Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Late Spring 2016 In The Appalachians


May 8, 2016
High Knob Massif
Late Spring Beauty In Powell Valley
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved


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May 8, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Yellow Lady's-slipper Orchid ( Cypripedium parviflorum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

Both yellow & pink Lady's-slipper Orchids 
are now in bloom across the Cumberlands.

Please remember DO NOT EVER DIG UP a orchid since they form a symbiosis with a fungus in the soil where they grow and will typically die if dug up.  To dig an orchid is to kill an orchid.  They are far too beautiful to take such a chance for the few that might happen to live for more than a year.  If left alone, these orchids will continue to bloom in places where they naturally live for generations ( your children and grandchildren can go see them in their natural habitats ).

May 1, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Against A Mossy Background
Pink Lady's-slipper Orchid ( Cypripedium acaule )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 1, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Pink Lady's-slipper Orchid ( Cypripedium acaule )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 3, 2016
Lower Elevations
Cumberland Mountains
Mayapple ( Podophyllum peltatum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

The coming of May means that Mayapples come into bloom, beginning in lower elevations and working upward into the high country by late in the month.

May 3, 2016
Lower Elevations
Cumberland Mountains
Mayapple ( Podophyllum peltatum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 3, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Fire Pink ( Silene virginica )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 3, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Colony of Fire Pink ( Silene virginica )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 3, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Land Snail Species In Mixed-Mesophytic Woods
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 3, 2016
Cumberland Mountain Overthrust Block
Halberd-leaved Yellow Violet ( Viola hastata ) Leaf
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

Signs of early spring remain in the woods, with leaves from Yellow Trout Lilies and Halberd-leaved Yellow Violets being examples of some lingering well beyond their flowering period.
May 3, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Yellow Trout Lily ( Erythronium spp. ) Leaf
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 3, 2016
Virginia-creeper ( Parthenocissus quinquefolia )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

The physical difference between Virginia-creeper and the irritating Poison Ivy was recently captured growing in the base of a American Beech ( Fagus grandifolia ) tree, with both plants in close proximity to each other. 

Note that Poison Ivy has 3 leaflets with distinctive margins, where Virginia-creeper possesses 5 leaflets that tend to be more elongated 
and tapering than those of Poison Ivy.

May 3, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Poison Ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 4, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Mushrooms Amid Late Spring Wetness
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 4, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Dewberry Bloom ( Rubus spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 4, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Hawkweed Flower ( Hieracium spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 4, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Common Cinquefoil ( Potentilla simplex )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 6, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Red Peony (  Paeonia spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 6, 2016
Poison Ivy Climbing Up A Tree
Poison Ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 6, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Flame Azalea ( Rhododendron calendulaceum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 7, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Red Clover ( Trifolium pratense )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 8, 2016
Looking East Toward High Knob Massif
View From State Route 160 on Black Mountain
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 8, 2016
Turning Pink In Upper Elevations
Large-flowered Trillium ( Trillium grandiflorum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 8, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Star Chickweed ( Stellaria pubera )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 8, 2016
Grindstone Ridge Dome of High Knob Massif
Beauty Of Late Spring - Powell Valley Overlook
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 8, 2016
High Knob Massif
Late Spring Beauty - Head of Powell Valley
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 8, 2016
High Knob Massif
Late Spring Beauty - Head of Powell Valley
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 9, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Red Peony (  Paeonia spp. ) Opened Up
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 10, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Purple Meadow Parsnip ( Thaspium trifoliatum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 10, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Lazy Afternoon On A Berry Blossom
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 12, 2016
Following Heavy Rains
Sugar Maple ( Acer saccharum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 12, 2016
Long-time Exposure
Beaten Down By Heavy Rain
Red Peonies (  Paeonia spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 12, 2016
Following Heavy Rains
Sugar Maple Acer saccharum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 13, 2016
1/500s at f/2.8 - Nikon 5T Diopter
Beginning To Fade - Windy Conditions
Pink Lady's-slipper Orchid ( Cypripedium acaule )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

Pink Lady's-slipper Orchids have been beaten by heavy rains and are beginning to fade.  On this afternoon it was too windy to shoot, but I shot anyway just to illustrate the effect that depth of field has on the perspective.  Fast shutter speed and shallow depth of field above verses slow shutter speed and deeper field depth below ( as sunlight faded away ).

Neither photograph are the kind of high resolution shot I like to take when conditions are relatively calm ( at least, when there are lulls in wind which did not occur in this case to any significant extent ).

