Pic(k) of the Week: Winter fiddleheads

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Fiddleheads of Christmas ferns unfurl in late winter. Spring is nascent.

Glenn Creek Nature Preserve
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
12 March 2026.

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Christmas Fern

Polystichum acrostichoides, commonly denominated Christmas fern, is a perennial, evergreen fern native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to Florida and eastern Texas. It is one of the most common ferns in eastern North America, being found in moist and shady habitats in woodlands, stream banks and rocky slopes. Christmas fern has a tufted, clumping habit, with its fronds arising from a central growth point. It can form colonies, but frequently grows singly or in twos or threes. The common name derives from the evergreen fronds, which are often still green in winter, at Christmas.

— Wikipedia

🔥 Unlike Ostrich ferns, whose cooked fiddleheads are edible, the fiddleheads of Christmas ferns are NOT EDIBLE and can be toxic if ingested. Observe; don't forage!
— Old Farmer's Almanac.

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Wayne Shorter: Footprints

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Pic(k) of the Week: Ēostre

 

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Ēostre was the name of a pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn, mentioned by the English monastic scholar, the Venerable Bede in his 8th-century work, De temporum ratione (The Reckoning of Time).

The Old High German name for a goddess of the dawn was Ôstara. In Lithuanian mythology, the feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) was Aušrinė. All were derived from Austrō(n), the Proto-Indo-European name for goddess of 'dawn.'

In Anglo-Saxon England, the springtime festival in honor of Ēostre gave its name to a month (Northumbrian: Ēosturmōnaþ, West Saxon: Eastermonað), the rough equivalent of April, then to the Christian feast of Easter that eventually displaced it.

— Wikipedia.

That being said, the modern Lithuanian name for Easter, “Velykos” is NOT related to the name “Aušrinė,” but derived from the word “vėlės,” for “souls” (as in, the saving of human souls from eternal damnation).

Su Šventom Velykom!

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Photo:

The morning sun rises over wetlands of Burnt Fork Creek, as seen from an elevated boardwalk on the South Peachtree Creek PATH.

Image NOT taken on Easter (4 April 2026), but two months earlier, in winter, on 12 February 2026.

Mason Mill Park in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.

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Pharoah Sanders: The Creator Has a Master Plan
Album: Karma
Label: Impulse! (recorded/released: 1969)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Hibernal narcissus

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An obligatory annual photo of a daffodil.
— or —
I can't resist taking a portrait of a narcissus in late winter!

The large daffodil — white with a central white 'trumpet'— is an Ice Follies cultivar; the smaller are Jetfire cultivars — yellow with orange 'trumpets' *. All, I admired and photographed in a private garden in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA, on 3 March 2026.

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Lee Morgan: Ceora
Album: Cornbread
Label: Bluenote (Recorded: 1965 | Released: 1967)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Trout lily ephemeral

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Ephemeral beauty on a winter forest floor: a native wildflower, the trout lily, blooms on Arabia Mountain.

After a 13-kilometer hike on the mountain, I was less than half a kilometer from my parked car when I stumbled upon this cluster of trout lilies blooming on the side of the Mile Rock Trail. To say that I was delighted AND surprised would be an understatement.

This is a close-up. The blossom appears larger in the image than it did in 'real life.'

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
28 February 2026.

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About the Dimpled Trout Lily

Erythronium umbilicatum — commonly known as the dimpled trout lily — is a species of perennial flowering plant in the lily family (Liliaceae), native to the southeastern United States, primarily in the piedmont and southern Appalachian areas. It is a spring ephemeral [i.e., short-lived] and its preferred habitat is forests.

Erythronium umbilicatum has green, mottled leaves that are up to 8 inches long (20 cm). The scape [i.e., long, leafless flowering stem] is up to 8 inches long (20 cm), bearing a single, nodding, lily-like flower on a 5 to 8-inch stalk (12-20 cm) with 6 petals, yellow on the inside and streaked brownish-purple on the outside, that recurve backward. The conspicuous stamens are brownish-purple in color. The flower blooms in late winter/early spring before the surrounding trees leaf out and cast shade.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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

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Pic(k) of the Week: Light & shadow in the wood

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Eerie wraiths, deep in a winter woodland.

Mason Mill Park
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
12 February 2026.

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Eric Dolphy: Something Sweet, Something Tender
Album: Out To Lunch (Label: Blue Note, 1964)

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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: Ice in the Deep South

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In January 2026, a large winter ice storm swept the U.S., from southwest Texas to northeast Maine. In north-central Georgia, the temperature fell to -10 °C (14 °F).

Hawthorne Nature Trail
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
25 January 2026.

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Art Ensemble of Chicago: Dreaming of the Master
Album: Nice Guys (Label: ECM, 1979)

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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: Couleurs en fin d'année

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Couleurs en fin d'année: the glory of a tree in December.

Postal Pond in Decatur Legacy Park.
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
23 December 2025.

