Tawny Emperor

"This butterfly may be seen flying near houses, gravel driveways (✅), near water, muddy places, gardens, and woodlands. Its only host plant is hackberry trees." -- Wikipedia

Waxing Crescent

Jamestown-Scotland Ferry under a waxing crescent moon.

Linking today with Skywatch Friday.

Lepiota

 

There are a dizzying variety of mushrooms; so much so, in fact, that I'm hard pressed even with a field guide to identify most. This one is no exception. Looks to me like Lepiota procure. Can anyone confirm that?

Lepiota is a genus of gilled mushrooms in the family Agaricaceae. All Lepiota species are ground-dwelling saprotrophs with a preference for rich, calcareous soils. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are agaricoid with whitish spores, typically with scaly caps and a ring on the stipe. Around 400 species of Lepiota are currently recognized worldwide. Many species are poisonous, some lethally so." -- Wikipedia

Details

I think the real beauty of the Beaver Trail in York River State Park, as is true of most trails, is in the details, as in the case of the spider web shown above and the seedling below.

Beaver Trail

 

Beaver Trail, York River State Park

Smallanthus uvedalia (aka Bear's Foot)

Beaver Trail

Crossing

Sinking Sun

James River

Shot these photos this past Thursday evening before the effects of Tropical Storm Ophelia began to be felt.

Sunset on the James

Linked to Skywatch Friday

Erosion Controls

A little farther upriver from where I was before, . . .

 some major erosion controls have been put in place.

 

Mattaponi Trail

 

The Mattaponi leads to yet another stretch of the York River shoreline where fossils often can be found.

Fossils

 

Cliff

 

One of the cliffs along the shore of the York River in York River State Park. The image above is looking left. The one below is looking to the right from the same position. All this is the result of the river's floods and tides.

Fossil Beach

 

Plume Thistle

I returned this past week to York River State Park where I discovered a new kind of thistle blooming.

A certain variety of the plume thistle, I understand, is actually native to this region and is much prized for its ability to attract pollinators.

Weather Station

 

I could enjoy, I think, having a weather station like the one at York River State Park shown above but I doubt my homeowners association would approve. :-)

 

 

Partly cloudy sky over Jamestown High School.

 

Linking today with Skywatch Friday

Fruit to Nuts

 

 

 

I never cease to be amazed by both the variety of trees we have here in Williamsburg, literally everything from fruit to nuts. :-)

Seed Pods

 

I've been watching the seed pods on our Southern Magnolia trees in the area mature. 

Last Light

Sunset

 

 

 

Sentry Duty

Ships, Old and New

Festival Park, where the masts of the replicas of the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery are just barely visible.

A more modern ship, the Century Bright, shown above, is here seen heading toward the Chesapeake Bay after leaving the port in Hopewell, Virginia.

Pocahontas

 

A couple of the other "passengers" taking the Jamestown Scotland Ferry across the James River last night.

 

 

Clouds forming on the horizon hold out the promise, at least, of cooler temperatures to come.

 

 

Linking today with Skywatch Friday.