Ok, the pictures aren't coming on like they are supposed to today, but rather than quit and start over, I will deal with it. The pretty pink pods with orange seeds are spindle tree seed pods. They are just absolutely beautiful and I found quite a few growing in Michigan. This time of year, when most leaves have fallen and things tend to get rather drab, it is so nice to see bursts of bright color. I even brought a stem home, hoping to preserve it and stand it in a vase. However, all the seeds fell off and the pink got pretty dull. So, that didn't work. They are enough like a bittersweet, which I also found, that I thought it might work. But, that was one fun discovery on my travels I enjoyed.
Above the spindle tree photo, you see the bark of a sycamore tree. I like to call it "nature's camo" as I think that is what the pattern looks like. In the trees up to about a foot or so in diameter, the pattern is pretty striking. When the trees get huge and old, they don't have that particular characteristic any more. While driving, I saw a number of them growing where the whole tree was camo colored all the way up. No photos of them tho. I took this close up photo on a street along a sidewalk in Gaithersburg, Maryland. So.....even travels in more urban areas can give you unexpected surprises.
This one, I believe I took in Pennsylvania. It is a sweetgum. The dozen or so trees had leaves in every color from lime green or yellow to oranges and deepest maroons. They are quite large leaves and the striking star shaped leaves made it very fun to see. So, I have to report that the country girl did find plenty of new and interesting beauties of nature in a pretty much urban setting. It is quite surprising to look back at the number of photos I took of nature's beauty. I guess it is out there, no matter where you go.....if you are willing to look for it.
Now, home again.......and back to my usual routines. Vacations are always fun but the work is still waiting when you get home. :)
Ha, that sycamore tree is indeed nature's camo! Very beautiful in it's own right. So true that there is nature all around us . . . well, it might be hard to find smack-dab in the middle of the skyscrapers of New York . . . but even their Central Park is full of nature's beauty.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a safe trip . . . welcome home. Now get to work! ;o}