Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: honeysuckle

(+2 insets!) (Bigger is even better!) :) I want to make sure I have time to post this so I'm just posting a quick note to go with my pictures today! We are about to leave our wonderful campground, Bullard's Beach State Park and we had a wonderful stay! We will be heading about an hour north for a three day-stay at our next campsite. Unfortunately, that was the longest we could get for the time slot, but after another four days at a different place, we'll be back for another four days. Heh, I know that's not the same thing as seven uninterrupted days but sometimes you don't have a choice in these things! Today's Pictures I had a very nice time creeping around with my macro lens and got bunches of really neat pictures. Along the way I found these marvelous bushes covered with red-cloaked, round black berries. I thought it was very interesting that the berries grew in pairs…and so when I discovered the name of this plant was Twinberry, I had to laugh! Perfect! While I took photos, I couldn't help focusing on my favorite part--the beautifully shaped, red bracts surrounding the berries. Upon investigating online, I learned they are called involucre , and is part of the botany name of Black Twinberry, "Lonicera involucrata" . (These plants also have a red version, naturally called Red Twinberry ) I was also fascinated to learn that these berries are a kind of honeysuckle! The plant grows like a bush, which threw me off because I thought all honeysuckles are vines. However, when I learned it was in the honeysuckle family it all made sense do me. The honeysuckle that grows on our property has the very same berries, except that they are red. The leaves are the same too, and looking at pictures of the flowers, they are also quite similar. It's so fascinating to see the various species of a plant group, isn't it? So, as I took pictures, I took turns concentrating on the berries and then the lovely red bracts. Then I saw a lovely red flash…and gasped in surprise! Would you just look at that? Bracts that appeared to be a lovely red butterfly with perfectly shaped berries to represent a thorax and head! Seriously, what are the odds?! :D This picture just HAD to be my main image today! I'm also including some other views of these pretty berries--a pair to admire and a folded-over bract that looks like a red bat! :) I hope you like them! I wanted to give everyone hugs for all of the attention you've been giving my pictures, and for the lovely comments and stars. I appreciate you all so much. I was able to visit some of you finally and it was great to see what you've been sharing with us here on ipernity! Here's hoping everyone stays safe and healthy in these crazy days! Here's more information about these berries that I found very interesting: Twinberry, also called bearberry honeysuckle, is in the honeysuckle family. Twinberries are very common in the Cape Lookout State Park at the base of Netarts Spit. Unlike their cousins, the climbing and pink honeysuckles which are twining vines and can occur in our area, the twinberry is an erect shrub that may grow to more than twelve feet high. Its paired yellow flowers each have a five-lobed, tubular corolla. The flowers are subtended by a pair of large, green bracts that turn red as the fruits mature into pairs of shiny black berries. These berries are bitter and considered inedible, but their juice has been used as a dye. Its leaves are opposite, they have petioles, and they are rather shiny on top. They drop off in the winter. There are two varieties of twinberries, the coastal Lonicera var. ledebourii, occurring in coastal Oregon and California, and the mountain Lonicera var. involucrata, found in all western and the lake states. From Netarts Bay Today Explored on 7/14/20; highest placement #1.

Twinberry, also called bearberry honeysuckle, is in the honeysuckle family. Twinberries are very common in the Cape Lookout State Park at the base of Netarts Spit. Unlike their cousins, the climbing and pink honeysuckles which are twining vines and can occur in our area, the twinberry is an erect shrub that may grow to more than twelve feet high. Its paired yellow flowers each have a five-lobed, tubular corolla. The flowers are subtended by a pair of large, green bracts that turn red as the fruits mature into pairs of shiny black berries. These berries are bitter and considered inedible, but their juice has been used as a dye. Its leaves are opposite, they have petioles, and they are rather shiny on top. They drop off in the winter. There are two varieties of twinberries, the coastal Lonicera var. ledebourii, occurring in coastal Oregon and California, and the mountain Lonicera var. involucrata, found in all western and the lake states. From www.netartsbaytoday.org/Yellowish_Flowers.html

Please see our new group, Pictures for Pam , we would love to have you! You may read the latest news of Pam`s recoverery here (11/9/18): www.ipernity.com/home/christine.bentley ------------------------- Yesterday's blog was full of what I'd done the day before and so I didn't mention what I actually did yesterday! I hiked to the top of the LOWER Table Rock trail! I originally planned to hike both the Upper and Lower Table Rock trails in one day but I realized on the way up the Upper that it was too much to expect that I do both trails AND take pictures too. So I axed the Lower and figured I'd do it the next day if I was up to it. As it turned out, I was! :D I also didn't bring my camera since I'd taken so many pictures the day before. Better to come back another time for that. However, as we all know, the time that you don't bring your camera is the time you see something incredible but you don't have a camera! As I was about one quarter of the way up I encountered the most adorable and fluffy grey squirrel, which was very close to me and spent a lot of time low in a nearby tree. I just stood and enjoyed the moments before I finally walked on. Yeah, I could have pulled out my phone but I didn't feel like it. What a great experience that was!! This morning I was greeted with frost on the ground which twinkled up at me as I walked up and down our drive, listening to my Niven audio story, "Dream Park.". The sun soon melted what little frost there was, as it was just at freezing, but I loved seeing the tiny crystals on the leaves, grass, and our cars. While I trooped along, I also thought about the past few days. With the help of Peggy C, I started up a new ipernity group, Pictures for Pam. Heidiho suggested the idea, and thus our new group is a reality! It has become quite an instant success and the crowning prize is that Pam is having a wonderful time looking at all of the pictures that we've been submitting. I hope our combined virtual hug will give her an extra push towards recovery! Today's picture features a group of lovely little wild honeysuckle berries at the end of their show. In truth I was a bit surprised that the picture turned out at all because the two attempts I made were really just quick clicks without much care. I'd been heading back down the Upper Table Rock trail when I saw a flash of something red as I went by. I stopped and returned to the spot…oh! Berries! Neato! At that point I was ready to be done so snapped a couple of pictures and called it a day. Well, what a nice treat when I went through the images and found that one of them was actually nice enough that I am posting it today! Pam, I know that you love and appreciate pictures of things that may not be in perfect condition, but still deserve an appreciative stare. These berries are on their way out but that very quality adds to their interest with some cool texture and notable areas to look at! Here's hoping for a nice day and plenty of rest! All my best!!

A few of these bushes grow down by our front gate, and are favorites of bees and other insects. The blossoms are only about 1/4" in diameter, but as you can see, they're beautiful little pink bells when seen up close! :) After flowering, they make pretty white berries which are gobbled up by the wildlife but are poisonous to humans. (A picture of a snowberry is below!) Snowberry plants are part of a group of about 15 species that are found in Northern and Central America and are a common shrub. Their family name is "Symphoricarpos", which means "bear together fruit", referring to the tightly-packed clusters of berries. Some species of this plant are also used for landcaping. If you would like to know more about this plant, Wiki has a good source here: Wiki: Snowberry (Symphoricarpos)