Daisy Fleabane

macro photograph of Daisy Fleabane growing in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA
Daisy Fleabane

This daisy fleabane was blooming along a hiking trail in Shenandoah National Park at the end of May.

Knowing “bane” loosely means something that is hated by or makes something’s existence more difficult, I thought fleabane was an interesting name for a wildflower so I looked it up.  Folklore has it these plants can be dried and used to keep fleas away.  That explains the name.

Blackberry Blossoms

photograph of wild blackberry blossoms in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA
Blackberry Blossoms

The bees in Shenandoah National Park were busy pollinating blackberry blossoms growing along the Dark Hollow Falls trail when I was last there.

Inside The Sycamore

black and white photograph of the texture inside a hole in a sycamore tree

From the other side this sycamore looks solid and nearly invincible.  When walking around it you quickly discover there’s a gap at least 5 feet in length, exposing the inside of the tree.

Among The White Giants

photograph of white sycamore trees stretching up into the blue sky

On a bright, warm winter day I found myself in the company of white giants reaching for the deep blue sky.  It was about 60 degrees fahrenheit but the naked sycamores and the hard light reminded me not to get used to the weather.

 

 

Black Eyed Susan

photograph of a wild black-eyed susan flower growing in a field

It’s been a very busy summer and I haven’t spent as much time with my camera as I would have liked so I’m pulling out some photos from last year that I never got around to publishing.

This Black Eyed Susan was growing in a forest meadow alongside wild daisies.  It looked sort of like the odd man out, surrounded by white flowers.  I took a few photos of the lone blooming Black Eyed Susan surrounded by Daisies but I preferred this more closely cropped image of the flower.