Postal Pond in Decatur Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 26 November 2024 (5:46 pm ET).
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Postal Pond in Decatur Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 26 November 2024 (5:46 pm ET).
Cascade Springs Nature Preserve: City of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 9 August 2024.
Summer vestige versus autumn gamut: a woodland at the confluence of Glenn Creek with South Fork Peachtree Creek.
Ira B. Melton Park: DeKalb County , Georgia, USA. 8 November 2024.
In morning, two hike the summit of Arabia Mountain: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 20 October 2024.
Composed primarily of granite-gneiss migmatite rock, Arabia Mountain is a monadnock —"an isolated small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain." Its almost barren summit sits 955 feet (290 m) above sea level but rises only 172 feet (52 m) above the surrounding countryside of pine and hardwood woodlands.
The prosaically-named Mountain Lake is a reservoir created during 20th-century quarrying of granite, gneiss, and migmatite on Arabia Mountain, a monadnock in DeKalb County, Georgia, in southeastern United States.
Here, the lake is seen in mid autumn on 19 October 2024, looking down from a southeastern slope of the mountain. (Some of the rocky outcrop can be seen in the foreground.)
Overhead, a vaping deejay spins as, below, a climbing muralist paints.
As seen during the East Atlanta Strut, a street festival in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 28 September 2024.East Atlanta Strut: Atlanta (East Atlanta Village), Georgia, USA. 28 September 2024.
The East Atlanta Strut, always on the fourth Saturday in September, combines a parade, a street festival with live music, artists' markets, and a 'porchfest' to show off the entire neighborhood. East Atlanta also has a thriving business district, with restaurants, bars, and shops showing off more local music and art.
Since its inception in 1988, the East Atlanta Strut has been completely run by volunteers. That allows the Strut to return 100% of its profits to the community. More than $100,000 has been donated in just the last few years — for programs that assist the unhoused, groups that feed people, organizations that help keep our longtime neighbors in their homes, and to support our local fire station and library, pet rescue groups, child mentoring groups, local schools, arts organizations, and neighborhood beautification projects.
Labels: afternoon light, beach, Florida, jazz, Pic(k) of the Week, southeastern US, St. Augustine, storm, summer
Persicaria sagittata — commonly known as American tearthumb, arrowleaf tearthumb, or arrowvine— is a plant, in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), native to the eastern half of North America (as well as eastern Asia!). It grows in moist areas along lake shores, stream banks, etc.— Wikipedia.
Persicaria sagittata is an annual herb growing up to 7½-feet tall (200 cm), with prickles along the stem. Leaves are up to 4 inches long (10 cm), heart-shaped or arrowhead-shaped (unusual for the genus). Flowers are white to pink, borne in spherical to elongated clusters up to 0.6-inches long (15 mm).
I find that most wildflowers are really tiny compared to what we normally think of as 'flowers', but no less interesting and beautiful.
Hylodesmum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, sometimes called ticktrefoils or tick-trefoils. It is sometimes treated as part of Desmodium. It includes sixteen species native to eastern North America, sub-Saharan Africa, and southeast Asia.— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
Hylodesmum nudiflorum — previously known as Desmodium nudiflorum and commonly known as naked-flowered tick trefoil, panicled leaf tick trefoil, stemless tick trefoil, or naked-stemmed tick clover— is a species of perenial flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to eastern North America. Hylodesmum nudiflorum is typically found in mature, open hardwood woodlands in moist, sandy, gravelly, or loamy soil with high organic content. It is a nitrogen-fixing species through symbiosis with soil-borne bacteria.
Hylodesmum nudiflorum's delicate pinkish blooms, ⅓-inch (0.8 cm), are sweetly fragrant, occurring mid to late summer, borne on leafless stems. Reminiscent of pea-like blooms, the flowers have a rounded upper petal and three narrower lower petals, longer than the upper.
— Wildflowers of the United States.
— Wikipedia.
