The Week in Photos

It's still exceptionally dry, but otherwise the weather has been phenomenal this fall with warm, sunny days and a nice breeze most of the time. I plan on doing some real writing when the outdoors isn't so inviting. For now a photo update must suffice.

Asters in the pasture

Lovely aster, up close

The showiest fall wildflowers are mostly done here, though goldenrod is still putting on a show. It's the time of year when the asters take over. Of course they've been there all along, waiting patiently and unobtrusively until October when they explode onto the scene. From a distance they appear quite dull, but up close they are delicately beautiful, and humming with pollinator activity.

A resource for aster identifiers in southeastern Ohio is here https://fieldbioinohio.blogspot.com/2011/11/some-ohio-asters.html?m=1.

A pampered exotic aster

Inside the garden fence, aster cultivars dazzle human eyes, but are boring to pollinators. The late fall bean wall, planted sometime in midsummer, is not only producing masses of green beans, but also proving much needed shade for overheated gardeners and readers.

Kentucky Wonder wall

Skirt of green

The leaves are changing. The sweet gum below has succeeded in producing every fall color imaginable on a single tree. Chinook thinks he belongs in the photo of golden things.

American sweet gum

Cosmos, Kentucky coffeetree, halflinger, marigolds

One more aster, with milkweed pod