Plants
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Field Notes: Fall Wildflowers
The paths in late August are sprinkled with wildflowers. Here are a few:
Aster 
Pea Family 
Crabapple 
Flat-topped white aster (?) 
Wild carrot/Queen Anne’s lace (?) 
Rose vervain (?) 
Goldenrod 
Joe-pye weed 
Chokecherry -
Elizabethan Gardens
My daughter and I recently visited the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, NC. Meant to commemorate the lost colony established by Sir Walter Raleigh 400+ years ago, the gardens are an elaborate feast for the eye that conjure up memories of The Secret Garden, the discussion of walled gardens in C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength, and the continual emphasis in Wendell Berry’s writings on a cooperative relationship between human stewardship and ecological/agricultural health.
Lush colors, bees and butterflies and squirrels and lizards, symmetry and diversity were everywhere. But I didn’t photograph everything. One tree, an oak thought to have been growing since the colonists’ residence in the 16th century, was so striking to me that I forgot to take its picture. There were plenty of other alcoves and sculptures and flowers that escaped my camera, too.
All the more reason to return.
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Sapsucker Spring
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Crocuses!
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Outer Banks in June
I thought I’d posted these earlier in the summer. Better late than never! These are a few select pictures of a great experience at the beach.
To scroll through the photos manually, click on a photo and move forward or back in the sequence using the arrows.
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Niche
Some people have a talent for creating beautiful domestic niches in the midst of a wild landscape. These images are from a visit with some of those people.
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Bloom where you’re planted
This brick held down the black plastic on our garden over the winter. When I removed it to get the garden ready, it was cheering after the long isolation of the pandemic to see little plants growing in their separate cells.
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Spring flowers
Gaywing 
Trillium 
Rue Anemone 
Violet 
Coltsfoot 
Trout Lily -
Salamander Season
We discovered yesterday that we’d completely missed a chapter of spring. It seems early, but there were lots of signs of the season advancing, including salamanders cruising about among the dead leaves in one of our favorite pools.
Eggs had already hatched into plump tadpoles.
Some frogs were floating about. This one’s trying to remain incognito, and she almost succeeded in getting stepped on.
There were various signatures of creatures who were out and about and carving their names on trees.
The wind had left its mark too. This tree had been split in two and turned into a drinking trough.
And this was one of many that had been plucked up by the roots.
We saw some kinglets, and a few geese squabbling endlessly over their own patch of pond. We also saw a new beaver lodge, and lots of signs of the beaver’s activity on trees along the bank:
It was sunny and mild, and the green was just starting to show in the landscape.
On the whole it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk! Even though our winter has been unusually mild, the sight of new growth always marks a welcome change.
A friend tells me this flower is called coltsfoot. It’s one of the earliest spots of color to be seen in the mud along the roadsides. -
Virescent Green Bee
This brilliant green fellow landed just as I was photographing this aster. I learned his name here. He’s just another example of how you can live in the same place for years and years before noticing something common and very beautiful. He adds a new dimension to the already rich fall colors.
