New headware for Mexican hats

Last year provided me with more, and more different, portraits of Mexican hats (Ratibida columnifera) than ever before. Just 10 days into 2021 I had the chance for yet another new take, this time of dormant plants forming arcs beneath the weight of wet snow, as shown above. The second picture give a broader view of the landscape as it looked in the northeast quadrant of Mopac and US 183 that afternoon. Because of the snow covering I couldn’t always tell which plants were which, but the distinctive seed head remains of Mexican hats made identification easy in this case. You see them in these pictures as elongated dark dots.

© 2021 Steven Schwartzman

Ice on lichens on cedar elm

The branches of cedar elm trees (Ulmus crassifolia) often have flanges and sometimes also lichens on them.
They rarely add ice, but they did on January 10th as snow and sleet came down.

And here’s an unrelated quotation for today: “You will say that I am old and mad, but I answer that there is no better way of keeping sane and free from anxiety than being mad.” — Michelangelo at age 74.

© 2021 Steven Schwartzman