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Patterns in the Woods
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Another Groundhog Eating an Acorn
If groundhogs are going to pose for their portraits, then Father Pitt will indulge their vanity.
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A Ginkgo Drops Its Leaves
A Ginkgo biloba has just dropped its leaves in the Union Dale Cemetery. Ginkgo biloba is an odd tree in almost every respect, and this is one of its odd habits. Most trees lose their leaves over the course of a few days, but a Ginkgo loses them in a surprisingly short time, almost all at once. If there is not much wind, the result is a rich golden carpet with the tree at the center of it.
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Last Burst of Color in West End Park
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Steller’s Sea Eagle at the National Aviary
By some measurements the largest of all eagles, Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is native to the eastern coast of Asia, where it hunts fish and gulls. This bird, however, gets all its meals catered.
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Fall Colors in Mellon Park
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Fall in the Homewood Cemetery
Many more pictures of gorgeous monuments and fall leaves are at Father Pitt’s Pittsburgh Cemeteries site.
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Groundhog with an Acorn
KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA This scraggly groundhog has found an acorn and seems to be thoroughly enjoying it. Groundhogs love to eat grass and—especially—your garden vegetables, but they vary their diet with nuts and other things that appeal to the squirrel in them.
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Croton Leaves in the Stove Room at Phipps
Garden Croton (Codiaeum variegatum) in the Stove Room, Phipps Conservatory. Like many tropical plants in the horticultural trade, it carries an outdated genus name (Croton) along with it as its common name.
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Wattled Currasow in the National Aviary
This bird is probably the most photographed of her species (Crax globulosa) in the world. She lives in the Wetlands room at the National Aviary, and she has a habit of sidling right up to visitors to see if they have anything good to offer her. Or perhaps she just likes the company. Or—to think more like a bird—perhaps she thinks she needs to keep an eye on us when we encroach on her territory. In the wild, the Wattled Currasow is an endangered species. At the Aviary, though, she lives a pretty soft life.
