This dahlia chsnges colors as it blooms.
Gorgeous from bud to full bloom.
Easy care and no digging.
Get a Firepot for weeks of flowers.
FLOW
Firepot is a Favorite
Author: Flower Roberts
Mama’s Letters to a Marine
You may recall that my sister and I found a package of letters from Mama’s high school boyfriend in her bottom drawer when we cleaned out her house. She had carefully saved these letters from Louis for over sixty years.
We put these letters and photos in plastic sleeves and arranged them in a notebook. We gave the notebook to Louis’s daughter and grandson. I kept copies of the letters and photos.
As fate would have it, Louis’s widow’s sister found a bag of old letters that my mother had written to Louis during the same time period. The aunt gave these letters to Louis’s daughter who gave them to my sister and me.
My sis and I put these in order in notebooks. Then we spent several days on the porch reading them outloud. They are a documentation of young love developing and then fading. My sis and I cried several times. The obstacles between them were insurmountable.
We collated his letters with her letters in the notebooks. Now their story is complete. We hope his daughter will come and experience Louis and Dottie’s story with us when we have it finished.
Louis and Dottie did not end up together, but their years of letter writing, 1949-1953, impacted both of their lives.
I will be writing more about this. That darn book keeps popping back into my life. Sigh.
FLOWER
The Lungwort Trinity
The lovely tree lungwort, Lobaria pulmonaria is three lives in one. Fungi, algae and cyanobacteria work together to survive in their own little community. This being has members of three different kingdoms of the phylogenic tree living in a symbiotic relationship.
The cyanobacteria fixes nitrogen from the air to assist the photosynthesis of the algae. The fungi component serves as the scaffolding and roots of the complex.
Lungworts are sensitive to air pollution and acid rain because the cyanobacteria dies under these conditions. Having a forest full of lungworts is a good sign of the health of the ecosystem.
Symbiosis is a win:win relationship that enables organisms to expand their niches. Each depends on the other(s) to provide an essential resources that it could not acquire independently.
Interdependence at its finest.
FLOWER
Spikenard New to Me
I cannot believe I do not know this fabulous plant. I must have passed it for years. It is herbaceous and over five feet high. Its flowers start out as green little pompoms then turn white. I do remember detecting an interesting aroma in the area earlier in the summer.
I love the little sparkler-shaped umbels after the berries fall off. This plant is in the genseng family. Roots are edible, also.
Its the berries that caught my eye. Tiny and shiny in the sunshine. A mix of dark purple and red among light green.
I do not forage, but read these are edible. I may pick a few to throw in the thicket I am creating.
I must do more research about the American Spikenard/ Aralia racemosa.
FLOWER still learning
The Trail Less Traveled
We avoid the tourists on holiday weekends. Mr. Flower, my sister and I hiked one of our favorite trails before the clouds blew in today. We saw no other hikers, just horseback riders the whole time.
Mr. Flower and my sis are used to hiking with my slowpoke self. They know to keep walking while I dawdle and take photos. They even act as spotters and stand beside anything they think might be of interest to me. Then they take off again as I examine the new discovery.
The same trails change every week. Fungi emerge, flowers bloom and seed pods form. My eye is trained for the changes. I cannot hurry past all these wonderful things.
Who could just walk past all this?
I love my mountains!
FLOWER
Older with Longer Teeth
We checked on the Northern Tooth Fungus this morning. They are in a tree near Evergreen Island.
The two stands of it are still intact. It is turning a darker cream color. The largest top is turning black.
It looks dryer than it did several weeks ago.
Maybe it is my imagination, but the teeth look longer to me now. I will share before and now photos.
I found other stands of these in maples around the lake. These are the lowest and largest.
I have posted on these same two groups for years. One year they got destroyed by something. I think they are beautiful.
FLOW
Turkey Tails on a Log
Mr. Flower chops firewood. He keeps big chunks of stumps near the woodpile to split wood on. These serve their purpose for many years until the fungi find them.
This chunk is covered in hundreds of Turkey Tails. The proper name is Trametes versicolor. The name is due to the concentric rings of various colors. The top is velvety not smooth.
The porous underside is white. The margin is a lighter color.
Its lower layers are fan-shaped with the top looping around to look kidney-shaped.
I think these Turkey Tails are beautiful.
Mama Recovers from Bites
No, I am not referring to myself! It’s my succulent that is poisonous and was eaten anyway.
The deer demolished this entire pot of Mother-of-Thousands succulent that was on our bridge to the front door. This plant is supposed to be toxic! Daylilies are too but they eat those as well.
I think its latin name is Kolanchoe laetirvirens. The internet tends to mix up this ‘Mexican Hat’ plant and Mother-of-Millions/’Alligator’ plant (purple spots). They do not look the alike except they both have plantlets on the margins. My plant books are at Wildwood, so this is my memory talking.
I moved what was left of the eaten plant onto the deck in June. It has recovered nicely. I hope the deer revovered as well. Kolanchoes thrive on neglect.
The plantlets along the leaf margins are perfect rows of clones. They look like tiny green roses.
I will bring in this pot in as my “stock plant” for the winter. I also toss some of plantlets onto a fresh pot of soil to root and grow.
Even small plants form babies along their margins.
If you have pets or children that taste plants, you may not want this one in your house. Especially since it drops plantlets that could be eaten, even if the pot is out of reach.
FLOW
The Losing Side
I have officially arrived at the Losing Side. When my parents were alive, there was a point when they started losing friends and relatives at an alarming rate. I could not understand how they could stand losing so many people they loved.
They did not cry about the deaths. Mom kept a supply of sympathy cards. The church ladies would call and assign a food to make for the family. Mom boiled dozens of eggs. Dad peeled them. Funeral bulletins were kept and filed.
Every week someone else moved on to the other side of life. Siblings, Sunday school class members, neighbors, and former co-workers started falling off the conveyor belt. Their world was emptying.
I bought a handful of non-sappy sympathy cards last week. I sat down and made lists of memories of each dearly departed. I mailed these as I left the mountain to head home for a funeral. Next week, I must get back up the mountain for another.
We went to a party last night where we discussed dear friends who are gone. Mr. Flower and I gave pointers on what to do after the loss of both parents. How best to clean out sixty plus years of life from the home place. Who to call for help with appraisals or junk removal. What to do when mistakes are made on the death certificate…
If this seems morbid to you, it is because you have not yet arrived at the Losing Side. When you get there you will know it is time for those precious folks to go. Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone. Oh, yeah…
You will eventually not cry as the coffin goes by.
The Losing Side is just another part of this journey. When you are there, keep cards and casserole dishes at the ready. The more the better. Needing a generous supply means you have had a life full of folks you love.
Keep living and loving as long as you can.
FLOWER between funerals
floweralley 