Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: black oak

This leaf really caught my attention as I walked along the ridge trail the other day. It was one of those special sights that can only be seen in one spot. You take one step forward or back and it's gone. I had to move carefully around bushes and through branches in order to get the perfect position for this picture, but it was certainly worth the effort! :)

1 more picture in a notes above! :) For the past few days, it FEELS like Fall has finally arrived, and I just love it! Crisp, cold mornings, bright sunshine, the fresh, clean smell of dried grass with the first hint of Fall dew....it's wonderful!!! I know it's too early yet for mushrooms, but I simply can't keep myself from visiting the places where I first see them appear! First I went up to our marching stand of dry teasel which stare down at us in prickly formation from the hill above the house. This is where I will sometimes find the beautiful golden mushrooms who hide shyly behind the teasel stalks, not sure if they can trust me. But there were none to find, as I expected, so I did an about-face and went purposefully down to the dark woods of the lower forest, where dampness collects first and departs last. I searched the logs where the young mushrooms love to play, and under the plates of fallen bark where I sometimes find one in a game of hide-and-seek. But not today. Maybe tomorrow, for it has rained long and hard today, and perhaps I'll have a dream tonight where tiny mushroom fairies dance around me in a circle and as I awaken, I'll still hear the tinkling of their bell-like laughter. I will know then, that they have woken up and once again I will get to capture their pretty little faces for everyone to enjoy! As I looked for mushrooms, I saw this trio of perfect Black Oak leaves and hoped they would make a pretty picture. I was delighted to find them positioned just right for an image showing all three against the dappling of a tree's branches and the sky above. Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. A lifelong Spanish citizen, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States and identified himself as an American, although he always kept a valid Spanish passport. He wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters. At the age of forty-eight, Santayana left his position at Harvard and returned to Europe permanently, never to return to the United States. His last will was to be buried in the Spanish Pantheon of the Cimitero Monumentale del Verano in Rome. Wikipedia: George Santayana Explored on September 21, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

Another leaf treasure! I love to find leaves caught on the way down to the ground. This is a a Black Oak leaf, caught in the stems of a poison oak bush. I find it so amazing that leaves can become stuck this way, but I see them often! John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his work only having been in publication for four years before his death. Wikipedia: John Keats

(1 more picture above in a note) I was on our ridgeline a couple of months ago when I saw this unusual acorn. Our property is covered with White Oaks and those acorns usually have no cap or, if the cap is still attached, it's quite small. This acorn has a large cap, and when I looked at our tree guide, I realized that we have some Black Oaks on our property too! I think the texture of the cap is really interesting and pretty! I've uploaded two more pictures, and I hope you'll take a peek at them too! My work project still has me working crazy hours and I'm really looking forward to a day off! Missing you all...getting stir crazy!