Last of the Pawpaws

All summer long Jacob counted the pawpaws.
Every morning when we went out to feed the birds he stood under the three pawpaw trees and made sure that there were still 10 pawpaws.
They began to fall in October. First one, then two - hard and green so we put them on the windowsill to ripen.

Granddad saved the seeds after we ate them.
Then one morning two more came down, nice and ripe. Granddad saved the seeds, 10 seeds in each one.

We gathered two in a rush after the first frost and they were a little too ripe. Squishy.
Grandad saved the seeds anyway.
That leaves four pawpaws we didn't eat. Wonder who got them? Maybe 'possum - 'possum likes sweet fruits. Wonder where those seeds will be planted?
Granddad is going to plant his seeds in last year's leaf pile. In the spring we'll see if we have any new baby pawpaw trees.

Fall colors

Out by the barn the tall trees are brilliant with yellow and gold leaves. All along the road the trees have turned bright colors and leaves are flying through the air.

Right outside the kitchen window the sassafras catches your eye. Up close its leaves are red and orange and yellow, with brown spots.

When you look out the window all those colors blend together to make this tree the brightest one around.

A Winter Monarch

Outside the frost has made all the flowers droop. The air is quiet and there are no more butterflies. But inside a butterfly has found my birthday flowers.

Is it a real Monarch?

Or is it a puppet that will help me tell stories about butterflies?

Touch-me-not

In the summer lovely orange flowers hang on the Jewelweed.

They look like little jewels in the sunshine. The hummingbirds hover at each flower to sip its nectar.
But now the flowers are gone and the seeds are ready to pop- and now we don't call it Jewelweed any more.

Now if you touch the seed pods they POP open and the seeds go flying through the air. Where they land a Jewelweed plant will grow next year. After the seeds are sent flying the sides of the seed pod curl up in your fingers as if they were a little animal. Even if you just brush against the leaves and shake the seed pods, it sends seeds flying.

Now you can call this plant "Touch-me-not".

Another Mantis

"Oh Mantis, what big eyes you have!" "All the better to see you with, my dear."You can't fool me, Mantis, you don't belong outside like a real Mantis. You are going to go to school with me to tell stories!

Shelf fungus

I told you that mushrooms were popping up in the back yard. Those mushrooms had a stem and a cap on top.
It's still raining. Mushrooms are still popping up.

Here's a different kind of mushroom:

These mushrooms look as if they are growing straight out of the fallen limb. They don't have separate stems or caps.

Why are they growing there?

They are helping the wood decay.

Mantis

I decided to pull the Virginia Creeper vine off the rails of the deck. I tugged and clipped and ripped. I stuffed the vines down into an old garbage can to carry off for composting. Then something moved on the sage plant next to the railings. It looked like a stick with legs. It turned its tiny head to look at me with its huge eyes. Then I saw another one right where I pulled off the vines. It was pretty well camouflaged before I took off its cover, wasn't it? I'll bet the vines were full of them.
See how it holds its front legs together as if it is praying? That must be why it is called a "Praying" Mantis.
You could also call it a "Preying" Mantis because it is a ferocious predator that eats all sorts of other insects.