and already it starts

the signs of falling back have already begun. ferns peak early. usually in may at our house. by july they are tired and limp. but they still have a lot of work to do, they need to shift their attention to putting out spores. some will sprout dark brown fronds with spore seedheads, some dot the undersides of their leaves with sporangia, and some produce bead-like capsules containing spores attached to the stalk. even before the first sumac leaf starts getting tinged with orange, the ferns have let me know that the greening season is behind us, and soon we will entering the time of ripening.

interrupted ferns starting to die