Leader of Today’s Ramble: Catherine

Author of Today’s Report: Linda

Nature Ramble Rainy Day Policy: We show up at 9:00am, rain or shine. If it’s raining, we will meet and socialize in the conservatory (bring your own coffee); if there is a break in the rain, we’ll go outside and do a little rambling.

Today’s Emphasis: Because of the rain and UGA’s closure, today’s ramble was an indoors art ramble, inspired by Margot Guralnick’s Urban Botanical Art which you can see here.

Number of Ramblers This Rainy day: 12

Catherine welcomed us into her home for an art ramble on this rainy day when the university and the Garden are closed in anticipation of Hurricane Helene. Meanwhile, many ramblers didn’t receive the announcement of the revised ramble location due to a glitch in Linda’s email program. So sorry, y’all!

In addition to coffee, Catherine also provided us with trays of found art materials she’d gathered on her walks. The results of coffee + natural collections + congenial company are below.

Myrna didn’t receive the directions to Catherine’s house but made art from plant materials from her garden and sent in her photos, below.

Meanwhile, Bill and Roger, above, were prowling Catherine’s back forty and Bill took a photo of a fly parasitized by a fungus, left. You can see fungal threads binding the fly and the abdomen swollen with fungi. The next day, Bill took the photo in his lab, right, and you can see that the fly is partially covered with the spreading fungus.

Postscript: I’ve only recently learned that Oriental Bittersweet vines are an emerging and very serious invasive species in Athens. Learn how to distinguish American Bittersweet from Oriental Bittersweet here.

SPECIES APPEARING IN TODAY’S ART WORK – CAN YOU MATCH THE NAME TO THE ITEM IN THE ARTWORK?
American Beautybush Callicarpa americana
Black Gum Nyssa biflora
Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosus
Camellia Camellia sinensis
Fig Tree Ficus sp.
Fragrant Rabbit Tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Japanese Maple Acer palmatum
Loblolly Pine Pinus taeda
Luna Moth Actias luna
Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra
Overcup Oak Quercus lyrata
Painted Buckeye Aesculus sylvatica
Pignut Hickory Carya glabra
Red Turk’s Cap Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
Reindeer Lichen Cladonia sp.
River Birch Betula nigra
River Oats Chasmanthium latifolium
Shortleaf Pine Pinus virginiana
Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua
Sycamore Platanus occidentalis
Tall goldenrod Solidago altissima
Tulip Tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Water Oak Quercus nigra
White Oak Quercus alba
Winged sumac Rhus copallina