During fall the woods provide different spectacles. This morning I came across two large mushrooms. I have placed a ruler alongside them and it appears their diameter exceeds 8″ and likewise their height. Not sure what type they are and am not planning to eat them.
In previous posts I included photos of the lovely goldenrod and horseweed, which are all strikingly now in bloom. A small but pretty flower when closeup is the blazing star Liatris pilosa (I am no flower expert and for identification I use Forest Plants of the Southeast by Miller & Miller, which was recommended me by several experts).
The blazing star and many other wildflowers arrived under their own steam to an area in the middle of the woods which used to be populated with pine trees. The southern pine beetle destroyed the trees and I chainsawed and moved the trunks to the sides and with my bobcat cleared the stumps and leveled it. I installed a few lespedeza but otherwise left it to its own devices and each year more and more wildflowers and forest vegetation appear. Wild turkey and deer like to visit, especially when I leave some corn for them. Below is a ‘photo of the opening.
I have previously mentioned some of the trees in the woods. There are two main types of pine, Virginia pine and Loblolly and it is very easy to distinguish them. The Loblolly is self pruning, which means that as it grows the lower branches fall off and are covered by bark so that you cannot tell where the branches were. The Virginia pine retains its branch stubs and its wood is inferior to Loblolly and is used mainly for pulp. The advice I received from the Georgia forestry adviser was to cut down the Virginia pine to allow the Loblolly to grow better. I have let them be.
I am collecting seeds from Black Eyed Susan and Zinnia and I noticed seeds germinating in the Black Eyed Susan pods – quite unusual.