Labels: autumn, autumn fauna, city park, nature, park wildlife, Pic(k) of the Week, woodland
Labels: Flickr Explore, foliage, person, Pic(k) of the Week, poetry, rain, summer, urban park
☞ The name Sturgeon Moon comes from the giant lake sturgeon of the American Great Lakes; this native freshwater fish was readily caught during this part of summer and an important food staple for Native Americans who lived in the region. At one time the lake sturgeon was quite abundant in late summer, though they are rarer today.— Old Farmer's Almanac.
☞ The super moon part refers to the moon's orbit, which brings it slightly closer to Earth this month, making it appear bigger and brighter. This occurs since the moon’s orbit around the Earth is elliptical instead of just a circle, and thus there are times when the moon is further and closer to our planet.
☞ A blue moon is not about the color of the moon, but instead the frequency of the full moon. There are two definitions of a blue moon—the first describes when there are two full moons in a single month. Since the moon’s cycle is 29.5 days, and our average calendar month is 30-31 days, this blue moon occurs every two to three years. There are also seasonal blue moons, in which a calendar season contains four full moons instead of the usual three, and the blue moon is the third of the four full moons. August’s full moon is of this variety. The next seasonal blue moon is expected in May 2027.
☞ The combination of the super moon and the blue moon is rare, and the time between their occurrences is quite 'irregular' and could be as much as 20 years, with 10 years between the average. Though we had a super blue moon somewhat recently, in August 2023, the next super blue moon will not occur until January 2037.
— Time Magazine.
Labels: anniversary, Avondale Estates, beer, celebration, Georgia, Pic(k) of the Week, pub, southeastern US
Constitution Lakes is a 125-acre park operated by DeKalb County, the land purchased for $1.28 million in 2003. Part former brickworks, part wildlife refuge, part hiking trail, part snake pit, and part art exhibit, the land has been transformed by both humans and the flooding South River into an ecological sanctuary smack in the middle of an industrial district.— History Atlanta.
At the center of the park lie two small lakes that were excavation pits created by the former South River Brick Company [late 19th and early 20th-century] digging out the soft red clay for bricks. The lakes feature countless turtles, crappie, and catfish, along with bass fish: large mouth, small mouth, spotted and striped bass. For bird watchers, you’ll see belted kingfishers, woodpeckers, ducks, blue herons, >[ibises], geese, hawks, and more.
Labels: dawn, DeKalb County, Georgia, lake, landscape photography, morning, park, Pic(k) of the Week, southeastern US, wetlands
Cephalanthus occidentalis —commonly known as buttonbush, common buttonbush, button-willow, buck brush, and honey-bells— is a species of flowering plant in the bedstraw family (Rubiaceae). Native to eastern and southern North America, it is a common shrub of many wetland habitats, including swamps, floodplains, mangroves, and moist forest understory.— Wikipedia.
Cephalanthus occidentalis is a deciduous shrub or small tree that averages 3 to 10 feet in height (1 to 3 m). Its flowers bloom in late spring and summer, arranged in a dense spherical inflorescence [cluster of flowers], ¾ to 1⅓ inches in diameter (2 to 3.5 cm), on a short peduncle [stalk supporting the inflorescence].
Peachtree Creek is a major stream in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It flows for 7.5 miles (12.1 km) almost due west into the Chattahoochee River. Its two major tributaries are the North Fork Peachtree Creek and the South Fork Peachtree Creek. The southern fork is 15.4 miles (24.8 km) long. The southern edge of its basin borders the Eastern Continental Divide.— Wikipedia
Lithobates clamitans —commonly known as the green frog— is a species of frog native to eastern North America. The two subspecies are the bronze frog and the northern green frog.— Wikipedia.
Green frogs usually have green heads while the body is brown, gray, or dark green. The green head can be more or less prominent on certain individuals. The belly is white with black mottling. Male green frogs in breeding condition have yellow throats. Green frogs are darker colored on colder days to help absorb heat. Adult green frogs range from 2 to 4 inches in body length (5–10 cm); the typical body weight is 1 to 3 ounces (28 to 85 g). The mating call of a green frog sounds like the single note of a plucked banjo.
