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Friday 28 October 2016

More Fall Colours, and Black

So much colour!

More fall leaves; these were taken about a week ago.


 Since then, many leaves have fallen, helped along by the wind and the passing of time.

Some of the trees are half bare:


Some of them are completely bare:

... bare of leaves, that is ...

One of my favourite trees is showing its beautiful gnarled bones again. It was quite nondescript during the spring and summer, but look at it now!


 
The leaves in this puddle came from the tree reflected in it:



Some of the sidewalks are covered in luxurious carpets.



Close ups of some of the brilliance:




Another puddle; another reflection:


 Another look at a plant from my last post:


A big thank you to Steve from Shadows and Light, who got me on the right track to identifying it. He suggested Virginia creeper, so I checked Wikipedia and it turns out that this is false Virginia Creeper. The difference is in their tendrils: Virginia creeper has sticky pads that allow it to attach to trees or smooth walls, while the imposter can only grow through shrubs and trees by curling around and around them, as it's doing above.

Although ... it seems to be trying to adapt to this fence as well:


And what I thought was ivy on Big Leafy Critter ...


... on closer inspection is not ivy after all, but false Virginia creeper:

... and I'm hoping to get a full-length shot now that it's turned to red. I think I'll call it "Big Red Critter". Why mess with the formula??
I was also lucky enough to see this, mixed in with the leaves:



... and joining me in the little shelter:


I've been seeing this fellow almost every day now, in a certain spot along my walking route. In fact, he's been getting underfoot and almost tripped me on one occasion.

Good thing I don't believe in bad luck caused by black cats crossing my path.

Because I've got this one at home, too, and he runs in front of me every chance he gets:

... waiting ... waiting ... waiting ... here comes Donkey now ...
Speaking of black cats, it's nearly Halloween.

I've got a spooky photograph all ready to post on Monday :)

Have a good weekend!




12 comments:

  1. Wow! Lots of nice color! I like the photo of the leaves in the puddle, reflecting the tree. And I like the cat. I saw a shady-looking guy carrying a black cat on the street the other day, and the cat scrambled and got away from him and ran. I wonder if he was up to some Halloween feline catnapping. Good thing the cat got away.

    I did not know about "false" Virginia creeper! That's news to me!

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    1. I worry about black cats I see outside around Hallowe'en, too. I read too much.

      I'm glad you helped me figure out that plant, Steve!

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  2. Nice while they last. Enjoy them because they'll mostly be gone by next week.

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    1. Yep. Once November hits, they're usually toast.

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  3. When my friend Sara still had her black cat Charlie, she didn't even like him going near the windows around Hallowe'en. I think that's a little too restrictive, as cats like to run around and have lives of their own...

    -Doug in Oakland

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    1. Yeah, I think he'd have been safe as long as he was inside. Or she could have pulled the drapes!

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    2. Our little cat goes outside whenever she wants, and has no problem getting over any of the back fences or climbing the bougainvillea trellis to torment the neighbor's dog...

      -Doug in Oakland

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    3. Cats are excellent climbers! And teases :)

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  4. It's bright and sparkly in your neighborhood. Love the reflections in the puddles.

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    1. Thanks, Joanne. The dull, dreary, colourless weather is not far away, so I'm making the most of the colours now.

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  5. Have a good weekend as well, and thanks for all of the lovely pictures. We are definitely in fall here as well. I should have pictures soon of the kids and the puppy jumping into big piles of them.

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    1. The only thing better than leaves is kids and puppies playing in leaves :) Looking forward to those!

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