May 13, 2016
1.3s at f/18 - Nikon 5T Diopter
Beginning To Fade - Windy Conditions
Pink Lady's-slipper Orchid ( Cypripedium acaule )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 14, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Mushrooms Grow Amid May Wetness
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 14, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Mushrooms Grow Amid May Wetness
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 17, 2016
Hover Flies Working After A Rain
Yellow Flag Iris ( Iris pseudacorus )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

Flag Iris's are named for good reason, as with any air motion their leaves wave, or flap, constantly back and forth in the wind.

May 17, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Fly ( Diptera Order ) On Waving Flag Iris
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 17, 2016
Hover Fly Working After A Rain
Yellow Flag Iris Iris pseudacorus )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

Water drops beaded up on the waving leaves.

May 17, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Water Beads ( Drops ) On Flag Iris
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 17, 2016
Hover Flies Working After A Rain
Yellow Flag Iris Iris pseudacorus )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 17, 2016
Isolating The Structure Of A Lily
Yellow Flag Iris Iris pseudacorus )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

I came across a Dwarf Hybrid Hibiscus flower in Clintwood on May 19 that had three distinctly different types of blooms on the same plant!  I took marco shots of all three blossom types below for illustration.

May 19, 2016
Bloom Type Number 1
Sherri's Sassy Scissors In Clintwood
Dwarf Hybrid Hibiscus ( Hibiscus spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 19, 2016
Bloom Type Number 2
Sherri's Sassy Scissors In Clintwood
Dwarf Hybrid Hibiscus ( Hibiscus spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 19, 2016
Bloom Type Number 3
Sherri's Sassy Scissors In Clintwood
Dwarf Hybrid Hibiscus ( Hibiscus spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

Many thanks to Sherri and Kim for allowing 
me to photograph this interesting hybrid.

May 19, 2016
Cultivated Flowers At Sherri's Sassy Scissors
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 19, 2016
Sherri's Sassy Scissors In Clintwood
Petunia Flowers ( Petunia × atkinsiana )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 20, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Pink Peony (  Paeonia spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 21, 2016
Reflection Of Leaves In Drops On The Leaves
Young Sugar Maple Leaves ( Acer saccharum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
John & Mae Mullins Gardens
Cultivated Iris Following A Sunday Shower
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
John & Mae Mullins Gardens
Red Knockout Rose ( Rosa spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
Rain Drops On Another Rose
John & Mae Mullins Gardens
Red Knockout Rose ( Rosa spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Possible Nephilidae Family 
Interesting Spider Species Working Upon A
Northern Maidenhair Fern ( Adiantum pedatum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Mushrooms Grow Amid Late Spring Wetness
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Mushrooms Grow Amid Late Spring Wetness
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Crown-tipped Coral ( Clavicorona pyxidata )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 22, 2016
Getting Ready To Bloom
American Ginseng ( Panax quinquefolius )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 25, 2016
Relatively Rare Pink Form
Common Yarrow ( Achillea millefolium )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 25, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Hawkweed ( Hieracium spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 25, 2016
Relatively Rare Pink Form
Common Yarrow Achillea millefolium )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 26, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Indian Pipe ( Monotropa uniflora )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 26, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Sqawroot or Bear Corn ( Conopholis americana )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 26, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Stringy Stonecrop ( Sedum sarmentosum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 26, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Narrowleaf Bluets ( Houstonia tenuifolia )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 27, 2016
Slick & Shiny After A Shower
Coreopsis ( Coreopsis grandiflora )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 27, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Rain Drops Galore Caught In A Spider Web
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 28, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Coreopsis Coreopsis grandiflora ) and Friend
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 28, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Stringy Stonecrop Sedum sarmentosum )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 28, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Red Clover ( Trifolium pratense )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
Veterans Past-Present & Ones Passed
Memorial Day Tribute To Our Loved Ones
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
Towering Afternoon Cumulus
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Early Evening Light Illuminates Cloud Towers
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Scaly Vase Chanterelle ( Gomphus floccosus )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
Cumberland Mountains
Young Scaly Vases Before Maturity
Scaly Vase Chanterelle Gomphus floccosus )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
Above The Cumberlands
Towering Afternoon Cumulus
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

May 30, 2016
High Contrast Scene
Bear Fly ( Diptera spp. )
Photograph by Wayne Browning - © All Rights Reserved

This section is under construction.  Please check back.