Pic(k) of the Week: Clover envy

  Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Some call it a weed.

Feh!

That's clover envy.

A red clover wildflower (Trifolium pratense), blooming in spring.

East Decatur Greenway
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
18 May 2019.

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• This is a close-up. The clover appears much larger in the image than it did in 'real' life. Somewhat paradoxically, photographers refer to this technique not as 'micro' but 'macro.'
• To 'isolate' the blossom from the weedy background, I employed an off-camera flash. The light diminished quickly beyond the flower, producing a dark background.
• Seven years ago, I submitted the photo to a YouTube photographer for critique. He dismissed it as too 'hot,' over-exposed by the flash. Looking at it now, I disagree...or, should I say, feh!

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Quincy Jones: Soul Bossa Nova

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Pic(k) of the Week: Echinacea garden

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Native purple coneflower wildflowers (aka echinacea) blooming in a pollinator garden.

City of Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA.
7 June 2026.

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas

Echinacea purpurea — commonly known as purple coneflower, eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, purple rudbeckia — is an herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to the central and eastern United States. The Genus name is Greek for meaning 'spiny one' and the species name means reddish-purple.

It may grow 3 to 4 feet tall; attractive ray petals surround a center of dark purplish brown disc flowers in summer and are long-lasting through mid-fall. The plant prefers well-drained, moist loam but is adaptable to various soil types. It is drought tolerant once established and can grow in full sun to partial shade. It is also deer, heat, humidity, and salt resistant.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Buster Williams: Batuki

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Pic(k) of the Week: Hydrangea on creek

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A wild bigleaf hydrangea shrub (Hydrangea macrophylla), illuminated by riparian morning light.

On Glenn Creek in Melton Park
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
23 May 2025.

Hydrangea macrophylla — commonly known as bigleaf hydrangea — is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan, that has become naturalised in the Americas. It is is a deciduous shrub growing to 10 feet tall (3 m) with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. The opposite, serrated leaves can grow to 6 inches (15 cm) in length.

— Wikipedia.

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Coleman Hawkins: Body and Soul

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Pic(k) of the Week: Jerusalem artichoke...in Georgia!

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A native Jerusalem artichoke blooms in an urban meadow.

East Decatur Greenway
DeKalb County (Forrest Hills), Georgia, USA.
4 June 2026.

Helianthus tuberosus — commonly known as Jerusalem artichoke, sunchoke, sunroot, wild sunflower, or earth apple — is an herbaceous perennial edible root vegetable that is a species of sunflower in the Asteraceae family. It is native to the eastern and central United States and parts of Canada.

Helianthus tuberosus grows 5 to 10 feet tall (1.5–3 m). The leaves have a rough, hairy texture. The flowers are yellow, 2-4 inches in diameter ( 5–10 cm), with 10–20 ray florets and 60 or more small disc florets. The flowers are briefly fragrant, giving off a light, vanilla-chocolate perfume.

The plant's tubers are edible, similar in texture to water chestnuts, with a nutty flavor. They may be boiled, mashed, roasted like potatoes, or eaten raw. They do not contain starch like potatoes; instead contain inulin, which converts to fructose, and may be tolerated better by diabetics. The knobby tubers are harvested in the fall, approximately two weeks after the flowers fade (October-December).

Despite its common name, Jerusalem artichoke is not an artichoke and not associated with the city of Jerusalem. The 'artichoke' in its name comes from its similar taste. 'Jerusalem' is believed to be a corruption of the Italian word 'girasole,' meaning sunflower. Italian settlers in the United States likely referred to the plant as girasole because it resembled sunflowers.

— North Carolina State Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Freddie Hubbard: Little Sunflower

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Pic(k) of the Week: Coreopsis lanceolata

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A field of native lanceleaf coreopsis (coreopsis lanceolata), initially planted along a city street, now blooming wild every spring season.

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
5 May 2026.

Seen along (and planted by) the East Decatur Greenway (part of a 342-mile network of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta, Georgia area, built and maintained by the non-profit PATH Foundation for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists).

Coreopsis lanceolata — commonly known as lanceleaf coreopsis, lanceleaf tickseed, lance-leaved coreopsis, or sand coreopsis — is a North American wildflower, a species of tickseed in the Asteraceae (daisy) family, native to the south-central US. It typically grows to 2 feet tall (60 cm) in prairies, glades, fields, and roadsides, thriving in sandy and rocky soils. The plant 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 2-3 inches across (5–8 cm).

The genus name comes from the Greek words koris meaning "bug" and opsis meaning "like" in reference to the shape of the seed which resembles a bug or tick. The specific epithet means lance-shaped referring to the leaves.

