A November Walk

                                         "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. 



Purple poke berries, Phytolacca americana, have succumbed to fall.

Pods of the honeyvine milkweed, Ampelamus albidus, have opened to disperse seeds.
 

Native coralberries, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, are a favorite of
robins and quail. They are sometimes called Indian currants.



Fields filled with clumps of little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, provide cover
for ground nesting birds such as quail.

Leaves of the invasice Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicere japonica, are tinged with
 fall color and berries have ripened..
 

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.