A Benign, Gracious Autumn - Balm for the Soul

My treat, after finishing paper #1, was a trip to the Botanic Garden.  It was a spectacular day, and I listened to HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban as I wandered.  

Cranford Rose Garden - the part without the roses.
Last year, there were gourds hanging from the trellis

One of many bees

Beautyberry

It was my first visit since they unveiled the new "smart water garden."

Lantana

Black Velvet Petunia

Sweet Alyssum
"Blushing Princess"

Devil's Trumpet

Foxglove

Shayne Dark, "Pickup Red" (2016)

An Alpine Wasp's Nest?

At first I thought this ball was an over-sized acorn -- perhaps some strange alpine effect on the stunted tree -- but then I noticed the actual acorns, which were small, and smooth, and very traditionally shaped.    

Atop Bull Hill, an oak has begun to turn.

Hike stats: 6.7 miles, Washburn > Notch > Brook > Cornish.  We stopped at the Foundry Cafe for ALTs (avocado, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches).  Delicious, but I think they could go more easy on the mayo.

On Saturday, I'd done the same route as a solo hike.  The really beautiful and extensive fungi I'd seen and photographed with my phone Saturday had all been hacked off and taken away or destroyed by the time I returned with my real camera.  I was so disappointed!

Today in Cold Spring: Glorious Rose-Peach Fungi

I was entranced by the glorious fungi today.

Extraordinary turquoise or blue-green berries

Delicate scalloped shelves of fungi on a bit of a stump in the middle of the Washburn Trail

Um, is someone missing these?

A fallen branch

First glimpse of the extensive lovely fungi

A hand for scale

I moved these sticks closer together to contrast
the pale sea-green lichen with the lavender-brown fungus

These pale pink fungi looked like pearls;
unfortunately my phone couldn't do them justice

Some hardy butterflies on the bush, one with wings outstretched

6.7 miles, the usual route (Washburn > Notch > Brook > Cornish)