The Devil's Walking Stick is looking really pretty right now.  The white flowers have given way to purple berries atop these beautiful red stems.  If you are walking, you have to look up to see them, as they are about 8-10 feet tall.  But if you are driving, they are easy to spot along the highway.  Just look for tropical looking stalks with fluffy red poufs.  The birds love the berries, so some plants that you see will just have the red stems, and no berries.  

 

They are deciduous, and will drop their leaves in about a month or so.  Then you can hardly notice them at all, until next spring when they start to grow again.

 

It's a fun plant to watch through the seasons.  

 

HAPPY END OF SUMMER!!!

 

The Sumac has bloomed and is now in its glorious fruit stage.  

 

I have a friend who makes a pink lemonade using sumac berries.  The berries are quite astringent, so you have to add a lot of sugar to make it taste good, but it's pretty and kinda fun to do...once.

 

HAPPY END OF SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

Next time you are out walking in the neighborhood, look up.  The wild grapes are ripening.  

 

And take my word for it:  they are SOUR!!!  But the birds like them, so they can eat all they want.  

 

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!!

 

I was in the garden the other day, and noticed this caterpillar on one of my dill plants.  Unfortunately it had eaten ALL of the plant, so I moved it to another dill.  This caterpillar is really tiny:  less than an inch long.  And the Stokes Butterfly Book tells us that when the caterpillars are small like this they look very much like bird droppings.  Good plan to keep from getting eaten by birds.  As the caterpillars grow larger, they become green, which camouflages them against the leaves on which they are feeding.  

 

I know that it is the larva of Black Swallowtail, because I've seen a few million of them.  It will grow, and split its skin several times before it pupates.  I just hope I have enough dill to feed this one until then.  

 

KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED!!!

 

Patty told me about this nest in one of Lee's dogwood trees.  I went looking for it, and couldn't see it, UNTIL I walked right up on it.  It is about 6 feet off the ground and really close to the road.  

 

Isn't it beautiful?  It is a hub of activity when the weather is warm and sunny.  A little calmer when it's cloudy.  I have read that between 400 and 700 wasps inhabit a nest this size.  I've also read that they are extremely aggressive at protecting their nest.  So DO NOT get too close!!!  

 

Patty took this picture, I hope using a telephoto lens from a safe distance.  Thanks, Patty.  

 

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!!

 

These are those gorgeous hydrangeas in the Blairsville intersection near the VFW.  They start out greenish white and fade to this beautiful rose color in the fall.  This is only about a third of the planting.  I had to edit the picture to get rid of the power lines, vehicles, and campaign signs.  But these hydrangeas are still breathtaking.

 

I love seeing them through the seasons.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

I took this picture at the Ocoee last week, but I wanted to remind you that it is showing gorgeous color now.

 

I don't think there are any in our neighborhood, but there are a couple nice plantings at the Methodist Church in Blairsville, and some at the Ocoee Whitewater Center.  I also know of a beautiful bush in Yorktown where we used to walk in the old neighborhood.  I think it's on Dogwood.  

 

I hope you get to see some Beautyberries in your travels.  They are truly beautiful right now.

 

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!!

 

My friend invited us to come pick raspberries in her garden.  What a delightful experience that was.

 

There are thorns, true, but not so brash as blackberries.  They are a lot softer.  And the berries just release from the hull, so there is no waste.

 

Nancy told us about the bees that hang out on the underside of the leaves;  solitary bees, not hive insects.  We were careful not to disturb the bees, just picked the berries.  Great fun, and we have raspberries to eat.  They should last a little longer;  maybe we will get to do it again.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

OK, I know the picture is a little blurry, but we were traveling at 45 mph.  And this is how you are going to see it anyway.  

 

On 19/129 near that new events place, there is a WHITE Joe Pye Weed!!!  I've never seen or heard of white Joe Pye Weed.  In fact, its botanical name is Eupatorium purpureum.  Suggesting purple, right?  

 

There was no place to stop, or turn in to get a good pic, but you can see that it's white.  

 

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!!

 

OK, just pretend that her hair is red, not blonde, and it could be ME picking flowers for YOU!!!

 

I would pick you this many!!!  I love you so much.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JULIE!!!