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: 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: 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: Winter speedwell

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In deep winter, a tiny birdseye speedwell (Veronica persica) blooms during a 'false' (22 °C!) spring.

East Decatur Greenway
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
9 January 2026.

This is a close-up. The blossom — maybe 0.4 inches wide (1 cm) — appears much larger in the image than it did in 'real' life.

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Walter Piston:
The Incredible Flutist (Tango of the Merchant's Daughters)
Album:
Piston: Symphony No. 6, The Incredible Flutist, 3 New England Sketches
(Label: RCA Victor Red Seal, 1991)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Sweetgum sunset

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Winter-dried fruits of an American sweetgum tree 'litter' a paved trail at sunset.

Stone Mountain Trail at the Avondale Railyard
DeKalb County (Scottdale), Georgia, USA.
21 January 2026 (6:17 pm EST).

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American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is one of the most common hardwoods in the southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. Stepping on the tree's fallen dried seed pods can feel like stepping on a toy Lego piece, barefoot or shod. This hiker was adroitly avoiding that fate.

The Stone Mountain Trail is one in the PATH Foundation's system of pedestrian trails in and around Atlanta, Georgia. It comprises nineteen miles of purpose-built paved trails and municipal-built sidewalks that connect downtown Atlanta (at Centennial Olympic Park) east to Stone Mountain Park.

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Francis Poulenc: Sonate pour flûte et piano (Flute Sonata)
Album: Bennett & Benson – Poulenc: Flute Sonata
(Label: Camerata, 1995)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Blue Mistflower in Georgia autumn

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Native blue mistflowers, blooming adjacent to a wild-garden pond.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway, in Decatur, Georgia, USA, on 3 October 2025.

Conoclinium coelestinum — commonly known as blue mistflower, mistflower wild ageratum, or blue boneset — is an herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America, growing in moist soils, wood edges, sandy woodlands, wet meadows, and stream banks.

The plant grows to a height of 1 to 2½ feet (30 to 76 cm) with round, light green stems; the opposite-growing leaves are ovate to triangular in shape, with blunt teeth; it flowers from late summer until frost. Flat-topped clusters, or panicles, of blue, purple, or lavender flowerheads, measuring 1 to 3 inches (3 to 8 cm), are located at the end of the stems. Each flowerhead consists of about 40 to 50 disk florets with tiny tubular corollas that have 5 spreading lobes.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Tommy Flanagan: Delarna
Album: Sea Changes (Label: Evidence Music, 1997)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Hawk on the PATH

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Perched only a few yards from a boardwalk over a wetland, a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) was warily observing me from over its shoulder...but obligingly remained posed for the camera.

South Peachtree Creek PATH in Mason Mill Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 16 August 2025.

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Danny Gatton: Sky King
Album: Cruisin' Deuces (Label: Elektra, 1993)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Black-Eyed Susans on the PATH

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Native black-eyed Susan wildflowers bloom in a pollinator garden.

South Peachtree Creek Trail in Mason Mill Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 18 July 2025.

Rudbeckia hirta — commonly known as black-eyed Susan and yellow coneflower — is a flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae), native to eastern and central North America.

The plant grows to 3½ feet tall (1 m), blooming from late summer into early autumn. The flowers have daisy-like yellow heads, up to 4 inches in diameter (10 cm), with yellow ray florets circling a conspicuous brown or black dome-shaped cone, containing many small disc florets. The species epithet means 'hairy' and refers to short, stiff hairs on the leaves and stems. The genus name honors Olof Rudbeck, a 17th-century Swedish botanist.

— Wikipedia.

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Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine: Cheek to Cheek
Album: Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine Sing the Best of Irving Berlin (Mercury, 1958)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Into the green

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After the rain,

The urban duo

Goes into the green.

Trolley Trail in Gilliam Park: City of Atlanta (Kirkwood), Georgia, USA. 28 June 2025.

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Dexter Gordon: Cheesecake
Album: Go (Blue Note, 1962)

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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 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: Follow yellow line

A warehouse dock during golden hour.

As seen from the Stone Mountain Trail —a 19-mile urban pedestrian trail— in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 13 January 2025.

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Benny Carter: Crazy Rhythm (Further Definitions, 1962)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Wetlands, illuminated

Winter afternoon sun dappled the wetlands of Burnt Fork Creek.

Photographed from a boardwalk along the South Peachtree Creek Trail: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 20 January 2025.

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Gunther Schuller: Variant I on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss Cross)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Hermetics

Hermetics. A field of industrial parts.

As seen from the Stone Mountain Trail, in Scottdale, Georgia, USA. 24 August 2024.

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• Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of images posted on Saturdays.
• Photo 38 of 52, for year 2024. See a larger, hi-res version on Flickr: here.
• Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.


• Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
• Lens: Olympus M.14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II R
• Settings: 27 mm; 1/40 sec; ISO 400; ƒ/8.0


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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: Winter red bud

A native 'Rising Sun' eastern redbud tree, blooming on a lazy day in late winter. Or was it early spring?

The Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway in the City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 March 2024.

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.

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.

— Wikipedia.
— Nature is a Blessing.

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