Pic(k) of the Week: Sputnik in the marsh

Like nature's Sputnik,
A buttonbush blooms
Spike'd white
Standing on marshy ground.

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.

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].

— Wikipedia.

Photo taken in Constitution Lakes Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 12 July 2024.

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Pic(k) of the Week: A confluence of creeks

A confluence of creeks: where the six-mile Burnt Fork Creek (left) joins the fifteen-mile South Fork Peachtree Creek (right and foreground).

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

Ira B. Melton Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 2 July 2024.

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Seen from a rock ford in the South Fork Peachtree Creek, along the Three Creeks Trail: one in a "labyrinth of soft-surfaced trails" in and around a 120-acre suburban-Atlanta Piedmont forest.

The trail connects Ira B. Melton Park (south, to the right) to the larger Mason Mill Park (north, to the left). The third creek of the trail's name is Glenn Creek, a 2-mile creek that empties into the South Fork Peachtree Creek about 1/5 mile downstream of this image.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Master of his domain

Waiting and watching,

The green frog sits atop the pond,

For the moment,

Master of his domain.

Postal Pond in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 15 June 2024.

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.

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.

— Wikipedia.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Pollinator coneflowers

Pink coneflowers bloom in a native plant pollinator garden. A sign of the South!

East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 1 June 2024.

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.

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.

— Wikipedia.

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