16 November 2024

This week I found witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blooming in Schenley Park and was startled by a whoosh of wings that passed right in front of me below eye level. I was so startled that I screamed even though I knew that …

The whoosh was an immature red-tailed hawk zipping by to catch a mouse near the wall. In stealth mode the hawk did not flap his wings but he flew pretty close to me. If I didn’t like birds I might have been freaked out. He caught the mouse and I took his picture when he settled down.

By now most oaks have lost their leaves so the predominant color in Schenley and Frick is brown. Brown on the ground and lots of bare trees.

In Schenley Park you can easily see through the woods at ground level because the deer have eaten all the thickets.

In Frick Park I spotted an unusual patch of green, probably an alien plant, so I went down there to check it out.

Sure enough, this is an alien — stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), native to Eurasia and Africa. Deer eat stinging nettle in spring and summer but are shunning it at this time of year.

By now the only place to find brilliant reds is in the sky.