Fall Colors: Blue

Here it is-- the last day of fall. Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. A few freezing nights have toasted just about all the fall blooms, except for a few that were protected close to the ground or close to the house. The prevailing landscape colors are muted earth tones, and they are lovely. But every so often, I glimpse a flash of blue as a bluebird or bluejay zips past, or catch the brilliant blue sky from between the branches of the leafless trees and it jolts me awake from my cold weather nap. Blue is my favorite color and has been since I was little. My first memory of loving the color comes after I visited Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake. Somehow I got it into my head that stars were blue. Maybe they appeared that way on the dome of the planetarium, or maybe we looked at a mineral that had some blue in it, but Cobalt blue seemed magical ever after, and is the one that really makes my heart sing, though most blues will do it for me. Lapis lazuli. Sigh. Blue makes me smile, quickens my pulse, brightens my eyes. It pops. Blue symbolizes hope and promise, loyalty and calm. Blue skies peeking through the clouds let us know there is hope and a future after the storm. It also symbolizes sadness to some, though not to me. "The Bluebird of Happiness" "Blue Skies, smiling at me, nothing but blue skies, do I see". After the year we've just been through, I definitely need more blue in my world. 

Carolina Chickadee feasts on the blue fruits of invasive privet

Blue tail of an immature 5 Lined Skink on a warmer day

Waning Moon in a bright blue sky

Tiny Bluejay feather

Great Blue Heron shows tinges of blue on the edges of its wings

Belted Kingfisher, blue with cold! (It was 28 degrees that morning)

Clear Blue Skies and Bare Trees

A hungry bee feeding from the last of the Blue Salvia

Bluebird of Happiness (Eastern Bluebird)

Brighter Days ahead

Fall Colors: Purple

Purple is a restful color. Not fiery red, not cool blue--but a pleasant and tranquil mix. We need more purple in our lives. Just a month ago, the color purple was everywhere. Purple asters sprinkled among the goldenrod that carpeted the roadsides, and clusters of purple berries and grapes hung ready to be gobbled by hungry birds and deer. But in December, the flowers are mostly spent and the beautyberry fruit, and poke and virginia creeper berries are mostly gone, save for a few that escaped the cold and the herbivory. Their days are numbered. Too late for Red-spotted Purple butterflies, and too early for violets. But walking around the woods and in my yard, I still was able to find a few bright purples flashes holding out before winter turns the landscape all brown and tan and white. 

In the fall, Sweetgum leaves come in all the colors. This one is purple, but I've found
yellow, orange, red and brown too.

Moss Phlox blossoms in the Playscape at the Nature Center

A clump of Beautyberries that made it through the first frost

A few Georgia Aster blooms are hanging on in our sheltered pond garden

The flowers of Muhly grass are like soft purple clouds in the front yard

The underside of a Crane-fly Orchid leaf (Tipularia discolor) is bright purple surprise

Spores from big white Puff Ball fungi leave purple/brown discs on the grass

 These Purple Cort (Cortinarius) mushrooms were so lovely that I had to include them, even though
I saw these  a few years back on a hike with the Ramblers

Purple Finches came with the migrant warblers and a few have stayed around,
now hanging with the Robins and Cedar Waxwings

Violet Toothed Polypores, I believe. I don't know my fungi. My only clue is the purple edge. 

Fall Colors: Red

 I have been hoping that things will start to feel like normal one of these days soon. But I'm not so sure anymore. So I walk the woods and watch the colors and try to clear my mind. The world feels red hot and chaotic, but in the woods red is a calming, soothing color. Red leaves glow from across the lake, making warm reflections in the water. Red berries from Dogwood trees shine from branch tips, tasty meals for birds or squirrels. A handful of red Salvia blossoms linger after the first frost. Red mushrooms pop up after rain, only to be munched by the snails and slugs. Red Cardinals splash in the birdbath. Red Georgia clay, preferred building material for ants, is all over my hiking shoes and the floor of my house after the rains. The hot pink belly of an exotic Jōro spider hanging in her golden web with her mate, made it through the first hard frost. They won't survive the cold of winter, but their eggs will. Cedar Waxwings who arrive in huge flocks each fall, eat their weight in berries throughout the winter, their red wax tipped wings and yellow tails bright in the trees against a crisp blue sky. Fuchsia Maple leaves, changing from green to pink flash out along the trail like a beacon. Robin Redbreast is here for the winter and he brought a few hundred of his friends. A Red-tailed Hawk pair hunts from the top of a tower. Red leaves of Virginia Creeper climb a tree at the Nature Center. The brightness of red grabs my eye as I walk, pulling me into focus with nature and away from the worries of the world. Stay safe. Wear your masks. Be kind. 

Oakleaf Hydrangea leaf turning

Red Oak Leaves

Red, Red, Red leaves

Red Sweetgum Leaf

Brilliant Dogwood Berry

Scarlet Salvia flowers just before the frost

Red Mushroom munched by snails

Red Male Cardinal in the bath

Pink belly of a female Jōro spider and her mate who made it through the first freeze

Ant chambers in the Red Georgia Clay

Waxy red tips of Cedar Waxwing

Hot pink Maple

Robin Redbreast

Red Tail of the Red-tailed Hawk

Virginia Creeper climbing a tree

Fall Colors: Orange

Late October. The air is cooler. Colors are more muted. A leaf that last week was bright yellow has now turned dark with splotches of orange and brown. Dogwood trees glow like fire as their leaves morph: green to orange to pink. The sunlight is softening. There's a smell of rich decay in the air. Leaves fall and crunch as you walk. Migrant warblers stop for a rest on their way south. Year round resident birds fatten up on seed and bugs and berries. Butterflies and bees seem more intent as they search for the last blooms of the season. Damp woods and dead branches invite fungal spores and detritivores. I turn to the fall colors to reassure me that no matter what else is happening around me, the seasons turn and nature abides. 

Orange is the color of leaves turning, berries ripening.

Tulip Poplar leaf turning from yellow to gold

The orange of Sassafras

Pyracantha Berries are tasty treats for the birds

Orange veins in leathery leaves

Dogwood leaves glowing like fire

Orange is the colors of fungi, bright on the forest floor.

Earth tone rainbow of a Turkey Tail fungus

Mushroom cluster

Frilly orange fungus and green lichen

Coral fungus feeds a Carolina Mantleslug

Orange is late fall flowers and the butterflies hungrily feeding and searching for host plants where they can lay their eggs.

Jewelweed 

Buckeye feeding on Blue Mist Flower

Orange is the rusty sides of bluebirds and warblers who come to our yard for sustenance and respite.

Eastern Bluebird

Bay-breasted Warbler