Labels: amphibian, animal, Decatur, frog, Georgia, native species, pond, southeastern US, urban park, wildlife
Echinacea purpurea — commonly known as the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea— is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to parts of eastern North America. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies, and barrens.— Wikipedia.
Many pollinators are attracted to E. purpurea flowers, such as bumblebees, sweat bees, honey bees, the sunflower leafcutter bee, and the mining bee, Andrena helianthiformis. Butterflies that visit include monarchs, swallowtail butterflies, and sulfur butterflies. Birds, particularly finches, eat and disperse the seeds through their droppings.
Labels: Avondale Estates, bird, candid, city park, Georgia, lake, Pic(k) of the Week, southeastern US
Labels: Decatur, festival, Georgia, mural, people, Pic(k) of the Week, southeastern US, street photography
Terrapene carolina carolina — commonly known as the the eastern box turtle— is native to the eastern United States. It is a subspecies within a group of hinge-shelled turtles normally called box turtles. While in the pond turtle family, Emydidae, and not a tortoise, the box turtle is largely terrestrial.— Wikipedia.
Eastern box turtles have a high, domelike carapace [upper body shell] which is normally brownish or black and accompanied by a yellowish or orangish radiating pattern of lines, spots, or blotches. Skin coloration, like that of the shell, is variable but is usually brown or black with some yellow, orange, red, or white spots or streaks. This coloration closely mimics that of the winter leaf of the tulip poplar tree.
Box turtles are slow crawlers, extremely long-lived, slow to mature, and have relatively few offspring per year. These characteristics, along with a propensity to get hit by cars and agricultural machinery, make all box turtle species particularly susceptible to anthropogenic, or human-induced, mortality. In 2011, citing 'a widespread persistent and ongoing gradual decline of Terrapene carolina that probably exceeds 32% over three generations,' the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downgraded its conservation status from near threatened to vulnerable.
Coreopsis lanceolata —commonly known as lanceleaf coreopsis and lanceleaf tickseed— is a species of tickseed in the aster family (Asteraceae). It is native to the eastern and central parts of the United States, growing in open woodlands, prairies, plains, glades, meadows, and savannas.— Wikipedia.
Coreopsis lanceolata is a perennial plant sometimes attaining a height of over 2 feet (60 cm). April through June, it produces yellow flower heads singly at the top of a naked flowering stalk, each head containing both ray florets and disc florets. Each flower measures 2 to 3 inches across (5–8 cm).
The genus name 'Coreopsis' means 'bug-like'; it —as well as the common name, 'tickseed'— comes from the fact that the seeds are small and resemble ticks. The specific epithet 'lanceolata' refers to the shape of the leaves: narrow and lance-shaped.
Rhododendron prinophyllum —commonly known as the early azalea, roseshell azalea, woolly azalea — is a rhododendron species in the heather family (Ericaceae), native to the eastern and southern United States, found in damp thickets, open woods, and along streams.— Wikipedia.
Rhododendron prinophyllum is a woody, spreading, deciduous shrub that grows 2 to 8 feet in height. The flowers, light pink to purplish in color, appear in early spring before the emergence of the foliage. The flowers have a pleasant, clove-like fragrance, and are up to 1½-inches long (4 cm), with protruding stamens and 4-5 petals occurring in large clusters. The foliage is smooth and blue-green, and turns purplish in fall.
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Triodanis perfoliata — commonly known as Clasping bellflower, Clasping bellwort, or Small Venus' looking-glass — is a small, annual flowering plant belonging to the bellflower family (Campanulaceae), native to North and South America (from Canada to Argentina). It grows in prairies, along the edges of woods and rocky outcrops, and in disturbed soil, such as roadsides [and sidewalks!].— Wikipedia
Triodanis perfoliata grows to a height of 4-18 inches (10–46 cm). On the upper part of the stem, the plant produces bell-shaped five-petaled flowers, approximately ½ inch or less across (1.3 cm), that range in color from blue-violet to pink-purple to lavender, with a white center. There are also flowers on the lower part of the stem but they do not open. These are cleistogamous — automatic self-pollinators that produce seeds.