— North Carolina State Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Lee Morgan: Häschen

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Pic(k) of the Week: Poppy field

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In early morning, wild red poppies (Papaver rhoeas) bloom in an urban meadow.

Seen along the 19-mile Stone Mountain Trail — here, located on the Eastern Continental Divide in the City of Clarkston, Georgia, USA.

13 April 2026.

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Oliver Nelson: Stolen Moments

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Pic(k) of the Week: It's a hazy, hazy sunrise.

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Looking southeast from the summit of monadnock Arabia Mountain, one could see a noticeable (yet lovely) haze just after sunrise, produced by a combination of high humidity, 50% cloud cover, and air rife with pollen.

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
3 April 2026 (8:06 am EDT).

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Ella Fitzgerald: I'm Beginning to See the Light

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Pic(k) of the Week: Diamorpha daybreak

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Tiny crimson diamorpha wildflowers, blooming at sunrise, near the summit of Arabia Mountain monadnock *.

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
3 April 2026 (7:37 am EDT).

Diamorpha smallii — commonly known as diamorpha, elf orpine, or Small's stonecrop — belongs to the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae), in the Sedum species of plants: succulents possessing thick, fleshy sections which retain water, allowing them to survive in drought conditions.

Diamorpha smalli is endemic to the southeastern United States, where the densest populations appear in Georgia, particularly in Panola Mountain State Park and the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. Two to four inches in height, Diamorpha smallii grows in areas with granite surfaces, appearing in vernal pools (seasonal puddles of water contained by rock or dirt) and solution pits (thin patches of dirt isolated on rock outcrops), adapted to survive in harsh conditions, including high temperatures and limited soil.

Hidden most of the year, Diamorpha smallii emerge in late winter, producing dense rosettes of tiny red succulent leaves. Then, in late March, the plants produce small white flowers (~ ¼ inch). As temperatures rise, the plants lose their bright red color, taking on the appearance of little brown stems sticking up from the ground, holding on to their seeds to forestall dessication during the hottest months of the year. The seeds drop and germinate in autumn.

— Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance.
— Scott Ranger's Nature Notes.
— Wikipedia.

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Dizzy Gillespie: Tin Tin Deo

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Pic(k) of the Week: Piedmont sandwort

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Looking down at tiny Piedmont sandwort wildflowers, blooming in a sandy, dessicated solution pit.

This is a close-up. These tiny blossoms — about 3 millimeters wide, on stems about 4 centimeters long— appear much larger in the photograph than they did in 'real' life!

Geocarpon is a genus of flowering plants in the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). It includes seven species native to North America, including Geocarpon uniflorum — commonly known as Piedmont sandwort (or one-flower stitchwort).

Geocarpon uniflorum is native to the southeastern United States, where it is primarily found in the Piedmont. Its preferred habitat is sandy or granitic rock outcrops. Prior to 2022, the plant was known botanically as Minuartia uniflora.

— Wikipedia.
— Flora of North America.

On the summit of Arabia Mountain
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
3 April 2026.

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Jaco Pastorius: Donna Lee

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Pic(k) of the Week: Tiny cinquefoils

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You're just too marvelous,

Too marvelous for words,

Like glorious, glamorous

And that old standby amorous.

It's all too wonderful,

I'll never find the words,

That say enough, tell enough,

I mean they just aren't swell enough.

You're much too much, and just too very, very,

To ever be in Webster's Dictionary.

And so I'm borrowing a love song from the birds,

To tell you that you're marvelous, too marvelous for words.

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Tiny onslaught of spring! Yellow cinquefoil wildflowers blooming near the headwaters (i.e., a municipal storm drain) of Cecilia Creek.

East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
31 March 2026.

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Lester Young: Too Marvelous for Words
Album: Too Marvelous for Words
Label: Mercury (recorded: 1949 / released: 1950)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Like a caress

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Like a caress,

A woodland embrace.

Vernal fancy.

Seminary Wood in Decatur Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 25 April 2025.

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Dinah Washington: Crazy He Calls Me
Album: Dinah Jams (EmArcy, 1955)

"The difficult, I'll do right now. The impossible will take a little while."

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Pic(k) of the Week: Redbud in the field

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The vibrant yellow and green foliage of a native Rising Sun redbud tree, in spring.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.

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.

The Rising Sun™ cultivar —Cercis canadensis (JN2)— was discovered in a Belvidere, Tennessee nursery in 2006. Of unknown parentage, it had been planted from collected seed and was growing in a row of nursery seedlings. Unlike a 'standard' Eastern Redbud tree, the Rising Sun grows only 8 to 12 feet tall (2½ - 3½ m) but is drought and heat-tolerant.

