A bouquet of dried flowers and grasses in warm shades of cream, tan, yellow and brown is set in a glass vase on a garden shed outside shelf. The shed is painted ochre yellow, the door and shelf are white. There is assorted metallic junk on the shelf as well. The overall effect is cluttered and disheveled.

Some of the summer's #warmth is captured in a dried autumn bouquet by the shed
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurGarden #BlueskyArtShow

A very small tan and brown Mycena species mushroom sits among blue green lichen and green mosses on the top of a dark gray wooden fence. A Dacrymyces species jelly mushroom can be seen looking like an orange dot at the right.

Teeny tiny bonnet mushroom
Sitting on the fence
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurNeighborhood #OurGarden #FungiFriends #FungiLovers #FungusFriday #Mushrooms

The small oval leaves of a barberry bush range in color from yellow, to red, to orange, to purple and deep lavender. Looking down on the bush, the colors are overlaid like bubbles of light. Here and there shiny red berries poke up at the end of stems. It's easy to not notice the vicious thorns hiding along the branches!

Brilliant barberry bushes will drop all their leaves soon, leaving behind bright red bead-like berries on thorny branches.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MapleLeafNeighborhood #AutumnColors
#EastCoastKin

A couple of stems of bright pink crabapples grow on short spur stems off tree branches. The branches are covered with bright green moss and dusty blue green lichen patches. The pink of the crabapples contrasts sharply with the moss and lichen, making for seasonally festive natural decorations.

Bright pink crabapples. This tree was so odd: the crabapples were growing on short spurs all over the branches, so that it looked like a bright pink knobby mossy hedgehog tree.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #StreetTrees #Mosses #Lichen #MapleLeafNeighborhood

An apple tree branch shows off its small collection of blue green lichen (a branched Usnea species, a flat branch hugging common shield lichen, a fruticose oakmoss) and a couple of twigs of vibrant green moss (cats tail?)

It's that time of year when the leaves are gone and the lichen and mosses growing on the tree branches take center stage
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurNeighborhood #Lichen #Mosses

Several carved orange pumpkins sit in piled up russet leaves. Their features are caving into their black decayed innards. The once firm, rounded walls are soft and spongy. Nearby are three warty squashes, one large pinkish white one with a smaller bright yellow one on top, and one light orange one rolled further back behind some dried bare shrub branches. More mossy bare shrub branches form a dark backdrop.

Rainy days and Halloween graveyards
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurNeighborhood #MapleLeafNeighborhood

An array of fallen leaves in shades of yellow , green and gray, lay on top of the rough boards of a bridge. The photo is processesd to give it the feel of a drawing, the colors overlaid with a slight green haze to make it look like old tapestry.

Tapestry
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #Autumn #Leaves #Artsy #EastCoastKin

Bigleaf maple leaves cover the park lawn. They're layered on top of each other, like a haphazard puzzle. Looking closely, you can see that there are many shades of brown, from light yellow brown, to tan, to orangey brown, to purple brown. There are a few splotches or a blue-white fungal rot. A bright yellow elm tree leaf at the bottom of the photo makes for a sharp contrast.

Shades of brown
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #Leaves #EastCoastKin #BigleafMaple

Bright sunlight pours down between trees with some bright yellow leaves. The thin leaf layer tints the light a pale yellow. Young big leaf maples and cottonwood tree trunks reach upward. The ground and the banks of the creek are covered with a litter of yellow and brown leaves. The creek water is a dark navy blue and hazily reflects the sky and trees. The whole effect is of bright and dark contrasts.

Light and dark
Looking down on Ravenna Creek on a winter afternoon
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #RavennaCreek #EastCoastKin

A trio of bright pink roses, they look like Bourbon roses? with very double blossoms. At any rate, the one on the left is drooping and dropping petals, the other two appear to be fully open. They are atop a naked branches, and the background is a profusion of green, from vegetable patch greenery. The outer petals are full of translucent rain drops.

Still raining but it is breaking up for sun tomorrow. Some plucky roses still blooming on bare branches at the P-Patch
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #SeattleParks #PicardoFarmPPatch #BloomScrolling #EastCoastKin

A patch of stinky iris displays several open pods full of bright orange berries. The pods are gray and wrinkly, and are split in three sections. They are amid strappy green iris leaves. Stinky iris is also called roast beef plant, stinking iris, Gladwin iris, or stinking Gladwin, among other names. The plant isn't really stinky unless you crush the leaves, and then its noxious vapors envelop you.

Stinky iris, (Iris foetidissima) has interesting pods full of bright orange berries for winter color.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #SeattleParks #PicardoFarmPPatch #BloomScrolling
#EastCoastKin

Looking down a trail between the trees at Ravenna Park, with a green painted fence on the left and a bank on the right. You can see that everything is covered with fallen yellow and brown leaves, with the embankment on the left going down to the unseen creek, and on the right to the unseen street above. The trees on either side are either almost barren with some yellow leaves clinging, or dark green firs and red cedars. The atmosphere is gray and moist as the drizzly rain falls.

