Monday, November 9, 2009

Still Magical


The autumn light is still working its magic, transforming even plants that in summer I long to obliterate and don't because I can't get everywhere with the trimmer. The pokeberries positively gleam and dog fennel becomes a thing of beauty.




This is a dog fennel that sprouted in the lumber pile beside the horse's night paddock, along with an elderberry. At their feet is a bunch of meadow beauty (not pictured here), now covered with urnshaped seed pods.


Dog fennel lines the edge of the woods near the paddock.


We have had a much drier fall than many places in the country, and the autumn sun has been a delight. I think the light is most beautiful in our location between 2:30 and 4 in the afternoon. After that the sun dips behind trees to the south, and I wish for about 4 more hours of good light.


28 comments:

  1. I love the pic of those berries! I wish we had more sunlight too. Seems the sun starts setting around 3:30 now in southeast Massachusetts - with total darkness by 4:45. We are so far east that the days are a bit shorter -- way too short if you ask me. -Jackie

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  2. Hi SB~~ I really like the dog fennel. And those berries look delicious!! I too love the leaning sunlight and shadows this time of year.

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  3. Very unfamiliar plants to my desert eyes, but beautiful. I love the color of the berries.

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  4. I like your pokeberry. One pokeberry grew in my garden a few years ago. I was fascinated by the fruit. It was almost a tree by the time I took it out. This year another plant grew and I let it stay until the berries ripened then out it came. I'm glad someone else thinks this is a plant worthy of a photograph. I don't think I know the dog fennel but it certainly has an attractive appearance in the fall.

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  5. Pokeberry is a beautiful berry until the birds deposit it on your car! Great pictures!
    Dog fennel is a plant that I am becoming more and more aware of this year.

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  6. These are so lovely in the autumn light. I've been admiring several plants on our farm that others might call weeds; it's hard to keep everything trimmed, too, so I might as well enjoy them! Evening comes so quickly now, doesn't it?

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  7. I think I may have some of this here. I am so bad about identifying plants. I know the pokeberry and know I have that one (though I fight the battle) it is the dog fennel I am not sure about. It does have a bit of beauty this time of year.

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  8. The dog fennel is certainly interesting. Don't remember seeing any in my area. It is very pretty in your photos.

    The poke weed is a favorite of the birds and they spread it everywhere. I agree, the berries are attractive.
    Marnie

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  9. Those berries are luscious looking. The photos are amazing.

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  10. Hmmm, the dog fennel looks like a plant that I see growing all over south Alabama and Florida. I've always wondered what it was. Does it have bright white flowers?

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  11. I love the feathery look of the dog fennel, a new plant to me. Very nice photos!

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  12. Very interesting and beautiful plants. I love the slivers of sun and shadow on the plants, slashed through the trees. I understand that it is enchanting just looking and admiring the change of the light on the plants. Sometimes I wish I could hold on to certain times of the day, when the light is golden and the shadows longer.

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  13. I know exactly what you mean about that "internal clock" thing going on. IT takes my brain a while to adjust.
    You know what? I am glad your trimmer couldn't reach those "weeds" they looked nice with their fall colors on.
    Berries, edible or not?
    Rosey

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  14. What pretty lighting you have on the fennel, it's so airy looking. We've had just clouds and rain, not much good lighting lately.

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  15. Such a lovely autumnlight. Even more now since the Darkness seems to have won over the Sun up in ower northern parts of the world. Those berries,not to be eaten, are they ?

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  16. The day seems to be rushing to an end~~the good news is that it is bringing nice sunsets again. Sweetbay, the dog fennel looks very interesting...does it have an odd fragrance? I know exactly what those urn shaped Rhexia seed pods look like~~I love them. gail

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  17. Yes - 2:30-5 is the time to take pictures here too - everything is golden! Then dark by 5. But the long cozy evenings are pleasant too - especially by the fireplace.

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  18. Thank you for your comments everyone!

    Phillip, yes, Dog Fennel has white flowers.

    Rosey and Mia, no, the berries are toxic to mammals but birds can eat them. This Wiki article is pretty interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed

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  19. Yes, and each photo has a beauty of its own. Awesome!

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  20. My internal clock needs resetting too. I feel like it's bedtime at 8:00 PM which is not like me at all. It's been harder than normal to adjust to the darkness this year. I'm not sure why???
    Those pokeberry photos are gorgeous. Too bad they are toxic ~ they look so plump and delicious. Your gorgeous late day photos inspire me to go out and look for something (anything) to photograph. I keep thinking it's all over here but I'm sure I'm overlooking a million things!

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  21. I love the contrast of the dark, shiny berries and the red stems!

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  22. Thanks so much for showing the dog fennel, Sweet Bay! I think I have a very small one that just popped up this year in the gravel path. It looks just like the bloom and ferny foliage, it is just a baby though. I love it, and do allow some pokeberries to live along the perimeter of the property too. The birds just love those berries. :-)
    Frances

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  23. I miss the longer days, too. Beautiful berries. They look luscious. And I like the dog fennel's lacy look in the sun.

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  24. Hi Sweet bay... As so often, you offer captivating landscapes ... beautiful light filled sprays... I love pokeberry too and so do some of the resident birds here. Your beautiful berries will not last much longer I would guess. Enjoy your lovely fall days. I look forward to returning home to find your small package. Thank you! Carol

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  25. Beautiful fruit on the pokeberry.

    I've never heard of dog fennel before. It looks really ferny, bet there's great movement in a breeze.

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  26. You read my mind and posted the magical dog fennel! I've wanted to get some pictures all of this fall and just haven't taken the time. It's one of my favorite things about fall~ swaying in the breeze.

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