10.08.07 BURDOCK BONANZA

Wild burdock, Arctium minus, has gone to seed and is having no difficulty finding new locations to grow in our yard. Our little border collie runs through the weeds and then pulls them out one by one and leaves them in fresh sites. Burdock seed really sticks tight, something you won't forget if you find some on your clothing after hiking. It is not a coincidence that burdock seed heads have little prongs that look exactly like Velcro.

10.06.07 PIED PAWPAW

As in “the pied piper” and “magpie.” Irregularly changing colors give the pawpaw a harlequin effect.

10.04.07 LUNATIC THINKING

A friend pointed out in a comment on yesterday's journal entry that my understanding of the lunar cycle was completely off. He is quite correct. The shadow of the earth DOES NOT create the phases of the moon. The phases are created by the position of the moon relative to the earth as it revolves around the earth. Half of the moon's surface is lit by the sun and each day as the moon revolves a bit further around the earth we see the size of the illuminated surface change. This photo of the moon was taken by the spacecraft Galileo on December 7, 1992 on its trip to Jupiter. We thank NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab for sharing this photo.

10.03.07 THE WANING

Our October moon is waning. It will have completely disappeared behind the shadow of the earth by the tenth of this month. The foliage of the black walnut, Juglans nigra, is also on the wane. It seems to be the first tree around here to completely give up its leaves. By the new moon it will probably be just a skeleton in the forest. All its leaves safely discarded before the frost has made its first nip.

10.02.07 LUSTY LOBELIA

The bright red of cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis, catches my eye in a drainage ditch along the trail. Its color assures its pollination by hummingbirds who are also rather partial to the color red.

10.01.07 MAPLE MADNESS

The sugar maples, Acer saccharum, in town are beginning to reveal splashes of the color they are so famous for. This tree does not grow as well in our forest as other maples, so it is more often seen as an ornamental planted in lawns and gardens.

09.30.07 ROADSIDE WILDINGS

A moment's bouquet to calm the nerves.