New growth counterbalancing the old
Even as the leaf of the greenbrier vine, Smilax bona-nox, that you saw yesterday had turned bright orange and red, new tendrils and leaves and thorns were forming that had subtler colors.
Like the last photograph, this one is from October 17th at the northeast corner of US 183 and Mopac.
Portraits of Wildflowers 
I love this photo – the colours and the soft background, and the straight thorn next to those curvy tendrils create such a delightful effect!
Cathy
November 6, 2012 at 6:35 AM
Let’s cross countries, link languages, and call it a Dienstag delight.
Steve Schwartzman
November 6, 2012 at 8:52 AM
Simply spectacular, that’s all I have to say :).
photosfromtheloonybin
November 6, 2012 at 6:43 AM
Well said, says I.
Steve Schwartzman
November 6, 2012 at 8:53 AM
Really elegant and lovely in its swing from abstraction to reality.
lensandpensbysally
November 6, 2012 at 8:42 AM
And elegantly put, that “swing from abstraction to reality.”
Steve Schwartzman
November 6, 2012 at 8:55 AM
Wrapped, tied and curled it would seem. Lovely color and patterning too! ~Lynda
pixilated2
November 6, 2012 at 7:28 PM
I’ve often enough been scratched and poked by this vine, so it owes me the lovely coloring and patterning.
Steve Schwartzman
November 6, 2012 at 11:42 PM
Such soft and beautiful colors. You made the smilax look like a real stunner.
petspeopleandlife
November 6, 2012 at 9:00 PM
The colors are indeed soft here, but the thorns are anything but. That said, I’m glad you find the view stunning.
Steve Schwartzman
November 6, 2012 at 11:43 PM
A fantastic composition of details, Steve, enchanting.
composerinthegarden
November 7, 2012 at 7:29 AM
How apt of a composer to use the word composition. Enchantment lives in all domains.
Steve Schwartzman
November 7, 2012 at 9:58 AM
🙂
composerinthegarden
November 7, 2012 at 12:29 PM
What fun to see one of my favorite color combinations in nature, complemented by that fabulous “speckling”. I’d wondered about those young thorns – apparently they do what they’re supposed to as well as the older ones.
The colors remind me of the elegant-era glassware called watermelon glass .
shoreacres
November 7, 2012 at 8:23 AM
Give me enough posts, and the variety in nature may eventually give everyone a favorite color combination. Like you, I find the speckling on all three elements—stem, tendril, thorn—intriguing; the leaves typically look granular or speckled, too, as you saw in the previous photograph.
I hadn’t heard of watermelon glass, but now that I’ve seen it I like it.
Steve Schwartzman
November 7, 2012 at 10:02 AM
¡Esto es verdaderamente precioso, me encanta!!
ManoliRizoFotografia
November 8, 2012 at 7:56 PM
Manoli says that this truly lovely view enchants her, and I say that I’m pleased it does.
Steve Schwartzman
November 8, 2012 at 8:31 PM
[…] quadrant of US 183 and Mopac on October 17th, in addition to a colorful greenbrier leaf and some new greenbrier growth I found a resurgence of many kinds of wildflowers. One was mealy blue sage, Salvia farinacea, which […]
Mealy blue sage and friends « Portraits of Wildflowers
November 17, 2012 at 6:15 AM
[…] other photographs from the same session: a greenthread flower head, some mealy blue sage flowers, a greenbrier tendril and thorn, and an unusually brilliant greenbrier […]
Sensitive briar | Portraits of Wildflowers
October 17, 2013 at 6:10 AM