Silver Maple As Storm Survivor

Welcome, Christmas

By accident, I caught my own reflection in the clear, oval glass of this wooden front door. It's the front entrance of an old home, over 100 years old, now known as Avalon Hall, on the campus of Lipscomb University. Originally, it was the residence of the school's founder. A nearby plaque dedicates the restored building to his wife.

Walking the Dogs

Edwin Warner Park has many delights for beagles and their owners.

Peak of the Season

The past few days have seen the trees around here become increasingly brilliant with their fall colors. Overcast skies complement the fallen leaves of this maple tree in my sister's front yard:





Below is a photo of the same dogwood as that in the lower lefthand corner of the photo of the maple tree. I took these pictures yesterday morning, when the fog was so dense that it bordered on being a misting rain. The air was cool, and a light breeze from the south made it very pleasant for walking.

Pride, another neighbor's pet

He was moving in and nuzzling me as I came through the front door of a neighbor's house. Couldn't manage to capture his full face.




Finally, we made it into the living room, where he settled peacefully near the fireplace.




He's not allowed on the rug -- concern about shedding hairs or about muddy feet?

Chubbs

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Chubbs was chasing a tennis ball that his owner had launched by hitting it with a golf club. He's a young dog, a cross between a German pointer and a golden retriever, and he's very focused on acquiring the ball -- sometimes in midair -- and bringing it back. If it lands and he has to search for it, he will freeze stock-still in pointing stance until told to get it. I enjoyed watching him very much. He's also quite friendly and affectionate -- a wonderful pet.

My neighbor snapped the photo below of me with Chubbs, who is eager to get back to the tennis ball game:

Flowering Shrubs in September

Crepe Myrtle



Unknown Shrub

Canoes in August

For the Birds

A few crabapples ripen on a dying branch of an ornamental crabapple tree.

Weather Tune

I wrote this to entertain myself earlier today, because I seem to be the only one not bored with contemplating the weather.

Silver Maple Vine Support

July Daisies

July Dawn with White Pines

Storebought

Here's a word left over from my childhood: "storebought," which we used to mean the opposite of "homemade." We might say for example, "That storebought bread will be better to make the sandwiches with, instead of the sourdough Mother just took out of the oven."

In this case we would mean the machine-sliced commercial loaf from the grocery.

But the word could be used for any commercial product chosen instead of one made by hand. As in, "She wore her storebought dress to the party because she hadn't finished hemming the dress-up skirt that she'd made from the pattern her grandmother had sent."

(These two examples of the use of this adjective are also for Wordnik .)

Mary the Trillenator

In some circles I'm known as the trillenator -- it's a word coined by a friend for me to use in an e-mail address. I like to think of myself as Mary the Trillenator, exploring the universe (at least in my imagination) and confounding the assumptions of all stick-in-the muds.

I've just offered "trillenator" as a word at the new website Wordnik .

And this post is to help clarify the meaning of my submitted word to anyone interested.

Lichens on Dogwood

June Tangle

Damara Zebras

At the Nashville Zoo

Two Storks at the Nashville Zoo

Surprised with a Late Birthday Cake

Roadside Eyes

Mother's Day Peony in Bloom

April Sky

Yellow Iris

April Honeysuckle

Wearing white ...

... for Eastertide.

Sunlit

Guardian Tulips

Stamens Survive the Storm

Heavy rain and high winds on Saturday, March 28, 2009, left the driveway covered with pink crabapple petals. But the bare stamens and many of the blooms weathered the storm, and the old tree continues its springtime reproductive tasks, while, sheltering near its trunk, this year's tulip crop opens to the morning sun.

V for Victory?

After the Rain

Fourth Daily Crabapple Report

Third Daily Crabapple Report

Second Daily Crabapple Report

Daily Crabapple Report

Slowly but surely

At last, the warm sun has started to bring these rosy buds further into the light. And what does the upcoming day have in store for them? Watch this space.

The Ides of March Are Just Around the Corner

As if multiple utility lines aren't enough to contend with, the crabapple and the white pines on the street corner have to battle wind and freezing rain.

Update on how the crab buds fare, in this space later.

A Winter's Tour of Percy Warner Park

View of Nashville from an Overlook




Layered Stone Outcropping, With Leafless Trees and Scattered Boulders




Stairway Below a Wet-Weather Spring



Some tiny woodland birds that I couldn't identify had been drinking from this trickling water a split second before I snapped this shot from our rolled-down car window.