Law of attraction

11 September, 2016 Law of attraction

Ev’s flowers and berries are attracting birds like mad. Every year of my life if you’d told me I could see non-weed flowers in mid-September I’d have said no way. But this afternoon our gardenia was so extravagant with fresh, fragrant blooms I could hardly photograph them all. It is amazing. Here’s just one; I believe there are seven similar to this on the bush as I type this sentence:

Love affair w/gardenias continues to blossom:

On my way through the West End Wednesday morning I looked up at a reliable hawk-watching spot, the cross on the steeple of Discovery United Methodist Church at 13000. I was late that morning – I’ve been late every single morning this week – but there are some pictures you simply cannot pass up:

Ev’s response: “Holy Hawks!”

Saw a nice spiderweb at the river this morning, speaking of the “law of attraction”:

Center of attraction:

Our new feeder is attracting great birds too; here’s another nuthatch:

Nuthatch – so cute. Like a little tuxedo.

The moon’s been nice a time or two recently:

Thursday moon

I have been burning the candle at more ends than candles normally have. So I’m going to close with a picture of a stunning berry Ev planted with the express reason of attracting birds. And I actually photographed a brown thrasher under it this week, but it wasn’t blog-quality. Next week!

All best,

Jay

American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

About Jay McLaughlin

I am a rehabilitation counselor. I have many friends with autism and traumatic brain injuries. They help me learn new things constantly. I hike with dogs at the James River in Richmond - a lot. I've completed an Iron distance triathlon a year for 11 years. My most recent was in Wilmington, NC in November, 2013. I currently compete in mid-distance triathlons. And work and hike and take pictures and write and eat.

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2 Responses to Law of attraction

Bob Parker says:

September 13, 2016 at 18:28

Hi Jay,
I just reread your post from last week. Chestnut Oaks are quite abundant in Bon Air/Midlothian.
As I understand it, they are rather fragile, tend to have split trunks, and huge acorns. I can attest to all of this without any scientific evidence. All that said, I find them interesting, not like most oaks.
Bob Parker

Jay McLaughlin says:

September 14, 2016 at 11:28

Hi Bob!
And thanks for the note. That fragility may explain why I haven’t seen lots of Chestnut Oaks. The acorns really are monstrous, at least compared to other oaks I’ve seen in this area. Oaks in general (genus Quercus) are among my favorite deciduous trees. I burn a lot of White Oak (Q. alba) in my woodstove in the winter, so I enjoy that. I’ve just discovered a few Red Oaks (Q. rubra) on some of my hikes. There are a few Black Oaks (Q. velutina) where I work. And I see Willow Oaks (Q. phellos) in several spots in our area. I’m glad there are none in my yard; I’ll bet those skinny leaves are hard to rake.

Thanks again for the note and have a great day,

Jay