Musings

Contemplative garden moment

I do like outdoors falling water, both the visual and audio experiences…here amplified by sweet-smelling blooms.

Location location…

Love the elegant long filaments and the warm red-orange shades of these flame azaleas…rather similar in morphology (not color) to the showy native azaleas we have in the woods in the mountains north of us. I’m not in the woods, so I’m enjoying the nursery specimens here and there I see in my neighborhood walks.

Ecosystem cycling

The rain cleansed…I’m guessing the pollen count will be back up by sunset tomorrow, however.

Flaxen powder

I took a morning walk to beat the rain than came in at noon, then spritzed intermittently since. I assume this pollen “paint” is now in the gutter.

Getting wise

Penultimate 2023–2024 winter sunset…sometimes it’s worth it to look backwards.

Ephemera

Petal drift

Springtime brings petal drifts. That they are short-lived is part of their attraction.

Not flying; flying

Two nature stories today. One: owl above. Just watching.

Also, I gently transported four ladybugs from our bathroom to the outdoors. I was surprised that they each flew off in the same direction, although they were released separately. It wasn’t toward the sun. Was there enough of a breeze that they felt and I didn’t?

Trust issues

I know we’re in the second half of February, yet the daily high temps lately have been higher than average. I heard that the sun would be present in the morning, then cloud-cover would rule, so I walked early to make more Vitamin D. Then, it clouded over, but only for a short while, and most of the afternoon was sunny. Lesson: don’t believe every detail of the weather predictions.

Forest bath without tub

I strolled around the easternmost of Atlanta’s string of Olmstead linear parks. Its along a tributary of Lullwater Creek—I couldn’t find its name, but the park is Deepdene. The trails have a half-dozen stepping-stone crossings like this. Some of the stones are askew and haven’t been realigned in years.

Here’s a spot where I found a nice, clear pool framed by ferns. Lovely, despite the traffic noise.

Light sight

Urn applique

I’ve been wearing a ballcap when walking lately, but the light seemed bright this afternoon, so I switched back to the shadier 360° broad-brimmed hat.

Here’s the sun showing off making the arty planter appliqué even more dramatic. Also, I can tell the daylength is increasing.