"Autumn is a second spring
When every leaf is a flower."
--Albert Camus
I took my camera on a mid-November walk through a state park. Many summer plants, once vibrant and robust, are now dried and spent. It was a sunny day with a few fall colors but brown seemed to dominate the landscape. Even birds foraging in the fields were all brown -- sparrows and wrens. Even in autumn's winding down phase, many plants provided structural interest.
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| Purple poke berries, Phytolacca americana, have succumbed to fall. |
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| Pods of the honeyvine milkweed, Ampelamus albidus, have opened to disperse seeds. |
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| Native coralberries, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, are a favorite of robins and quail. They are sometimes called Indian currants. |
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| Fields filled with clumps of little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, provide cover for ground nesting birds such as quail. |
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| Leaves of the invasice Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicere japonica, are tinged with fall color and berries have ripened.. |
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| Seeds of tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima. This is one of our worst invasive species and is a threat to natural ecosystems. Dense stands grow rapidly, replacing native trees. |
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| Some sweet gum trees, Liquidambar styraciflua. still held their fall color. |
