Nettles

I've been following a group that's interested in Celtic traditions and stories, and was surprised to see nettles pop up, as a touchstone plant in the first story.It's nutritious as a pot-herb, but also valuable (historically) as a fiber plant, and as a plant with story-meaning, too.Nettles are interesting...

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Lime basil

Lime basil took over my early lettuce rows. I'd grown it here last year and now I know that it's an abundant reseeder. I'd let it grow since early September when I set up these 2 rows, but now it was time to give the lettuce and the beets more room.Abundant harvest of lime basil! I shared some with...

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A full frost moon

Frost moonFall moons are often luminous, especially the harvest moon (in October), when the moon is low on the horizon as it rises.I'd thought the frost moon might have been a no-show here, as rain was predicted, but rising in the back of the house, it's peaking through the shadows of the old black...

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Witch hazel

We have a wonderful witch hazel in front of our garage that's now in full flower, with a few remnant yellow leaves. It has a wonderful shape (it's now a small well-rounded tree).in fall 2009Its fall color this year wasn't the equal of this image -- an early freeze hastened leaf drop.But it was...

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The beauty of apricot-colored tulips

Sometimes, my screen around "plants that work for a living" includes plants that bring joy.Tulips are in that category. They're totally "useless" in their cultivated form for anything beyond that (not producing nectar, feeding insects, etc.), unless you count feeding deer.  In nature, species...

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Late afternoon snow melt

As the snow melted from the leaves of trees this afternoon, under a still lead-grey sky and intermittent flurries, the trunks and branches of the trees in the ravine glistened with remnants of the overnight snow.As I was putting dinner together, the view was striking.  Now, as the oven hums, the...

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An unusual early snow

Overnight snow on November 1 is highly unusual, much less the soft fluffy snow that fell, clinging to leaves still on the trees and furrowed bark. The contrast between the glimpses of fall color cloaked in snow with the vibrancy of a couple of days ago in clear light -- remarkable.November 1 snowscarlet...

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