It’s a magnificent early spring, and the magnolias are already in bloom. This tree was in full flower beside Fallowfield Avenue in Beechview.
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Magnolias
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Wall of Ice in Banksville
Every year, this cliff behind a shopping center in Banksville grows a curtain of icicles. The unusually warm weather this year has made the curtain thinner and pointier.
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Flowers in Winter
An unusually mild and wet winter so far: though January has come, there are still flowers blooming here and there, as these pot marigolds (Calendula officinalis) in Bellevue. That will probably change as cold weather moves in over the next few days.
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Autumn Leaves in Schenley Park
The climate is just a bit warmer in the middle of the city, so fall colors last longer in Schenley Park than they do in the suburbs. Here we have an album of autumn leaves from the end of October.
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A Yellow Wood
A late-autumn scene in Mount Lebanon: a babbling brook and thousands of yellow leaves from sugar maples.
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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
Many butterflies have colorful wings, but the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) has a body to match, as we can see in this close view. This is one of our most spectacularly beautiful butterflies, and one of our most common as well.
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The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm from Father Pitt on Vimeo.
Yesterday’s storm clouds as they gathered over Mount Lebanon. This video has no sound, and nothing happens in it except clouds moving. If, like old Pa Pitt, you find clouds fascinating, you might like it. The rest of you will be completely bored for just three seconds shy of a minute.
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Storm Clouds
Storm clouds are moving across the area, bringing welcome relief from the heat, but also lightning, strong winds, and power outages.
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Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
A Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) visits the flowers of a Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) in Beechview. If you like butterflies, a butterfly garden is easy to put together and beautiful in its own right. The Butterfly Bush is a good start; milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) and coneflowers (Echinacea spp.) will also bring crowds of butterflies.
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Babbling Brook
A moment of serenity by a babbling brook in Fox Chapel, swollen with spring rains.