Faded glory
White wildflower holding its head up after a heavy rain and after the peak of its blooming.
Ouachita sunrise
Purple bee balm
Many of the photos in this blog are taken along paths trod time and time again on weekend “photo safaris,” which usually consist of an hour walking an area less than a half-mile radius from the house. There are mornings where the thought forms, (with sigh): “There doesn’t seem to be anything new today.” And almost before it’s completed, something new does appear. This was the first time in all the years on the mountain that we’d seen these purple bee balms. These were perched comfortably on a steep, south-facing slope.
Bluebird
The eastern bluebirds have really been hanging close to the house the last few days. Maybe it’s because of the warmth radiating from the house, the plentiful sunshine from the south, or perhaps because there are still a lot of sumac berries for snacking. (There’s plenty of competition for those berries from sparrows, juncos, chickadees, flickers and wrens.)
Breakfast on a frosty morning
Hardly anything was moving during yesterday’s storm, but with the return of the sun this morning, birds were out seeking breakfast in the sumac bushes.
The monarch is back!
The monarchs are back. Well, at least one monarch. This one was trying to rest in the goldenrod this morning, but found himself being buffeted by breezes, honey bees, wasps and other pollinators. You can see the wear on his wings — appearing as scratches in some of his orange areas.
Eastern and west
Another attempt at shooting the night sky. Through the viewfinder it appeared as if the tree was strung with tiny white lights, but it turned out many of the leaves on this struggling oak had their own glint.  Tonight, we’ll stay up to see Mars, the Orionids and maybe, just maybe, catch a glimpse of Comet Ison.  (The Waiting for Ison blog has lovely  illustrations showing what you can expect to see and when, in the night sky.)
Autumn colors 2013
Here it is late October and the Ouachitas are just beginning to turn. Â Even though the woods are mostly green, there’s still plenty of autumn color around. Photos taken today and yesterday.
Sumac leaves.
Muscadines.
Grape leaves turning.
Yellow hickory leaves.
Purple aster.
Dogwood leaves.
French mulberry.
Poison ivy in pine.
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Cirque des coleopteres?
An acrobatic dung beetle at the end of the driveway.
The (Urban-Wildlife) Interface 