A soggy doggy rainy day walk
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark

A small patch of rainbow Swiss chard is growing enthusiastically for winter meals. The large lance shaped leaves are light green with yellow ribs, dark purple - green with magenta-red ribs, and vivid green with orange ribs. They are deeply convoluted and glossy from the rain. There is a ground cover of wild strawberry leaves growing among the chard plants.

Wet Swiss chard looks like patchwork rain slickers in the Picardo Farm P-Patch
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #Vegetables #SeattleParks #PicardoFarmPPatch

A small white tea bush flower looks like an underdeveloped camellia. Its 5 white petals are spread out facing down, and its central cluster of bright yellow anthers take the show. The tea leaves are mid green, oval and serrated. I don't know if we could grow a lot of tea around here, but this one is thriving. Because of this week's rain, there are raindrops pearling on top of the flower.

There is a real tea bush (Camellia sinensis) growing in the P-Patch! I did a double take when I saw it.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #SeattleParks #PicardoFarmPPatch #EastCoastKin
#TeaBush

Wooden memorial bench dedicated to the erstwhile Charlie Myers in the P-Patch, amid some nice garden plots. There is a glass garden table in front, and wood chips underfoot. There is a lot of seating in the patch, btw

Wrought iron bench dedicated to to Antoinette Crotty, "a passionate gardener", set on paver stones, also placed amid some nice plots. I think the plots near the benches are scrutinized for appearance!

I guess this wooden bench, dedicated to Jack Rucker, is made of pine, since it is covered with lichen and moss. It is set under some large bare shrubs in the pollinators garden. It is littered with leaves, but has a planter next to it full of green nasturtium leaves. Nasturtiums seem almost perennial here.

This is the apple patch patio, where we orchardists labor in fall, picking and sorting apples. It has a property line cedar fence at the back. The concrete pad is littered with apple tree leaves as well as others. There is a green wrought iron patio set with a table and four chairs. You can see a few shrubs off to the right and left sides. There is a polyester apple cover bag on the table filled with dried leaves for some reason. I left it there in case someone was performing sympathetic magic.

Monty and I wandered through the P Patch after I verified that my green manure wasn't thriving (I left it too late, or the rainy season started too early, so straw time😁). I never noticed the memorial benches before.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleParks #SeattleAutumn #PicardoFarmPPatch

A cluster of bonnet (Mycena galericulata? M. inclinata? ) mushrooms grows on an old log among fallen leaves. The mushrooms are small, with convex grayish-tan caps and slender feet. You can see the striation of the gills through the thin caps. The leaves surrounding the cluster are in shades of yellow, and also spotted with autumnal rot. There is some moss on the log, and a few brown pine needles. These grow everywhere, and are the prototypical LBM.

Small brown mushrooms, some species of Mycena or bonnet (M. galericulata or inclinata?), grow on a dark rotting log. They are framed by a brown maple leaf and a yellow-brown oak leaf. There is a bit of green moss poking out from under the leaves.

A couple of Mycena fungus species popping up to rot rot rot that wood away
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #FungiFriends #FungiLovers #FungusFriday
#EastCoastKin

A variegated heart shaped hosta leaf takes center stage. Its center is a creamy greenish white. The border is dark green, with a yellowing edge reminding us that winter is close. The leaf has strong veination and an interesting quilted texture. There are other hosta leaves behind, creating a background of quilted greens and yellows.

The hosts are working on retiring for the winter
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurNeighborhood #OurGarden

Looking out at Lake Washington from one of the tree bordered lawns, you can see Lake City Neighborhood on the opposite shore. The trees are full of golden leaves ready to drop and the lawn is carpeted with them. There are Douglas firs across the grass, bordering private property. The sky is a hazy blue with streaky clouds. The park is located on a major bike trail so sometimes you have to avoid avid bikers even in the middle of the week and the middle of the day!

Looking out at Lake Washington from one of the tree bordered lawns, you can see Lake City Neighborhood on the opposite shore. The trees are full of golden leaves ready to drop and the lawn is carpeted with them. There are Douglas firs across the grass, bordering private property. The sky is a hazy blue with streaky clouds. Although the sandy beach is mostly a thin strip, this is a popular swimming spot and the site of the annual polar bear dive.

A visit to Matthews Beach Park, a petite pretty city park jammed in between houses and the road. The beach itself is a thin sand strip.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleParks #LakeCityNeighborhood #LakeWashington #SeattleAutumn

Looking up into a redbud tree in autumn is a dizzying experience, with the alternating layers of bright orange, light yellow and olive green heart shaped leaves shine against an overcast sky.

Five lobed red maple leaves in shades of red, yellow and orange are wind blown onto a paver-lined pathway. The winter sun is shining at a low angle, and a wall's shadow covers some of the leaves, while others shine in the bright light, casting shadows on the pavers.

An array of birch, oak and liquidumbar leaves are blown up against a tree trunk. One liquidumbar leaf, resting on top of the rest, is a striking deep magenta color. It contrasts sharply with the bright yellows and more subdued oranges of the rest of the leaves

Two five-lobed maple leaves rest on top of a mossy fence post, along with a couple of maple samaras. The larger leaf on the left is turning brown but has echoes of red in the veins, and a red stem. The smaller leaf on the right is a smooth even red. The samaras are brown with streaks of red. The background fence post is gray with dark green clumps of moss and various small brown seeds caught in the clumps.

