Don's Blog A Walk in the Woods 1 11-6-22

Its a quiet warm November day in Warren County. I parked near the stables and walked by a stream in the woods. The lighting is spectacular.

Nothing like the quiet of the woods.

A Walk in the Neighborhood 11-5-22

 

It was a blustery day at the lake. This afternoon it warmed up a bit so I took a brief walk. Here is my new American flag.

 

 Down the street is a fabulous horse. It never seems to get anywhere.

 

 

Back at the entry to the driveway I spotted a young deer. He is under the bird feeder.

As I approached his younger sister showed up.

They create quite a portrait.

Flower for the Day More Flowers 11-1-22

 

Well here is a new flower for late fall and winter.

And this pretty one

which turns into some real fun in the wind.

 

 

Final Flower for the Day Black-Eyed Susan 10-31-22

 Well its Halloween and in the heartland the black eyed susan is still thriving through the frosts.

 

And in several places.

 

Flower for the Day Winding Down 10-28-22

 

Fall is here with cool crisp days and intermittent light frosty nights. We had a day and a half of rain

and all that grows is winding down. Here are some of the hardier flowers - the best of the last.

Indian Blanket Flower

Celosia

Cosmos

 

and one of the few dahlias that bloomed.

 

Flower for the Day Dahlias, Finally 10-17-22

After a very long wait the Dahlias have started blooming. Another later season aster

the dahlias have arrived in time for the early frost.

And here is a Wendell Berry poem from Katie.

Flower for the Day Its a Yellow Day 10-13-22

 

Its a Red Flag Day here- dry with ferocious winds but the flowers for the day are yellow. here is one of several stands of marigolds (Tagetes)   which are surprising because they were planted last year and wintered over. They were named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

They have sturdy little blooms.

And right on time for the season are some beautiful yellow chrysanthemums. Because of their intense hybridization I am unable to have them successful winter over. On the other hand they are very available. Like the marigolds they are in the aster family.

Like the marigolds they are in the aster family. And Linnaeus named them the same year as the marigold.

 

They fit well anywhere.

 

Mushrooms 10-12-22

As the flowers wind down the mushrooms seem to be more noticeable. This beautiful red mushroom is in the Polyporaceae Family.

This tan water catcher is in the Russulaceae Family.

And this grouping of small mushrooms is in the Physalacriaceae family.

   MUSHROOMS

Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly

Our toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.

Nobody sees us,
Stops us, betrays us;
The small grains make room.

Soft fists insist on
Heaving the needles,
The leafy bedding,

Even the paving.
Our hammers, our rams,
Earless and eyeless,

Perfectly voiceless,
Widen the crannies,
Shoulder through holes. We

Diet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, asking

Little or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!

We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,

Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:

We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door.

Sylvia Plath

 

Don's Blog Fall Trail Walking - 10-10-22

 The weather has been perfect for trail walking as the leaves snow down on us.

And for the perfect quiet spot with the sun low in the sky there is even a purple chair.

Sedum 10-7-22

This sedum (Saxifrageles) is commonly known as stonecrop. It is a succulent that has
been here since Jan planted it in the early 70’s. 

Up close it has amazing little stars

What do the explorers, 
the wayfarers, pilgrims we'd thought had long since disappeared, 
the Berbers, the nomadic herders 
and the exiled 
say to people like us whose law is of the letter and testament 
not of the unknown necessity 
which moment by moment 
is revealed 

Beyond us, where they live, there's a ghost language 
which accommodates what no language 
can say: 
the photons generated by the stars' clashing 
how the antelope wends its way through the orthography 
the yellow that returns to the rugged slopes 
after the heavy snows 

Translation: 2006, Richard Zenith 

José Tolentino Mendonça