watch out for her too. She seldom catches anything though.

Most of the time though, she just 'lazes' around, soaking up the sun or snoozing on our patio furniture cushions.

- fini -

On the Path -- November 15th, 2012

I haven't posted anything from the path the last couple months. These images are a sampling.

This was October 8th... a lot has changed in less than 6 weeks.

I just had to ask Jane to pose for a reflection.

This was mid-October... some advanced color.

And some just nicely started.

Have you noticed that most of the 'slide shows' making the rounds on email these days use super-saturated colors? They're not realistic but they sure are popular.

I thought I'd super-saturate a couple shots from the path. You'll never see colors this intense on the path, but ...

Just about home on a late October day, the sun back-lighted these leaves on the remains of a wire fence in the ditch.

This is how things look now... normal saturation.

Or, if you prefer, super-saturated.

Late afternoon light.

The next two go back a while... Milkweed blossoms.

And these ones are Milkweed seed pods from a few days ago... a favourite of mine in the fall.

Dog-Strangling Vine (Black or Pale Swallowwort) is in the Milkweed family of plants. It's an aggressive invasive and is common throughout the province. Female Monarch butterflies sometimes mistake it for Milkweed, and lay their eggs on it.

When they do, all the larvae die since they can only live on Milkweed. The two plants are easy for us to tell apart, but obviously not for the Monarchs.
http://www.sleloinvasives.org/about-invasives/target-species/swallow-wort/

Raspberry canes with the 'blue-ish' powder that makes them stand out.

It's pretty common to see cats on the path but this is the first one that was up a tree... a good 10 ft off the ground.

Something I shoot all year. These are Poison Ivy berries. They're easy to spot this time of year. If you see them, it's a good idea to make note of their location, so you'll know where to watch for Poison Ivy next spring.

The berries are a bit smaller than a pea.

They're sometimes described as looking like tiny, peeled oranges.

A rare sight on the path. This Barred Owl is only the second owl I've seen on the path in over 5 years of walking it on a regular basis.

I took this shot just for the color. It's escapee Asparagus.

A Downy Woodpecker.

Red Oak leaves... I love the coppery color.

A tangle... but I like the colors here too. More Dog-Strangling Vine as well.

 

A sapling that was twisted and stayed twisted while it grew?

Colorful fungi... love it.

Not colorful but still interesting.

It looks like it's sliced the tree in half. A fungus thrown by that guy in the old Bond movie that threw his hat that had a razor edge. Strange, the things that come to mind.

 

A nest that was hidden all summer. It was 4-5 ft off the ground and about 3 to 4 inches across. It's incredible when you think that a bird built this, using only it's beak and feet, and I would imagine a few pushes and shoves with its body. Blows me away.
Bird's nests are just one of 100s of things that I just can't fathom about evolution. When and how did birds begin building nests? The only answer you usually get to the 'how' is 'instinct'. That's a very poor answer when you think about it.

While I'm on the subject of 'incredible wonder', the one that is completely beyond comprehension to me is a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly or moth... a 'worm' that is destined to fly. It's a good thing we don't or the sky would be full of humans flying around... though it might help with traffic jams.

As dumb as that sounds, why does any species transform the way caterpillars do? The best answer scientists seem to come up with is "evolution, given millions of years, with mutations along the way". Another poor answer for me, but I don't expect a better one anytime soon.

Red Clover is still to be found. It may outlast all its competition.

A very poor result (severe crop) but what he had in his mouth caught my eye. Looks like he raided a cocktail party rather than dine on his usual forest fare.

 

Be careful around this thistle. Nature seems to go over the top sometimes with her ideas.

 

Another late-in-the-day shot.

I'll end with some garden shots from early fall.

Meet the Stone family children.

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- fini -