Monuments

I guess you probably already know that our mountains in Virginia are old. I mean, REALLY old, to the tune of millions and millions of years old. That's why I felt like I was walking back in time the minute I set foot on the Hightop Mountain Trail, which is part of the 2100+ mile Appalachian Trail . It's filled with--as I'm told Nathaniel Hawthorne once put it--"earth's undecaying monuments." 

Huge boulders stacked one on top of another suddenly made me feel very, VERY small and in awe of the unimaginably powerful forces that put them there.

Fir Tree

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey

Magnolia

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey

Japanese Maple

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey

Ginkgo

Smith College Arboretum

Northampton, Massachusetts

 

Got Woodpeckers?

Robert Frost Trail

Mount Toby Recreation Area

Peach

Signs & Wonders

York River State Park

Old Knobby

 

Taskinas Trail, York River State Park

Autumn Sky

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. :-)

Peaches!

 

 

 

I've been somewhat surprised to see peaches coming into season here lately.  Surprised, because I can remember seeing the trees, but not the fruit. So maybe they've just taken this long to fruit. I've read that it can take from three to four years to do so, and this does look like a very young tree.

 

Southern Magnolia

Log

 

This section of a tree trunk is from the tulip poplar that stood near the west front of Monticello. Centuries old, the tree succumbed to old age and disease and was removed in 2008. Although traditionally regarded as a tree from the era of Thomas Jefferson, the absence of solid wood and growth rings prevented a precise determination of the tree's age.

Catalpas

 

Now is the perfect time of year to experience the catalpa trees in Williamsburg at their peak. 

Fringe Tree

A couple of different looks at the Fringe Tree captured just at peak bloom.

Live Oak

"The name live oak comes from the fact that evergreen oaks remain green and 'live' throughout winter, when other oaks are dormant and leafless. The name is used mainly in North America, where evergreen oaks are widespread in warmer areas along the Atlantic coast from southeast Virginia to Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to Louisiana and Mexico, and across the southwest to California." -- Wikipedia

Smoketree

I'm keeping an eye out for the "smoke." :-) The flowers, it's said, are clustered in a large open terminal panicles with a fluffy grayish-buff appearance resembling a cloud of smoke over the plant, from which the name derives.

Tranquility

 

Location, Location, Location

This tree on the corner of Boundary and Prince George Street is a photographer's favorite in Williamsburg, partly, I suspect, because it is exceptionally beautiful and partly because it happens to be across the street from one of the town's most popular restaurants. As is true in so many cases, it's all about location, location, location.