Colors in our mid-August woods and fields

Pictures of dachshunds have dominated the blog for quite a while so it is time to broaden our horizons. There is so much beauty around us!
 

This is Rubus odoratus, also called ornamental bramble or purple-flowering raspberry. It  has really spread in our woods, and I would say this year it seems like a dominant shrub there. The flowers are striking. When they first open they are very intense, vivid purple, and the petals are very  silky, delicate and thin. The color of flowers fade pretty quickly. This perennial does not have thorns and its leaves are large and almost resemble maple leaves.

Rubus odoratus produces very ornamental red fruit that looks like a flat raspberry. The berries are edible but they are on a dry side, and when it comes to taste they can't compete with other berries around here (blackberries and raspberries). 

Our drought is over and now, in mid-August, green color dominates. I don't see too many ladybugs around here this year, but this one helped with a nice picture.

Quite a few species started to set seeds and the next couple of weeks the color palette will be shifting gradually to yellow, orange, red and brown.