Greenway Fall Flowers

Sometimes I think there are nearly as many flowers blooming in the Fall as in the Spring, at least along the greenways. A couple of shots from my morning bike trips on Stones River and Shelby Bottoms Greenways:

A New Flower Today

And of course I can't find it in either one of my Tennessee wildflower books. Let me know if you know the name of it. It is growing in many places along the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. (Thanks to Jill for identifying it for me!)

Hollow Joe-Pye Weed

Eastern Box Turtle

Eastern Box Turtle
On Shelby Bottoms Greenway

Saw this little guy slowly trying to cross the paved path Monday. I stopped, made this photo, then picked him up and put him across the path before he got hit by a fast-moving bike.

Keep your eyes open! There is always another adventure around the next corner. 

Wild Potato Vine

I am still riding my bike on the greenways three days a week, just not posting many photos. I was calling this flower a wild morning glory and it is in the morning glory family, but most commonly called Wild Potato Vine and sometimes Man Root or Wild Rhubarb. It has a giant root that can weigh up to 30 pounds and be up to 4 feet long! Amazing! The technical name is ipmoea pandurata. Cool! There is always something new in nature and on both these greenways!

Wild Potato Vine
ipomoea pandurata

I've been seeing a lot of these for the last week or two. Nice! 

Indigo Bunting

This is only my second shot of one, both with cell phone and too far away to see well, but at least this one shows the whole bird. They are mostly on the move and fast-moving and really avoid people. Seldom seen up close. It reminds me of the Blue Morpho Butterfly I've seen in Amazon and Costa Rica but no good photos!

Indigo Bunting Cropped In
On Shelby Bottoms Greenway

Cropped Even More

My earlier May sighting photo only caught his head. They are the most brilliant blue of any bird in North America, I think. It is also interesting to note for any regulars on the greenways that both of these shots were made at the Shelby Bottoms end of the Cumberland River Bridge.

More Flowers on the Greenway

This shot was made the day before I left for Warren, AR trip and late posting. And I haven't looked up their name yet, but will. The visual feast I get riding my bike is just a bonus to the good health and adventure!

Carolina Rose or Multiflora Rose

Indigo Bunting

His head is peaking from behind one of the leaves in lower left quadrant. I've seen several Indigo Buntings along the Shelby Bottoms Greenway, always flying. They don't sit around on branches like some birds. And this tiny glimpse is the only photo I have managed so far - though not much. Click to see larger version. Made with my little pocket camera, Canon Powershot. I'll keep looking for a better shot.

Indigo Bunting Peeking Over a Leaf

Shelby Bottoms Greenway

My regular routine three days a week is to bike the Stones River Greenway five miles to the Shelby Bottoms Greenway pictured here, three miles to the Nature Center giving me a round trip of 16 miles. Shelby Bottoms is an easier greenway because there are few hills, unlike Stones River with many steep hills. When more ambitious I go downtown making it a 22 or 23 mile trip or to Bicentennial Mall and Farmers' Market for a 28 mile round trip. Shelby Bottoms is mostly level and wooded like in this photo.

Clover Overtaking Mustard Flowers

My last two bike trips on the Greenway have been only to the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center, but I have noticed all along the greenway that clover has suddenly appeared and becoming dominant over the yellow flowers of last week. Plus it was fun to find one little patch of Red Clover near the skatepark in Two Rivers Park. Maybe I'll get a photo of them Wednesday when I hope to go all the way to downtown Nashville which gives me 23 miles instead of the 16 ridden today. It is so good to have a nature-filled greenway to bike on!