The goldeneye was pretty good again this year
The goldeneye (Viguiera dentata) in Austin was excellent in the autumn of 2013, and it was pretty good again this fall. In the previous post you saw a closeup of a bud, but now pull back for a glorious goldeneye colony as it looked on October 16th in the panhandle of St. Edward’s Park in northwest Austin. The limestone cliff in the background was worn away over æons by water rushing through Bull Creek, as it regularly still does after a heavy rain.
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Any reason for the use of the word colony? Google searches keep taking me to James Bond!
Gallivanta
November 12, 2014 at 6:42 AM
I don’t think it’s the word colony that’s bringing up hits for James Bond, but rather the 1995 movie entitled GoldenEye:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113189/
Of course the fictional James Bond did visit some colonies of the British empire.
Steve Schwartzman
November 12, 2014 at 8:32 AM
I’ve been browsing your work on Fine Arts America. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/cliffs-along-creek-steven-schwartzman.html The same Bull Creek as we see here!
Gallivanta
November 12, 2014 at 6:48 AM
Bull Creek winds through northwest Austin and passes within a few miles of my house, so I go to different parts of the creek fairly often to take pictures. There are also a few tributaries of Bull Creek where I go photographing, including one shown at
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/waterfall-in-bull-creek-tributary-steven-schwartzman.html
(which you also saw on this blog two months ago), where the falls are just a couple of hundred meters from the place where that tributary joins Bull Creek.
A tributary of Bull Creek flows through Great Hills Park just half a mile from my home; it and the surrounding park have provided me with many photographs.
Steve Schwartzman
November 12, 2014 at 8:28 AM
I like the subtle curve of the goldeneyes, echoed by the shrubs. It makes them seem to be flowing along the land, just as the creek is flowing.
shoreacres
November 12, 2014 at 9:47 AM
I’ll gladly go with the flow of your comment. When I was there I remember noticing the density of all those flower heads but not the gentle arc they form and that I see clearly when I look at the photograph this morning. The then-me and the now-me don’t always coincide, and I suspect that’s often true for all of us.
Steve Schwartzman
November 12, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Fall is passing and winter is coming; you can smell it and feel it in the wind, you can see it in the change of color.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
November 12, 2014 at 1:59 PM
Right you are, Charlie. Even in Austin the overnight temperatures will drop and get close to freezing this week, although that’s cooler than usual for this time of year. Some of our sources of fall color (like poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and flameleaf sumac) are beginning to make their contributions, and I’ve been out looking for them.
Steve Schwartzman
November 12, 2014 at 2:03 PM
I like the layers of texture and color in this, Steve. The use of the left side tree keeps us within the frame nicely.
Steve Gingold
November 12, 2014 at 3:45 PM
It’s a layer cake all right. I can count on you to notice the effect of the tree at the left.
Steve Schwartzman
November 12, 2014 at 3:51 PM