Our walks are usually taken in the morning but we decided to go for an afternoon meander this time. Autumn is in the air even though the temperatures are above normal. The sun felt so good on my bare arms!
A southern variation of sugar maple, chalk maple grows to 25 ft. and usually has 2-3 trunks. Its attractive, mature bark is chalky-surfaced. The significant landscape feature of this tree is its brilliant fall foliage.
~ Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website
Before we left the garden we took a peek inside a little, dark, windowless shed called the Herb House. It was air-conditioned and had a bench for Tim to sit on. He hadn’t been enjoying the warm sunshine as much as I had been!
Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive — it’s such an interesting world.
~ Lucy Maud Montgomery
(Anne of Green Gables)
This afternoon walk was a very nice change of pace. At home we’re getting more frequent visits from the cardinal couple and the juncos are arriving for the winter. The squirrels are busy burying their nuts. It’s a wonderful time of year!
Lovely autumn photos, it is a wonderful time of year. Thanks for the intro to the chalk maple, a subspecies I didn’t know about. Love the color of sassafras in the fall… they aren’t all that common here, though they grow along the Deerfield River where the show is awesome right now.
Thank you, Eliza! I see a lot more sassafras down here than I used to see in New England. Red leaves are greatly outnumbered by the yellow ones these days, which is how that chalk maple caught my eye, and then I noticed the identification sign that went along with it. North Carolina is on the northern edge of its range.
Thank you for including my birth month flower (aster), Barbara! How did you get those cardinals to pose? I rarely can get one to sit still long enough for me to get a decent shot! And I love the quote from Anne of Green Gables. I read it as a child and loved it! By the way, did you link up to Dawn (https://dawnkinster.com/2024/10/17/the-official-launch-of-the-2024-walktober/) so she can include you in the Walktober roundup?
Thank you for including my birth month flower (aster), Barbara! How did you get those two cardinals to pose like that? I never can get them to sit still long enough to snap their picture. Maybe they’re more twitchy here?? By the way, did you link up to Dawn’s official Walktober post (https://dawnkinster.com/2024/10/17/the-official-launch-of-the-2024-walktober/) so she can include you in the roundup?
Sorry your comment got sent to moderation, Debbie. I have it set up for comments with links in them to go to moderation first as another line of defense against spam. Your birth flowers are blooming like crazy all over the place down here! The cardinals weren’t there for more than a few seconds and most of my shots didn’t come out. I delete a lot of pictures! I just keep clicking and hope for a good one. They don’t cooperate at all. 🙂 And yes, I did link up to Dawn’s official Walktober post, but with a different post than this one.
A lovely walk Barbara. A few weeks ago I took an afternoon walk since I felt cheated out of my morning walk due to Jacob’s erratic schedule where I missed my morning walk. I found myself enjoying it too. Like you, it was not necessary to wear a jacket or a sweater and feel the warm sun “baking” but not “broiling” me for a change. That is an unusual shade that the Sassafras leaves are sporting. I had not heard of a Chalk Maple and looked to see if we had them here in Michigan, but we do not. The flowers are colorful as are Mr. Cardinal and his Missus with her bright-colored beak. I’m sure they are glad to be fully-feathered and done molting. Those are very nice, up-close shots of them. I hope you get a chance to get some Cardinal and Junco photos at home as well. Our Juncos have not arrived yet. The squirrels have a ratio of eat one nut, bury the other one(s) these days.
The Herb House looks interesting – I saw an angel right away, but on second glance, a dragonfly, so I’m torn. 🙂 Were these lavender bundles drying out? The tabasco peppers strung up high are interesting. I have plastic, but realistic-looking chili peppers hanging on the kitchen wall – years ago my mom bought one rope each of chili peppers, squash and onions to give some color to the kitchen. We used to buy an ornamental pepper plant every Fall around this time to add color to the window ledge. I like L.M. Montgomery’s quote as I enjoyed the “Anne of Green Gable” books growing up.
Thank you, Linda! I think as winter comes along we might make afternoon walks a more regular thing. Especially in winter, the light is a little better then for pictures, too. The chalk maple range is very small, from North Carolina south to northwest Florida and west to eastern Texas. It’s so pretty. I never get tired of seeing cardinals, both here at home and when we’re out and about. No wonder it’s the state bird. The squirrels are proving difficult to get pictures of this fall.
What made me think dragonfly was what looks like antennae sticking out on top of the head portion. 🙂 That sure looks like lavender to me and they do have it growing in the herb garden. They grow the tabasco peppers there, too. Hmm… I like the idea of buying an ornamental pepper plant for fall decor. I’ll have to see if I can find one. 🙂
That sounds like a plan Barbara and I might make it my plan as well for Winter. Before, I often would forego a walk on weekdays because I did not have time to walk slowly due to ice or snow and make it to the Park and back before starting work. So now, since I’m retired, I can get a walk done in the afternoon.
Yes, the antennae … that makes sense. I thought maybe it was a small lavender bundle. The ornamental pepper plants are compact and colorful, especially if you have a sunny windowsill for them to sit on.
It is a wonderful time of the year! Lovely autumn captures, Barbara!
Thank you, Donna!!