Photo-a-Day Week 38

As fall comes, there is a big change in my garden. Orb Weaver spiders and fall colors on the deciduous trees and shrubs. 

Day 258-

Large spider webs in the garden appear in the fall. The Orb Weavers put their webs up at night and generally take them down in the morning. That's a lot of work each and every night! This one was quite large, the circle was probably about two feet across. It was also across the middle of the yard, so the spider had to secure its web from the Magnolia tree to the right and the house on the left. 

Spider Season

The color version of this photo wasn't as impressive as the black and white one.

Day 259-

I have multiple Oakleaf hydrangeas in the yard. Three of them are in the front yard, they are Hydrangea quercifolia 'Ruby Slippers'. They really live up to their name in the fall. Their fall color is so vibrant, it really pops in the garden. The dog hair is an added bonus! 

Ruby Slippers with Dog hair

Day 260-

We live in an area where active timber harvesting is year-round. The log trucks are often overfilled. One doesn't want to follow too closely behind these loads. 

Log Truck

Day 261-

When I went out front to play frisbee and rings with the dogs, there was a tiny gray feather that I just had to get a photo of. Fiona is a bit of a vacuum cleaner- she will inhale anything unusual on the ground, especially if you wanted to give it a closer look. I needed to get my photo quickly. Not sure what bird lost this feather. 

Tiny Feather

Day 262-

We made a quick trip to Nashville for the weekend. This was the sunset reflecting off the buildings of downtown. Grandson (five years old) was having soccer practice on the field with views of the city.

Sunset

Day 263-

With the kids going to school and parents working, Charlie and I played tourist for the day and went to the Grand Ole Opry for the backstage tour. If you are ever in Nashville, it is a good tour to take. I really marveled at the size of the stage where "Hee Haw" was filmed. It seemed rather small. We walked  through the building to the main stage. The photo was taken of the ropes and cables of backstage where the Opry is performed. The black and white image shows all the shadows and shapes.

Backstage

My first thought for the photo of the day was in the entrance area. The lights with all the guitars were an interesting photo. All these guitars are Gibsons, donated by the company. 

Day 264- 

Coming home from the above mentioned grandson's soccer game we encountered this trolley. It made me laugh, the name on the trolley was "Trolley Parton". These trollies circle through town, where you can do a pub crawl of different breweries. Always something to see in Nashville.

Trolley Parton

Another week done! It is fun to gather photos from trips out of town. My day-to-day experiences at home center on the yard and garden. See you next week.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Winter Observations

I am outside every day, multiple times a day with the dogs. This time of year I see so many different things. Looking down, along the house I see that I have an oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia growing along the foundation of the house. This area gets water from the condensation pipe from the AC, so it makes a nice place to try and root new shrubs. I thought I had dug up the whole shrub and put it in a new place, guess not. 

Hydrangea quercifolia

Moss covers the ground in this area in a thick patch. Have you ever looked closely at a patch of moss? It is quite delightful. 

I have wildflowers/volunteers that sprout up throughout the garden and into the woods. I think this is Solidago sp. Goldenrod. The pollinators love it and I don't mind volunteers.

Solidago sp.

Continuing looking at the ground, I see lots of nuts - hickory nuts and acorns are so plentiful that one could fall on the hillside, it is like walking on marbles. 

hickory nut

Some of my daffodils are emerging through the leaves. I moved these out of a container last year in the spring. Narcissus 'Hawera', pretty petit blooms. 

Daffodils 

As I walk through the yard I catch the fragrance of a new bloom. Currently the prevailing fragrance is from my flowering apricot, Prunus mume 'Hokkai bungo'. It has a lovely hint of cinnamon in its fragrance, I really enjoy it. The honey bees enjoy it as well.

Prunus mume 'Hokkai bungo'

No, this wasn't the apricot, the Edgeworthia chrysantha is starting to open! It will bloom now through March. The fragrance is wonderful.  

Edgeworthia chrysantha

Look up and look down, you never know what you will find. We have a lot of fallen branches in the woods, some are covered with lichen and fungus, almost other worldly. 

Jelly fungus mushroom

Jelly fungus and lichen

Also growing low are my Hellebores, this one is Pink Frost. It is one of my earliest ones to bloom. Helleborus x ballardiae HGC 'Pink Frost'- beautiful buds, almost open.

Pink Frost

My last observation for this post is a crazy orange flower, or what is left of a flower on my gardenia. Gardenia jasminoides 'Frostproof'. As you know, the blooms on gardenias are white. This orange coloring caught my eye. Not sure what happened to give off this dark orange color, but will watch for others in future years to see if it happens again.

Gardenia jasminoides 'Frostproof'

What do you see in the garden this time of year? Look closely, you might find something amazing!

©Copyright 2024 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.