Although we have had a killing frost, and most of the leaves have fallen, there are still some trees and shrubs that are alive with vibrant color. I’ve taken the following photos over the course of the past few days:
Japanese Maple
Parrotia Tree
Red Maple
These fluffy white clouds looked like a painting…so beautiful…
Brilliant Blue Sky and Fluffy Clouds
Winged Euonymus
Raking an area out by the barn, I uncovered the following little plant. It’s a chimaphila, also known as wintergreen or pipsissewa.
Chimaphila
Two fallen logs, only a couple of feet from each other…. one covered with moss
Moss Covered Log
dddd
Fungi Covered Log
…and the other covered with mushrooms. And, speaking of mushrooms, I saw a dark furry creature running through the woods across the street one late afternoon. I heard the rustle of leaves and I thought someone was walking out there. But it wasn’t a two legged individual, it was on four legs, was almost black in color and had a long bushy tail. This was much larger than a squirrel.
Fisher
A neighbor had told me she saw a fisher (sometimes called fisher cat) across the street in the woods from her, running head first down the trunk of a tree. They have migrated south from Canada it seems. Fishers have very sharp teeth and long claws. In additional to a diet of small animals, they also like berries, nuts and mushrooms. I’ll have to watch that log out there and see if anyone is eating my mushrooms!
queenofsienna's kitchen journal 