Musings

Ahead of full color

Maple leaf hosting

The maple leaves are a-changing. And this one is hosting some insect(?)-zits.

Moon under tree

The moon is big and bright, staying visible well into the morning.

Turkeytail fungi

Meanwhile, on a burned stump, the turkey tail shelf fungi is at its peak.

IDing by myself

Beach snapdragon

Down at the beach, the snapdragons are holding their own as summer wanes. I assume that these are long-ago escapees from my great-grandmother’s garden, but maybe not. They do not tell.

Salted mushroom

I think of the mushrooms that look salted like pretzels as Amanitas, and maybe this is the infamous poisonous Amanita muscaria. I did not pick it and I will not eat it.

That’s it for today’s botanical tour.

Harvest season notes

Plum tomatoes on vine

The tomato plants we put in during our last visit are productive! The Guru picked a plum variety, and these gems went in our evening’s tomato sauce. Yum!

Good thing we put the plants in the hardware mesh “squirrel cage” we brought up that I had made several years back. Seems the deer are happy to eat tomato shoots (and probably fruits), as evidenced by the nibbled parts that protruded outside the metal mesh. Who knew? Not me.

Mushroom trio

Also, this is mushroom season. We spotted tiny puffballs in the grass; I’ve seen them as large as volleyballs…but they have to escape feet and mowers first.

Grounded dock section

While this afternoon was sunny and pleasant, a wind kicked up in the afternoon. We found one dock section, both deck and support, bobbing on the beach. They were pretty waterlogged, so have been there for a while. I don’t know if we’d have realized they were gone if they weren’t adjacent to the dock as the water seems high and the deck seems complete without them.

Anyway, they are now rescued and standing on land drying out.

Cephalotaxus?

Cephalotaxus I think new growth

This is in my front yard and I don’t know what it is. I love the light green of the new growth…

Cephalotaxus I think fruit

…and the strange not-olive fruits.

I’m just sayin’

Fall fade begins

Mid-summer plants are fading. Sigh.

BTW, I am not commenting on today being the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of “Star Trek.”

In the heat of August

Utility shot

Here’s today’s utility shot. (😎Apologies; I couldn’t help myself.)

Pampas grass heads

Then, is this a utility plant photo? Doesn’t seem like it to me; I do like the feathery pampas grass-heads….

Clocking time

Strong pink crepe myrtle blossoms

Another thunderstorm is rumbling above, although no rain yet in this spot. Oooops; lightning flash!

So, not only do we have weather, I can report that the crepe myrtles are amidst their blooming phase. Here’s a glorious pink specimen.

Post-Ides of Aug

GooFiber

Word is GoogleeFiber will be turned on soon—sometime in the next two years, maybe? In the meantime, crews are busy threading fiber beneath intersections, and periodically stopping traffic in the meantime.

White ginger blossom

The orange ginger blossoms have been joined by white…and the scent is lovely, right up there with gardenias.

Arty MaNachur

Leaf symmetry and not

Plants are sculpture.

Eeeeeee sounds

Monkey grass flowers

I think this vegetation is called monkey grass (on the street, as it were). As in monkeeeeeee.

Putti plaque

And here’s a plaque of putti. Plural of putto, from the Latin/Italian, and pronounced putteeeeeee.