Father Pitt

Category: Nature

  • Moss

    Moss on a log

  • Crocus Buds

    Appearing today in Beechview.

  • Snowdrops

    Snowdrops

    Blooming today in Shadyside.

  • Wall of Ice in Banksville

    Wall of ice

    Every year the cliff behind Banksville Plaza grows a spectacular crop of icicles that merge into a wall of ice.

  • Winter Stream

    Stream in Bethel Park in winter

  • Twigs in the Snow

    Twigs in the snow

    The line between artistic minimalism and dullness is thin and permeable. Which one does this picture represent? You get to decide! Old Pa Pitt intends the single dry leaf as symbolism, and you also get to decide what it symbolizes.

  • Freezing Rain and Snow

    Ice on a lichen-covered branch
    Ice on crabapples
    Ice on a lichen-covered branch

  • Witch Hazel

    Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) is one of old Pa Pitt’s favorite plantings. It blooms in the dead of winter; it keeps its petals closed until a warmer day comes along, and then it unfurls its little red flowers and floods its surroundings with perfume. But if you bring in a few twigs and put them in a vase, you don’t have to wait for a warm day. The flowers will unfurl within hours, and then in a day or two the perfume will start filling your house. You can have a fresh bouquet from the garden in the middle of January.

    The twiggy bouquets make an interesting display, and for some reason it occurred to Father Pitt that he should attempt to photograph one in the manner of the 1930s.

  • Snow

    Snow on coneflower seedheads

    Above: Snow on seedheads of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).

    Below: Snow on seedheads of Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum).

    Snow on garlic chives seedheads

  • Sweetgum Fruits

    Sweetgum fruits

    The unmistakable dried seedpods of Liquidambar styriciflua on the ground in the West Park arboretum. Sweetgum is not native to our area—its range ends a little south of us—but it is so widely planted that it is one of our more common trees.