Last Tulip Poplar bloom of the season ...

Earlier this week, I was bush-hogging down in the Long Creek bottom and a large tulip poplar tree (in a fencerow) with a rare low branch allowed some pictures of tulip poplar bloom.  This week marked the end of the nectar flow from tulip poplars so our bees will have to move on to the clover.  All blooms were 2-3 inches across and nearly all were past their prime.  I did find one good bloom and the pictures are below.  It is rare here to find blooms close enough to the ground to get some pictures.  Most tulip poplar trees lose their lower limbs as they get larger.