Sunday, November 1, 2009

Cranefly Orchid, Spotted Wintergreen, and more


Today was cloudy and damp, misty at times, windy, and chilly! When we headed out I was so surprised! I went back inside and checked the radar to see if the fine rain was going to turn into something worse. My peek at the radar/sat page made it look like it should be sunny here, and as I walked, I could indeed see blue skies and sun way out on the western horizon. The sun never made it to Middlewood, though, and the misty fog is still here as I type (4:30ish).

The dogs and I wandered down the pipeline. About halfway to Meetinghouse Creek we took a sharp right and climbed a bit of steep north-facing hill. I placed my sit-upon under a canopy of thinning bright red and deep yellow leaves that shivered in the wind. There were green plants all around me and I realized they were all small evergreens: slender Carolina Jessamine, Woodland Sedge, Spotted Wintergreen, American Holly, Moss, and the lovely purple-backed leaf of the Cranefly Orchid. My pen scritch-scratched as I drew, crows cawed loudly as they flapped overhead, the dogs panted as a result of an earlier deer-harassment run. The leaves clicked as they landed in the woods.

My fleece jacket and the scarf around my neck helped me stay warm on the hill for an hour or so. As soon as the chill set in, I packed up and headed back. Radu and Daisy ran ahead and led me through the colorful woods to home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great time. I love your artwork. I can't draw a decent stick figure! :-(

The Spirit Factor said...

This was a lovely blog posst