flowers
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Great Swamp
And so much lichen! The whitish looking parts of these trees are actually lichen in the bright sun. Lichen needs fairly clean air to grow, which is why it is generally — but not completely — absent from NYC.
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Master Aster
The wind was making it impossible to focus this perfectly. So it’s a little more abstract, but just as lovely. One of the numerous Asters that make the autumn so exciting to human and pollinator.Another, held firm.These last two pictures may be Smooth Aster. A complicated family.
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Blooms and Pods
Smooth Aster Goldenrod. Honeylocust.
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In Da Bronx
Franklinia in bloom. What a scrumptious flower! And the bees agree. (All of today’s trees are descendants from seeds collected by William Bartram in the 1760s. The plant is unknown in the wild.) On the mammal front, Cottontail and Chipmunk and Gray Squirrel.In addition to the frog, a Garter Snake crossed our path, and a…
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Tadpoles
One of the unexpected sights during our walk along the Northumberland Coast Path was this (tidal?) pool full of what we thought were Common Toad (Bufo bufo) tadpoles. Surprising because this was brackish water at best, if not fully the brine of the nearby North Sea. It seems, though, that they can tolerate a certain…
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A Great Wall
Sunset Park is buttressed by a rough stone retaining wall that has become the home of numerous lifeforms. Above is the southwest-facing flank. Here’s the northeast wall, along 41st St. That’s where all the following were found:The presence of lichen, which doesn’t tolerate pollution, means the air here is relatively good. Indeed, elevated near the…
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Some Recent Sightings
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica): this is a Brooklyn bird, but this is a cosmopolitan species; Eurasian specimens, which I saw most days recently in the UK, have generally longer tails and brighter colors.The clean work of a leaf-cutter bee on Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), one of their favorite plants. If you’re a gardener, you should…
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Milkweeds
While I was away, the milkweeds of Brooklyn all came out. Some of them in Brooklyn Bridge Park are nearly as tall as I am. But here is my favorite, Butterfly Weed, which usually stays pretty close to the ground: Asclepias tuberosa.
Backyard and Beyond 