Damp, cool, and overcast are the prevailing themes of this year's fall season. But even on the darkest of days, nature's inner light cannot be denied. On days like this, as a photographer, I get the benefit of longer exposure shots, which make the colors of the fall forest all the more vivid, expressive, and moody. My early morning hike in Cheat River Canyon reminded me how mist, carotenoids, sandstone, and moss can cast a magical spell that brings joy even on the darkest days.
I'm just saying Russ would have treated Audrey much better than Orin did and showed him how to be a real rockabilly greaser. No, I will not take constructive criticism.
Up on the plateau, native penstemon and buckwheat vie for attention with all sorts of lichen. Despite the exposure, there's a lot of life up here; you just have look closely to see how much. August 2023.
linked universe modern au where Wild is an aspiring wildlife biologists/taxonomist and he and Flora go out in the woods and look at little creatures on the daily. they have a little youtube channel where they post their adventures in the wild, which is mostly just them climbing stuff and rattling off facts about plants and animals. the rest of the chain is a bit concerned about how often they get close to dangerous wildlife or fall on their asses but there really isn’t any stopping them so whatever
NC-WV is finally enjoying a dry, sunny spring weekend after weeks of near nonstop, flooding rain. That was all the incentive I needed to take my first long hike of the spring at Coopers Rock State Forest. The wildflower progression on top of Chestnut Ridge is running about 2 weeks behind that at lower elevations, but there were plenty of early spring beauties on display this afternoon. From top: Allegheny serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis); long-spurred violet (Viola rostrata); halberd-leaved yellow violet (Viola hastata); downy rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens); trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), which is not herbaceous but a mat-forming, evergreen shrub in the health family; broadleaf toothwort (Cardamine diphylla), also known as two-leaf toothwort; and round-lobed hepatica (Hepatica americana), which prefers drier woods than sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba), which I typically find growing on the rocky, calcareous slopes along the Monongahela River.