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Cercis canadensis —commonly known as the eastern redbud tree— is a large deciduous shrub or small tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, and as far west as New Mexico. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches.— Wikipedia.
The Rising Sun Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘JN2’) is a smaller variety of the more common Eastern Redbud, growing only to about 8-12 feet in height (2.5-3.5 m). In early spring, the tree bursts into bloom before the leaves appear, with tiny, sweet pea-like flowers of lavender-pink hue. This spectacle is followed by the emergence of heart-shaped leaves, which start as a vibrant shade of apricot-orange. As the season progresses, the leaves transition through shades of yellow, gold, and finally, a rich, deep green.
— Nature is a Blessing.
Lunaria annua —commonly known as annual honesty, dollar plant, honesty, lunaria, money plant, moneywort, moonwort, silver dollar— is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to southern Europe but is cultivated throughout the temperate world.— Wikipedia.
The plant grows up to 3 feet tall (90 cm). In spring and summer, it bears terminal racemes [short stalks] of white or violet flowers. The fruits appear in midsummer. They are paper-thin, flat, silver dollar-sized fruits, called siliques, that become white-translucent with age, resembling a full moon or coin, hence some of the common names of the plant. Another common name, 'honesty,' relates to the translucence of the plant's silique membranes, which 'truthfully' reveal their contents.
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
Packera anonyma — commonly known as Small's Ragwort, Appalachian Ragwort, Southern Ragwort, Plain Ragwort — is a wildflower in the aster family (Asteraceae), native to much of the eastern United States, south of New England.— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
Small's Ragwort flourishes in habitats that are wet during the winter and dry in summer and is one of the first native flowers to bloom in abundance, beginning in March and continuing into June. The ray and disc flowers are bright yellow, 8-15 rays per flower. The plant grows up to 3 feet tall (1 m).
Let them not be discontented;
for then are they truly monastics
when they live by the labor of their hands,
as did our Fathers and the Apostles— Rule of St. Benedict (c. 530 CE).
It is now common knowledge that customers attribute special standards of quality to products made by monastic communities, and this is especially true of Trappist monasteries.
Imagine receiving a cease-and-desist letter from a legal agent for God!Our label guarantees the monastic origin of the products as well as the fact that they measure up to the quality and traditional standards rooted in the monastic life of a real Trappist community. Even though this label can be used on other products, at present it is only used on beer, liqueur, cheese, bread, biscuits and chocolates.
In 1945, the Belgian Trappist monastery, St. Sixtus essentially stopped selling its Westvleteren beer, brewing only for themselves (but with some sales at the monastery and local taverns). The monks gave a license to a local cheese factory to brew Saint Sixtus beers for outside sales and Brewery St. Bernard was founded. The brew master from Westvleteren, Mathieu Szafranski, became a partner in the brewery and brought along the recipes, the know-how, and the St. Sixtus yeast strain. Since 1992, these beers brewed in Watou, West Flanders, Belgium, have been sold under the brand name St. Bernardus.
Abbeyales — including St. Bernardus — traditionally have been carboanated. However, the kegged Abt 12 I drank at the pub pictured above had been nitrogenated — that is, infused with nitrogen gas— at the brewery.
Also called elf orpine, diamorpha —a rare plant endemic to the southeast United States— appears, during during winter and spring, as a vibrant red covering patches of Arabia Mountain in shallow solution pit pools. In March and early April, the diamorpha flowers, growing delicate white blooms. The blooms do not last long – they will soon begin to fade as the diamorpha prepare for the hot summer months.— Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area
Diamorpha are dormant in the summer due to the extreme heat of the bare rock face. During the warmer parts of the year, these hardy plants look like little more than brown twigs sticking up out of patches of soil on the monadnock. This stage of the diamorphas’ life cycle is critical: during the summer, they hold their seeds above the ground, conserving energy until the fall (seeds that fall to the ground in summer burn and die in the hot sun). Then, in the autumn, the seeds drop to the ground and begin to germinate. The process starts again around December. Now, in April, this complicated life story is at its most vibrant stage.
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