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:

5 New Bird Photos From Costa Rica

Be sure to see the 5 bird photos I posted on my Costa Rica Decision Process Blog. Three are first-time sightings for me: Black-billed Nightingale-thrush, Collared Redstart, and Volcano Junco. The Toucan and Quetzal are possibly better images than I already have. My two days birding on the two-week trip were my favorite. The purpose of the trip was to see if I could re-retire in Costa Rica and it looks like I may by the end of the year. 

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.

Beauty Reflected

A reflection of trees in the Stones River from the little bridge near Hartland Park. There are new natural beauties every time I ride my bike on the greenway!

Stones River, Nashville, TN