Rising Sun's abundant pea-like, rosy pink flowers appear in early spring before the foliage. Its heart-shaped foliage emerges deep golden orange and matures through shades of orange, gold, and yellow to a speckled lime green. New leaves appear throughout the summer, resulting in a continual mix of colors. The fall foliage is yellow and orange.

— Missouri Botanical Garden.
— Wikipedia.

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Clifford Brown: Sandu
Album: Study in Brown (EmArcy Records, 1955)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Dwarf crested iris

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A native dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata) wildflower, blooming creekside.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway in the City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.

Iris cristata (also known as dwarf crested iris and crested iris) is a species in the genus Iris, and is part of the subgenus of Limniris (bearded iris). It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, endemic to the eastern United States. Purple blossoms arise on a stalk above the 4 to 8 inch tall leaves. There are 3 unmarked petals; the yellow, fluted crest is on each of three sepals. It is usually found in colonies of several to many plants, growing in chalky soil, in oak woodlands, on rocky hillsides, in ravines, and along streams.

— Wildflowers of the United States
— Wikipedia

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McCoy Tyner: Love Surrounds Us
Album: Uptown Downtown (Milestone, 1989)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Clarkston poppies

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Brilliant red poppies (Papaver rhoeas) bloom in an urban wildflower meadow planted along a CSX railroad track.

Stone Mountain Trail: City of Clarkston, Georgia, USA. 13 May 2025.

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Hank Mobley: This I Dig Of You
Album: Soul Station (Blue Note, 1960)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Tree over beaver dam

The residents of a beaver lodge have been busy building a dam on Cecilia Creek.

Seminary Wood in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 15 March 2025.

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Reuben Brown: All My Tomorrows
Album: Blue and Brown (SteepleChase, 1998)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Tree over hill

A tree comes into blossom

Over a dun hill.

A moment recursive

In Brigid's turn.

A municipal golf course, as seen from the Stone Mountain Trail in Candler Park of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 21 March 2025.

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Nina Simone: My Baby Just Cares for Me
Album: Little Girl Blue (Bethlehem Records, 1959)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Spring comes to Beaver Pond

The trees were blooming on Beaver Pond.

Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 2 April 2025.

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As I was framing the shot, a bird photographer (aka 'birder') was standing nearby, wielding a 'bazooka-sized' lens. Unbeknownst to me, he had sidled very close.

"What did you spot?" he asked, catching me off guard. "A tree!" I replied. He smirked, saying, "There are many of those," and strolled off. Of course, that was the point.

Quam stulti isti mortales sunt. 

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Shirley Horn: A Lazy Afternoon

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Pic(k) of the Week: Vernal celandine poppy

A native yellow wildflower —celandine poppy— blooms in an early-spring woodland.

Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
2 April 2025.

Stylophorum diphyllum —commonly called the celandine poppy or wood poppy— is an herbaceous plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native to the eastern United States and Ontario in Canada. Its typical natural habitat is moist forests over calcareous rock, particularly in ravines.

In spring, the deep yellow flowers of the celandine poppy appear as a brilliant display on the forest floor. The flowers have 4 yellow petals, two soon falling sepals, many yellow orange stamens, and a single knobby stigma. They appear singly or in umbels of two to four flowers from early spring to early summer. The flowers issue from between a pair of leaves at the top of the flowering stems. They produce pollen but no nectar.

After fertilization, a bristly blue-green pod hangs below the leaves. Seeds with white elaiosomes ripen in midsummer and the pod opens by four flaps.

— Wikipedia

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Maurice Ravel: Mother Goose Suite (The Fairy Garden)

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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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Pic(k) of the Week: "Early Azalea" blossom

A native early azalea shrub blooms in the Trailhead Community Park, of the East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 5 April 2024.

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.

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.

— Wikipedia.
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

And, as a bonus image, a bud of an early azalea, pre-bloom...

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About the accompanying music

The tune is Up Jumped Spring, a jazz waltz composed by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, performed on his album Backlash from 1966/67. Belying the the piece's 3/4 time, Hubbard's playing is crisp and driving, leavened with a joyful sense of dance and melody. Mix that with James Spaulding's sprightly flute, the left-hand comping and right-hand runs of pianist Albert Daily, and the powerful backbeat of bassist Bob Cunningham and drummer Otis Ray Appleton: it's a crystalline masterpiece (and, yes, appropriate to this week's image!). The tune has since become a standard in the jazz repertoire.

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