Arc following arc

By October, when the shrub or small tree known as poverty weed (Baccharis neglecta) begins to turn fluffy white with flowers, its weak branches bend and curve and wave in the breeze. Here the effect was intensified by late-season puffs of fluff from the vine called old man’s beard (Clematis drummondii).

The site at the western end of Mocha Trail in far north Austin where I took this photograph on October 20 used to be a much bigger playground for me, but last year a large part of the property gave way to an apartment complex. Fortunately one of the remaining pieces of undeveloped land still shelters its quota of native plants, as it has since I discovered it a decade ago, so I spent a good hour there taking pictures during this latest visit.

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Update: In comments on yesterday’s post and a previous one about leaf miners, Charley Eiseman identified the kinds of insect larvae involved and told some interesting things about them.

© 2015 Steven Schwartzman