Mountain Laurels - Part Deux

My ten years + mountain laurel project bore fruit this spring. I mean flowers.


For those whose schedules are too busy to click on the picture:


Mountain laurels are poisonous...but the meese will eat them if they are hungry enough. For instance, if it's winter on the mountain and there is a large concentration of meese in the area.


We don't drive on your shooting range...

I had been sitting on this since my first mountain laurel post, as I was hoping to get a picture when the flowers were bigger. Ah well.

Next year.
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Invisible Bikes and Mountain Laurels

My contribution to TexWiscGirl's Good Fences #88. I was going to count the suet cage as a 'fence...'



But I can go with a mountain laurel roundup instead. The front two look great.


Next over is a recent transplant from the side of the house, where it languished a couple years. All things considered, it's doing well.

And here's mountain laurel #4. In May, this one was doing the best of all of them. But then it developed this brown spot leaf disease over the summer, and it still has it. Does anyone know what it is, and what to do about it?

P.S. I'm also linking to N.F.'s Trees n Bushes 35.
Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions.
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Mountain Laurel update

Mountain Laurel update





This is what the last one looked like last year. Apparently the opening in the top of the cage was too large. All the upper leaves have been eaten, there's one dead branch, and one live branch at the bottom...
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Cacapon Mountain 11.28.2011

Since it was supposed to rain all day Wednesday Tuesday (and so far, it has been), I thought I'd get my Cacapon Mountain hike in Tuesday Monday while the leaves were dry. The creek picture at the start of the trail was taken at 3:24 p.m., and the ultimate picture was taken at 5:09 (sunset is at 4:50 pm these days...I had to hotfoot it down the mountain).

















So I made it back home with no more than the usual ankle-spraining, except for the very last part of the hike when a step on a leaf-covered rock resulted in my left ankle hurting all night. It seems to be fine now, though. See what I do for all you kids?

UPDATE: Mountain Laurel update for Jennifer






Cross-posted at Whiskey Fire. Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions.)
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Mountain laurels

I find my best hunting is up here on the mountain top, in the clearing for the power lines.

Here we find a herd of mountain laurels. They have gathered into a defensive formation.


After a long stalk and a quick chase, I managed to cut one of the calves away from the herd.


Now for a quick hike back down the mountain. Here is one I planted in 2006. It seemed fine in 2007, but suddenly died towards the end of the year.


In the morning sun, the next day.


You might notice the maximum security fence surrounding the laurel. Of course, I wouldn't want he/she/it/plant/Kalmia latifolia to wander off. The laurel is confused and frightened in its new home, and might get hit by a car if it strayed. But there is more to it than that, and therein lies a tail. Or two. Or a lot.


To be continued...
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Morning Sounds - Cacapon Mountain, West Virginia

Mountain Laurel Checkup: Looking Good!




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Mountain Laurel Federal Penitentiary, West Virginia

UPDATE:

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Dirt and Fences

I was looking for my most recent mountain laurel photos (my main long term dirt efforts), but I can't find them. Instead, here are some birds from May:


And since it took so long to get my "Dirty" post together for Carmi's Thematic Photographic 301, this is also my contribution to TexWisGirl's Good Fences 17:

Just for the halibut, here is an Ashburn crab spider:

Mouse over pics for captions, and click them for larger versions.
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