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Betty Carter: Tight
Album: The Audience with Betty Carter (Label: Bet-Car, 1980)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Winter catkin

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Yellow catkins hang,

Crimson buds portend,

Winter shrub un-slumber'd.

Male flowers of a hazel alder tree (Alnus serrulata).

Arabia Lake in Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
8 February 2023.

A catkin is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated. It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem that is often drooping. Catkin-bearing plants include many trees or shrubs such as birch, willow, aspen, hickory, sweet chestnut, and sweetfern. In many of these plants, only the male flowers form catkins, and the female flowers are single (hazel, oak), a cone (alder), or other types (mulberry). While the blooming months for catkins may vary due to factors such as climate change and latitude, the following are some general timeframes: hazel catkins bloom from January to March, alder catkins from February to March, silver birch catkins from March to May, oak catkins from April to May, and white willow catkins from April to May.

— Wikipedia.

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Phineas Newborn Jr.: Celia (composition by Bud Powell)
Album: Here Is Phineas (Label: Atlantic (1956)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Gnarly tree in winter

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Nature as artist;

Tree as canvas.

A winter portrait.

A January pine tree on Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
16 January 2017.

Looking back through the portfolio can occasionally reveal a hidden gem, such as this painterly arboreal portrait. Well done, nine-year-younger Thomas!

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Freddie Hubbard: Karioka (composition by Kenny Dorham)
Album: Goin' Up (Label: Blue Note (recorded 1960; released 1961)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Morning bird in winter forsythia

And smale foweles maken melodye

A peripatetic ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) momentarily stops to sing in a forsythia bush, its red crown shining in winter morning light.

Ruby-crowned kinglets typically inhabit northern North America. I spotted this male, however, much farther south (in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA), where it was probably preparing for its imminent migration back north.

26 February 2025.

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Ralph Vaughan-Williams: The Lark Ascending

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Pic(k) of the Week: Vespers for Callery

A copse of Callery pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) is limned by low-angle late-afternoon late-winter sun on the shores of Postal Pond.

Although beautiful when blooming, Callery pear trees —also known as Bradford pears— are considered invasive in the eastern and midwest United States. Plus, they stink!

Decatur Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 March 2025.

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Frank Morgan: A Flower is a Lovesome Thing
(Album: A Lovesome Thing, 1991)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Flowering Quince, flowering in winter

Native to China, a flowering quince shrub (Chaenomeles speciosa) blooms in winter, far from home.

Briarlake Forest Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 25 February 2025.

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Scott Joplin: Solace (Joshua Rifkin, piano)

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Pic(k)of the Week: Underfoot

Every time I walk down

into the hollow

through the winter woods

or up the mountain again,

I stop right here.

Standing on the packed earth

at an old logging road

where the creek slips quietly

through its rusty culvert

underfoot,

I'm not so much listening as feeling

a kind of tickling caress

through the soles of my shoes

and I recognize

a crossing of paths, a choice,

a way back,

if I could only turn

and follow.

— Underfoot

Stephen Wing (Atlanta, Georgia)

There were no logging roads or mountains in the parkland of this cemetery...but there were a creek and a culvert, hilly inclines, winter woods, a crossing of paths...and, considering the solemnity of the surroundings, places, like this, where one could quietly contemplate the feel of the earth underfoot.

Decatur Cemetery: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 25 January 2025.

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Teddy Wilson: Sweet Lorraine

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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: Uncloaked

Winter herald,

Uncloaked in autumn

Between hardwood and mire.

Tree standing in an ecotone between woodland and bog.

Seminary Wood in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 17 December 2024.

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Charles Ives: "The Unanswered Question"

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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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Pic(k) of the Week: Winter speedwell

Look down! Tiny blue winter speedwell blossoms have popped up, low down, in large numbers, seemingly overnight. So small, so unassuming, and, yes, some might say, so weedy.

Lanier Gardens Park: Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA. 24 February 2022.

I've so often walked by over ubiquitous winter speedwell, paying no heed, until one winter afternoon, when I felt the need to get down on the ground and look at them on their level.

My clothes became muddied; I probably received bemused glances from motorists passing close by this tiny strip of streetside greenspace. But there I lay, taken aback by these blossoms' miniature elegance: flowers for a fairy's garden.

Veronica persica —commonly known as birdeye speedwell, common field-speedwell, Persian speedwell, large field speedwell, bird's-eye, or winter speedwell— is a flowering plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It is native to Eurasia and is widespread as an introduced species elsewhere, including North America. The short-stalked leaves are broadly ovate with coarsely serrated margins, and measure one to two centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inches) long. The flowers are roughly one centimeter (0.4 inches) wide and are sky-blue in color with dark stripes and white centers.

— Wikipedia.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Laurel Creek waterfall

Evergreen mountain laurel trees ring small Laurel Creek as it cascades into the (slightly) larger Stephenson Creek.

Seen alongside (that is, clambered down from) the Flat Rock spur of the Arabia Mountain PATH trail in the Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 27 February 2024.

Note to self: Return in spring, when the mountain laurel is blooming.

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