Saturday, March 16, 2024

Pic(k) of the Week: Winter speedwell

Winter speedwell

Look down! Tiny blue winter speedwell blossoms have popped up, low down, in large numbers, seemingly overnight. So small, so unassuming, and, yes, some might say, so weedy.

Lanier Gardens Park: Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA. 24 February 2022.

I've so often walked by over ubiquitous winter speedwell, paying no heed, until one winter afternoon, when I felt the need to get down on the ground and look at them on their level.

My clothes became muddied; I probably received bemused glances from motorists passing close by this tiny strip of streetside greenspace. But there I lay, taken aback by these blossoms' miniature elegance: flowers for a fairy's garden.
Veronica persica —commonly known as birdeye speedwell, common field-speedwell, Persian speedwell, large field speedwell, bird's-eye, or winter speedwell— is a flowering plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It is native to Eurasia and is widespread as an introduced species elsewhere, including North America. The short-stalked leaves are broadly ovate with coarsely serrated margins, and measure one to two centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inches) long. The flowers are roughly one centimeter (0.4 inches) wide and are sky-blue in color with dark stripes and white centers.
Wikipedia.


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Saturday, March 09, 2024

Pic(k) of the Week: Laurel Creek waterfall

Laurel Creek waterfall

Evergreen mountain laurel trees ring small Laurel Creek as it cascades into the (slightly) larger Stephenson Creek.

Seen alongside (that is, clambered down from) the Flat Rock spur of the Arabia Mountain PATH trail in the Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 27 February 2024.

Note to self: Return in spring, when the mountain laurel is blooming.

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Saturday, March 02, 2024

Pic(k) of the Week: Winter's spring fling

Winter's spring fling

In a winter garden,
It teases
Of a spring fling.

Northlake, Georgia, USA.
11 February 2024.

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Saturday, February 24, 2024

Pic(k) of the Week: Trees can look spectacular without leaves

Trees can look spectacular without leaves

Winter trees can sing even without their leaves...and joyfully in black-and-white.

Rockdale River Trail: Rockdale County (Stockbridge), Georgia, USA. 2 February 2024.

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Saturday, February 17, 2024

Pic(k) of the Week: Mirror'd Morning

Mirror'd morning

Mirror'd morning on Beaver Pond...but not a rodent in sight!

Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 6 February 2024.

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