I thought down was the new up but now I see it was more up than down.

Longtime visitors know that I don’t usually include human elements in the photographs I show here—which is why these nature pictures are nature pictures—but on September 5th I was taken with the way this snailseed vine, Cocculus carolinus, had found a roothold on a side of the bridge along Discovery Blvd. adjacent to the Costco in Cedar Park. While I originally thought the whole vine was hanging from the top, a closer look at the full-size image had me crossing over to the discovery that most of the vine was still growing in its usual upward direction, even if a few parts were hanging.

For a much closer look at the leaves and fruits of this tenacious snailseed, click the icon below.

Today marks the first time here that you’ve been afforded a clear look at a snailseed vine. In 2012 an out-of-focus snailseed fruit provided a red glow behind a strange-looking larva.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman