Friday, October 29, 2010

One Last Mystery Flower on the Trail

Wednesday was a beautiful day for a walk.  The sun was bright and the air was brisk.  So, I went over to the Orange Trail, and was rewarded by so much beauty.  The trails were slashes through shades of gold, brown, and green.




The woods were floored with yellow leaves, that, on this day, seemed to reflect the gold of the sun.


There were splashes of brilliant color.  The blackberry leaves showed every shade of purple and red.


And, the sumac burned the same bright red.
The fruits of the season were still about.  The Horse Nettle berries are yellow now.
And, the privet berries are dark blue
 Most beautiful of all, the Bittersweet berries hang bright red against the sky, framed by their yellow husks.


The Wild Cucumber husks hang empty.

While the Butterfly Weed, the Goldenrod, and the ever noxious Swallowwort send their fluffy seeds into the sky.


A few flowers struggle to bloom.  Some Queen Anne's Lace remains among the husks of it's earlier blooming sisters.
Scraggly Black-eyed Susans continue to show bright yellow faces to the sky.
And, hidden in a sheltered spot, some Goldenrod still blooms, covered with bumblebees gathering their last bit of nectar.
And, one last mystery flower blooms under the bright sun.  I can't seem to identify this, and any help would certainly be appreciated. 
It doesn't seem possible, but, soon, I'll be walking these trails with the snow crunching beneath my feet.  Another kind of beauty, waiting to be discovered.

14 comments:

Inger said...

Now you have turned into The Edwardian Lady of 2010. This is just how she described what she saw on her walks in the English countryside. Louise, you MUST, order that book. I know you will enjoy it. The Country Diary of and Edwardian Lady. amazon has it.lol--Inger

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Aren't we lucky to live in the midst of such woodsy, meadowy beauty? I enjoyed this walk with you very much. But I sure am puzzled by that purple flower. I pride myself on plant knowledge, but I sure don't know what that one is.

My Mind's Eye said...

GORGEOUS Trail you have to walk on!!
WHat a glorious day
Madi and Mom

Terry said...

Sorry, I'm no help. I thought I'd share a book I'm browsing from the library. It's "The Secrets of Wildflowers" by Jack Sanders. It's more a book on folklore than identification.

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Hi Louise! I've really enjoyed this post because I won't be going anywhere near the woods or the fields with my latest bout with poison ivy! :-)

Your flower kind of resembles something that I 'think' is called something like Henbit Deadnettle or Greater Henbit--I seem to recall that it blooms in the Eastern US, although it's a native to some place in Europe--??--I'm here at work, but will have to see if I can find a picture of it to compare--I'll let you know. It's lovely none-the-less!! :-)

Sharon said...

You know that I am no help, LOL!

Looks like a lovely walk, all the golden leaves on the ground, beautiful!

Louise said...

Hmmmm, Kim. The flower looks similar, but, the leaves aren't right. Thanks for the try, though. At least we know one thing that it isn't.

IsobelleGoLightly said...

I want to come up there to eat all of those golden leaves!!! mmmmmmm

The Redneck Rosarian said...

Such a beautiful view as you walk.

Anonymous said...

Hi Louise,
I can't name the mystery flower, but I'm glad you named some of the plants that I see on my regular walks through the woods. Had never heard of Horse Nettle berries. I better learn that one! Thanks for the tour.
Is the Mystery plant the same one that you posted coming up in the spring?
Christina (Sometimes featured on the Skoog Farm Journal)

Dreaming said...

I found a nifty site (from Pennsylvania) that lets you search flowers by color, season, etc. I didn't find your purple beauty on it, though.

http://www.mywildflowers.com/index.asp

Vicki Lane said...

A lovely walk! I second the recommendation of THE COUNTRY DIARY -- a real treat of a book!

allhorsestuff said...

Oh that was jsut the best walk looking in the forest and seeing the flora you have! Thanks...jsut seeing the sunshine in the post made me happy!

And YES..it was delightful to get to see those pups on horses and the very decked out couple that owned them all. Glad you liked it too!
KK

Jim said...

What a great trail you have to roam Louise. Love the Bittersweet and the Privet. Can't help with the mystery plant/flower.....doesn't look familiar at all.
Jim