A different sort of raft

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Géricault had his Raft of the Medusa, and I have my Raft of the Platanus. His was made of wood, mine of bubbles (but if you want wood, just let the sycamore seeds that you see here take root and grow for a decade or two). Géricault’s raft was in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, mine near the edge of a pond in northwest Austin. He painted his in 1818–19, I photographed mine on February 28, 2014.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Clematis and clouds

While wandering—but not lonely as a cloud—in the northeast quadrant of Mopac and US 183 on February 27, 2013, I photographed the latter stage of the familiar vine known colloquially as old man’s beard, Clematis drummondii. It’s appeared in these pages probably a dozen times, but never with as dramatic a skyscape as the one from that day two years ago.

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I’m still away from home (barely). You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m a bit late in answering.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Large buttercup

On February 27, 2010, I photographed this large buttercup, Ranunculus macranthus, that was opening at McKinney Falls State Park in southeast Austin.

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I’m away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Texas mountain laurel with dense flowers

On February 25th, 2013, I photographed a Texas mountain laurel, Sophora secundiflora, that was blossoming its head off. This is the bush whose flowers some people say smell like grape Kool-Aid.

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I’m still away from home. I welcome your comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding from the other side of the world.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Male cardinal

Here’s a rather soft and impressiony picture of a male cardinal on February 2, 2009, along Bull Creek in my northwestern part of Austin.

As is often the case with birds, the male is much more colorful than the female, as you can confirm in a photograph from 2013.

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I’m away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Add red

To the almost monochrome images of the last two photographs taken during the snowfall of February 23, 2010, add this one that includes the familiar red of a possumhaw’s small fruits. Need I say why another vernacular name for Ilex decidua is winterberry?

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I’m still away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

A change in scale

After the large live oak tree that you saw last time doused in white during the snowfall of February 23, 2010, here’s a change in scale to a prickly pear cactus spine emerging from the snow on that same afternoon.

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I’m away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Snow

Austin doesn’t often get snow, but that’s what happened on February 23, 2010, and I went out to take what pictures I could before the snow melted. Here you see a live oak tree, Quercus fusiformis, as it looked on that afternoon.

Those of you in cold climates probably won’t find anything unusual in this photograph, but one thing that might differentiate this tree from any snow-covered oaks you’re used to is that this one has lots of leaves on it. If you look carefully, you might well see some of them.

The photograph may seem to be in black and white, but I took the picture normally and didn’t reduce or eliminate any color after the fact.

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I’m away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Cocklebur seed head remains by pond

From February 21, 2012, on the Blackland Prairie in far northeast Austin, come the remains of a cocklebur plant, Xanthium strumarium, that was standing in shallow water near the edge of a sump. Like the seed capsules of the European burdock that inspired Velcro, these prickly seed capsules are designed to break off and cling to the fur of animals (and now to the hair and clothing of people).

Although Xanthium strumarium isn’t a rare plant in Austin, today marks its first appearance in these pages.

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I’m away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman

Red buckeye leaves opening

Aesculus pavia var. pavia is a small tree that’s commonly known as red buckeye. Here you see some of its foliage opening on February 22, 2012, in the greenbelt behind the Austin Nature Center. Isn’t that sheen something?

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I’m away from home. You’re welcome to leave comments, but please understand if I’m slow in responding.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman