Bare trees, plus mist lingering over the valley added up to being a few minutes late for work.
Merlin
Seeing Merlin the lion at the National Tiger Sanctuary in Missouri was magical. The big cat was rescued from life as a prop in a magic show. For a while, all he knew of life were the hard walls and floors of a concrete basement. Our guide told us that when he was first turned out into his new home, he was afraid of the grass; afraid the ground would collapse under his paws. Today, the handsome cat looks very content with his life and very unafraid of his big bright world.
Autumn corridor
A student, lower left, is dwarfed by the fall-colored hickories, oaks and pine trees lining the path and edges of Coleman Creek as it winds through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus on Dec. 2.
Remnants of autumn
Yellow butterfly rests on a fallen oak leaf.
Last o the brilliant blackgum leaves
Afternoon sun casting long shadows.
Pinpoints of light show where insects have chewed holes in the leaves.
All y’all, it’s fall!
Fall has definitely made its presence known here in the Arkansas Ouachitas!
DOGWOOD — Dogwood leaf’s red glows more intensely as the morning light hits it.
CONTRAST — Color contrasts against the autumn sky.
GOLD — Hickories light up the forest with their yellow leaves.
COLOR – Fall color spreads through the valley.
FALL VISTA — Fall is ramping up to its peak here in the Arkansas Ouachitas.
Ouachita sunrise
Weekly Photo Challenge: Convergence II
When functions Converge: When your rain gauge also becomes your thermometer.
(Typical Arkansas fall weather – 15 degrees F two weeks ago, mid-70s today.)
BRRRRRRRrrrrrr!
More convergences we liked:
Autumn subtleties
The Ouachitas’ big autumn show is winding down and the forest is wearing a decidedly more subtle palette these days.
Red dogwood berries beckon birds.
LOOKING UP — The last of the canopy colors at the top of the oaks.
Persimmons are all that’s left on bare branches.
French mulberries stand out against fading hickory leaves.
UNDERSTORY — As fall wore on, the understory color stood out.
Flights of geese
The Arkansas Delta is part of the Mississippi Flyway, that great highway for migrating fowl. Yesterday, driving through the Delta around sunrise, traffic on the highway was heavy — filled with huge chevrons of geese winging their way to warmer climes. Arkansas’ rice and sorghum fields and the grain that falls from harvest equipment, are very attractive to the millions of hungry geese and ducks that make Arkansas home for the winter.
Autumn morning, Arkansas style
We’d wondered over the last few weeks if autumn’s tremendous show would ever come to town and lamented that the color change seemed to be later than in previous years. Some years you can see the trees begin to change as early as August. However, fall finally came through and here’s what we saw before going to work last Thursday. (Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.)
The (Urban-Wildlife) Interface 