Bona Dea Update-04-29-12

Today was a nice day to be out and about. I have seen this tree in the park off of Old Shorty Trail for a long time but never knew what it was until this year's bloom. I really think the tulip like blooms are beautiful and I have never looked at them up close before. These blooms were off the groud quite a ways and I had to throw a rope up and over a limb and pull it down in order to bread off a short twig with leaves and flowers. This is a Yellow-poplar-or Tuliptree-Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera L. This tree is not native of this area however. In this section of the park which is the parking area and picnic area, the acreage was planted with different wildflowers and trees by the government when the park was developed. These are photos of its bark,look at the woodpecker holes and leaf closup and profile of the whole tree and then 2 photos showing a darker and a lighter exposure of the bloom. Which exposure do you think is best?? Leave answer in comment section. Thanks!! Also at the local Western Sizzlin Restaurant there is this really nice Red Mulberry Tree-Morus rubra. You can eat these berries and they are sorta like wild blackberries. Photos showing the whole tree and limbs and leaves and the berries beside a nickel.

Bona Dea Overdue Update-04-27-12

It has been so long since I have posted, I have about forgotten how to do this. Been lazy for a long time. It is starting to get very warm here. We had a very mild winter and now summer is coming early. The insect pests of all kinds are out in force. I did hear of someone seeing the resident Alligator, but I have not tried to see it but only once. No Luck!! Up until just the last few days they have not mowed the park. Which is good for me because I can see some wildflowers. This happened a couple of years ago when I took many photos of plants at the park. But I noticed one that I had never seen before. And they were at the Old Shorty Trail right next to the main parking area. After I dusted off the cobwebs and tried to relearn how to operate the camera, I took some photos and good thing because the very next day, guess what?? Yep!!They mowed them down. They were Foxglove Beardtongue-Penstemon digitalis. These photos shows the bloom closeup and a closeup of the leaves showing the small sawtooth edges and one of the entire plant. I kept putting my big foot in the photo and had to crop some. I seem to do that all the time. And I have small feet. The main change to the park in the year are the number of people coming there. Most are there for the exercise. Unfortunately not for the nature aspect. I pods and cell phones dominate their activities. Wonder why they have to use those out there. What is home for??? Until sometime next time--ADIOS!!