Ahead of the Front

Another cold front rolled through this morning with the rumblings of discord on Olympus, but not before summer shared a parting smile yesterday at Northeast Community Park in Chatham County. A glorious day on all fronts, as the Burn played a great game of soccer, and the park's regular residents carried on in spite of the guy with a camera...

The dew is still on the asters as a somewhat sluggish bumblebee makes the rounds.

In the family Asteraceae, each "blossom" is actually a composite of dozens of individual ray and disk flowers. The givers of names assigned these lovely ladies and their kin the Greek word for star. Oriented to face the earth's own shining orb, these stars of weedy fall fields reflect multiple stages of development on a single prolific stem.

The enigmatic markings of the ailanthus webworm moth, white rosettes with black scribbling on a field of orange, break up the animal's shape. It is equally at home nectaring at various old field weeds, but if numbers are any indicator, seems particularly fond of the goldenrod.

It's later for some bloomers than others, as evidenced by this thistle which has largely gone to seed.

This non-conformist has clung to its chlorophyll for just such a day as this; 

and the butterflies aren't complaining. This skipper dashed onto the scene just before the shutter snapped, 

and the photographer's not complaining!

 When the good folk of Chatham created this park on the grounds of the Atwater Estate, initial plans included multiple soccer and baseball fields and far less natural area. This post is a nod of gratitude to those who recognized the integral role of nature in re-creation.

Here's hoping the trend continues. Thanks!