A last burst of color from the past week. Now all the leaves are brown, it's cold and cloudy and misty.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #OurNeighborhood #Autumn

A couple of white garden chairs sit at the bottom of a small dip in a garden. There are stone steps leading to the garden nook. Red and gold trees border the spit, which is carpeted with various ferns, small bushes, grasses and low growing ground cover. Tall street trees soar above the garden into a blue sky with wispy white clouds.

A nice little garden nook
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MapleLeafNeighborhood #OurNeighbors

Three apple trees are espaliered on a wire grid in a garden bordering the street, forming a low wall of leafy apple laden branches. Two of them have red and gold apples, and the one on the far end has yellow ones. If you look closely you can see some of the red and gold apples have bird pecks in them. There is a rock wall below the apple trees. The sky above is blue with wispy clouds.

Nicely espaliered apples, probably dwarf. It's too bad the birds pecked them, because they were covered during the growing season. Hopefully they get harvested before other critters eat them!
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MapleLeafNeighborhood #SeasonalFruit #NeighborhoodGardens

A small cluster of white fungi with black feet (they look a bit like fingers) poke out of the wood they are decomposing. They're called candlesnuff because they look like the ( inverted) wick of a snuffed candle.

Candlesnuff mushrooms (probably Xylaria hypoxylon)
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #FungiFriends #FungiLovers #EastCoastKin

A yellow birch leaf, caught in a spot of light, rests on a dark gray concrete bridge railing next to a elegantly scrolled pale gray graffiti "letter". Another dry green leaf rests in the middle of the letter. You can see a couple more darkly colored leaves in the background. The lighting is sombre because the day is overcast.

A glyph and a leaf
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #EastCoastKin

A branch of brilliantly colored dogwood tree leaves fills the frame with oval heavily veined leaves in shades of orange, red, yellow and purple. The leaves are mostly bordered in red or red and purple, and fade through orange to yellow around the main vein. There are a couple of yellow leaves off to the right, and you can peek at the ground littered with brown leaves in the interstices.

Monty the gray shih tzu sniffs at the mossy base of a tree in a lawn full of yellow, brown, orange and red leaves.

Dogwood and dog wood
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MapleLeafNeighborhood #AutumnLeafScrolling #Autumn #FallColors #EastCoastKin

Monty, a small gray shih tzu dog looks quizzically at me while standing on a muddy path carpeted with autumn leaves. The leaves are from poplars, maples and elastic, and ars green, yellow, and shades of brownish orange.

"I may be muddy and dirty but my heart is pure"
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #RavennaPark #DogsOfBluesky #ShihTzusOfBluesky
#EastCoastKin

A plateful of small mushrooms. The caps are rounded and a velvety dark brown. Under the caps you can see a mass of creamy, greenish yellow pores. The thick stems are yellow with striped red feet. A few of them have some dirt and mycelium still attached to the foot. Zeller's boletes are edible but not very flavorful. My daughter is a dedicated forager, and who knows what delicious or poisonous bounty she'll bring back! If you think birders are nuts, you should meet mushroomers.

She told me she was leaving

And wouldn't be back until tomorrow. (My daughter Laurie, the mycologist) Now I know why!
Zeller's boletes (Boletus zelleri) found nearby
#MushroomsForaging #Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #FungiFriends #Mushrooms

A cluster of bright red-orange madrone (Arbutus menziesii) berries hangs down amid dark green glossy leaves. The leaves are lanceolate, thick and have well marked yellow veination. The trees are evergreen. The background is more leaves and clusters or single berries in this healthy tree.

More berries for the birds
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MapleLeafPark

An array of dark blue Virginia creeper berries at the end of bright red stems hangs down from a dark vine branch arching across a tough fence. The bright sun casts the shadows of the berries and the branches on the fence. The roughness of the boards also casts shadows. The reds and blues are very contrasty. FYI the berries are not for people because they can make one sick. They're for the birds!

Berries for the birds
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MapleLeafPark #EastCoastKin

A tall, elegant tulip tree covered with golden leaves soars against the hazy blue and white skioes. The lawn around the tree is carpeted with the four pointed leaves in shades of yellow to brown. The tree is backed by pine trees. Off to the left you can see more lawn leading down to the shore of Lake Washington, with the neighborhood spread across the distant shore, backed by a blue line of mountains.

Some tulip tree leaves fallen to the ground; they are atop a base of older, dark brown leaves; they have a shape vaguely similar to maple leaves, but the gour to six pointed lobes are not dentate. The leaves are bright or light yellow, orange, and tan. There are a few raindrops sitting on a few leaves.

Tulips trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) are one of my favorites, with straight trunks, majestic shapes, pretty leaves and flowers. A native of eastern North America, it's a lovely park tree.
#Photography #SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #MatthewsBeachPark #LakeWashington #EastCoastKin

Messages from the Big Dark, Seattle, USA
"Welp, that sunrise WAS the sun you saw in the forecast. Now for some more rain"
#SeattleWashington #SeattleAutumn #SeattleWinter