Herman Melville's Ishmael may have complained about the "damp, drizzly November of [his] soul," but the dark, dampish first of this November did not provoke the dismal thoughts that lead one to join a ship's crew. Instead, it led us to search for the remnants of autumn in our favorite Toledo parks, which did not disappoint.
Despite the overcast sky, fiftyish temperature, and lousy light, the prairie trail was as lush and gorgeous as ever,
and to one side was a bright yellow something--maybe a shrub dogwood--
stolonifera, perhaps?
The exciting, unusual visitors to the Window on Wildlife have all gone south, but the usual inhabitants were keeping the place lively. Besides, who doesn't like nuthatches?
The Botanical Gardens still have roses
, not at their peak, but--
roses, in November, in Toledo!
The grass garden was looking good, and probably will for months,
and the plants in the walled cottage garden were putting on quite a show. The yellow is dying daylily foliage.
And of course, deciduous woods are probably the best thing about fall in the northern United States.
Ishmael needed to get out more. November is fine.
3 comments:
"...and to one side was a bright yellow something--maybe a shrub dogwood--stolonifera, perhaps?"
From the picture, it looks like the dried stalk of asparagus. Look for it in the spring...yum. :)
David, I would be very surprised if asparagus had escaped to this particular location--but the prairie was part of an auto mogul's country estate back in the Thirties, so who knows? If a horse pooped out an asparagus seed, how long could the seed remain viable?
I'm guessing that asparagus in the wild comes up from someone's old garden that got overgrown...or that the birds may disperse the seeds. I'm not sure.
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