Father Pitt

Category: Nature

  • Montour Run in Early Autumn

    Montour Run

    In Moon Township, Montour Run alternates between placid pools reflecting the forest around them and gentle burbling rapids.

    Montour Run with tree leaning over the water
    Trees reclected in Montour Run
    Montour Run
    Reflections in Montour Run

  • Print of a Sweetgum Leaf

    from a sweetgum leaf on the sidewalk
    Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

    The leaf has blown away, but the impression it left on the sidewalk will remain for a while longer.

  • Shakespeare’s Honeysuckle

    Lonicera periclymenum is the honeysuckle Shakespeare knew and celebrated. A number of cultivars with flowers in different color combinations have been bred; this one is called “Peaches and Cream.” Unlike Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), it does not take over whole counties, so it is a responsible garden flower in our area.

    Samsung Galaxy A15 5G with Open Camera.

  • Fungus on a Log

    Fungus growing on a log in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon
    Kodak EasyShare Z981.

    A very decorative fungus growing on a log deep in the woods in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon.

  • Montour Run

    Montour Run

    End-of-summer sunlight filters through the leaves along Montour Run in Moon Township.

    Montour Run
    Montour Run
    Montour Run
    Montour Run
    Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6; Kodak EasyShare Z1285.

  • Morning Glories

    Three colors of Ipomoea purpurea

    Three different colors of morning glories were blooming in this patch in Beechview, and in one spot all three colors happened to line up and beg to have their picture taken.

    Among wild morning glories, deep violet and pink are the usual colors. The pale blue is much rarer. Here is one of those blue flowers on its own. Enlarge it to see the tiny fly with bright red eyes, which shows us that nature is never at a loss for decorative ideas.

    More of the flowers that bloom in every season can be found at Flora Pittsburghensis.

    Blue morning glory
    Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

  • Mushrooms

    Mushroom pushing up through the leaves

    Deep in the woods in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon.

    Two mushrooms in the leaf litter
    Mushroom under a fallen branch
    Mushroom with cap fully extended
    Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

  • Zinnias

    Pink Zinnia with more in the background

    There is always room for more zinnias, which give us some of the most outrageously bright colors in the annual garden.

    Red-orange zinnia
    Pale pink zinnia
    Orange zinnia with pink at the base of the petals
    Nearly white zinnia
    Double pink zinnia
    Samsung Galaxy A15 with Open Camera; Kodak EasyShare Z981.

  • Coleus

    Coleus scutellarioides

    Coleus scutellarioides is that plant with the brightly colored leaves you see planted wherever a shady patch needs brightening up. The number and variety of cultivars will make your head spin, but here we present a manageable five from gardens in Shadyside and from Phipps Conservatory.

    Coleus scutellarioides
    Coleus scutellarioides
    Coleus scutellarioides
    Coleus scutellarioides

  • Cosmos and Pennsylvania Leatherwing

    Father Pitt is fairly certain that the insect enjoying the pollen of this Cosmos sulphureus flower is a Pennsylvania Leatherwing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus), a common kind of soldier beetle that prefers yellowish flowers that match its own snazzy uniform. He is always delighted to be corrected, however, by someone with more entomological expertise than he has.