Abstracts in frost

Wordless, abstract Sunday...

Puffballs, part II

Continuing with my puffball adventures, we move from the behemoth to the dwarf. These next mushrooms that I'm about to share are VERY small compared to the large puffballs from my last post. I would gauge these little guys to be around 1/50th the size of that huge puffball that was at least as big as my shoe.

At first glance, you might mistake them for a bunch of nuts on the forest floor. Perhaps we have stumbled upon a squirrel's not-so-secret stash of acorns?

Upon closer inspection it becomes apparent, though, that they are stacked a little TOO neatly to be nuts. Indeed these are mushrooms, and as far as I can tell, they fall into the puffball category.

While most were found existing only in large clusters, a few were visible singly or in pairs. I should have put something next to these to give you an idea of their size, but I would describe them as being as large as a cherry tomato. While I cannot claim with much certainty their identity, I am inclined to say these are probably the pear-shaped puffball, Lycoperdon pyriforme, a species that is known for growing in clusters.



Mushrooms may be one of the easiest subjects to photograph in nature. They are photogenic, they don't fly or walk away from you, and rarely do they blow in the wind. A nice stationary subject, not something you come across very often in nature photography!


I hope you've enjoyed this look into the world of puffballs. I will admit that I know very little about mushrooms and fungi, but the more I photograph them, the more my interest becomes piqued. One more item to add to my list of things to learn about!

Late summer

Days are getting shorter. Nights are getting cooler. Fall, as they say, is in the air. It's the season of early-morning dew and fog, reminding us just how beautiful dawn really is. There's an aural shift from the dawn chorus of the birds to the evening chorus of singing insects. And there's a last hurrah of large, showy wildflowers, many exploding with huge pom-pom like heads to feed the butterflies and bees and myriad of other insects who are racing the clock to reproduce before the first frost hits.

What follows is a photo essay paying tribute to flowers photographed in the month of August. All hail late summer.

Still life

I really think this wraps it up in terms of posts about my trip to West Virginia (I can't believe it's only been a month since we returned home - it seems like it was an eternity ago, somehow!). There are still some images I'd like to share though. I'll let them tell you the story of how lush and beautiful the hills of West Virginia are, and how magical they can be after it has just rained and everything is still dripping wet and bursting with life. Enjoy.

Fern getting ready to unfurl


Leaf of a Wild Ginger plant - perfect symmetry


The saddest-looking Squirrel Corn flower I've ever seen


That's a long way down for a snail...


Wild Geranium flower, in repose


An example of the diverse flora on one tiny swath of hillside


I kept my distance from here, thank you very much. A large arachnid lives within.


Fern Study, I


Fern Study, II


Almost in bloom...


... and in full flower
These images remind me of the cool, damp spring morning that it was when I took them, something that sounds positively delightful now that the weather is starting to heat up.

Waiting and resting

I haven't yet lamented about this winter season, which is really saying something for me. And I'm not going to start now. But that doesn't mean that I'm not thinking about spring, as I most certainly am. I am waiting.

There's a certain stillness about winter that starts to creep in right around February, a quite time that is necessary before the buzz of March and April. A proverbial calm before the storm - but a good storm, full of greenery and flowers and bird song and hope. Yes, we still need to rest some more before making that push toward vernal bliss. In that resting, I contemplate, looking at the bleak landscape, seeing it for textures, knowing it will become fertile soon enough.


For now, the landscape must rest, laying in the peaceful repose of dormancy. She is waiting, too.

strange obsession

One aspect of the guestudio that I fretted over for a long time was the flooring. I knew I wanted a hardwood floor, and that I wanted it to be light in color, and it had to be rustic-looking. After much searching and consideration, I finally decided on some lovely handscraped flooring from Lumber Liquidators. It is birch ("Matterhorn Birch" by Virginia Millworks, to be exact), and it is exactly what I was looking for. I'm a bit obsessed with it, actually. I love it. The natural variation, the character, the charm - I find it... inspiring.



If you would like to see a timeline-style view of the guestudio construction, head on over to my Flicker page here. We're getting there!

Struggling to get in a groove

Since our return from the Red River Gorge last weekend, I find that I'm having a hard time getting back into a groove. It's been difficult to stay focused at work, and blogging hasn't been so appealing, either. I guess I got too used to not being in front of a computer screen for the days that we were gone, and that was a really nice change of pace that I'm not quite ready to part with.

Plus, I've been distracted by baking projects that I have floating around in my head. We have a potluck breakfast at my office every year for Halloween, and this evening I baked a cake for that. My birthday is coming up next week, and I'm going to make myself an awesome vanilla and lime flan that I saw on an episode of Planet Food a few weeks ago. Then there's the holidays.... I automatically go into high gear this time of year when it comes to baking.


Halloween cake, ready for the oven.


Showing off my new Kitchen Aid Artisan-series stand mixer. I love this thing. I've had it for about a month, and I've already used it a LOT.


I got this mixer for such a good price, and there was a rebate on top of that... it was a deal too good to pass up!

Just to prove I'm not totally obsessed with baking right now, here are a few photos of the great outdoors taken recently.


Beech trees on our property


Cool mushroom in the yard


Milkweed seeds bursting from their pod

Stay tuned for more baking obsessions...

Beautiful Butterfly Weed

I love summer for many reasons, but one of those reasons is for the Butterfly Weed. I love seeing it along the roadside while driving around, but from far away like that it's hard to appreciate the true, delicate beauty of this flower. I wish I were a butterfly or bee so I could appreciate it's nectar - it must taste as sweet as it looks!


Baby Butterfly Weed




Getting bigger and bigger... looks like candy to me.


And - POP! Full blown flowers. C'mon butterflies, come and get it!






Viewing the orange against a blue sky...