My son has taken a new job. I am happy for him, but I will miss his former town. Cheraw was the homeplace of the jazz artist, Dizzy Gillespie.
Goodbye Dizzy!
Flower
OTHER CHERAW POST LINKS BELOW
https://floweralley.org/2016/04/13/im-getting-dizzy/
https://floweralley.org/2016/04/15/yellow-trumpets/
My wild friends live in dens.
I must to climb up banks to peek into their dwellings.
They were all out and about yesterday afternoon. Hi, Ho nobody home!
The highest and biggest den was under some tree roots on a cliff.
This may be a coyote or a bobcat’s home.
Smaller dens likely belong to ground hogs/woodchucks or fox kits.
There were no clear tracks to identify the residents due to recent rains.
The woods are full of the trails and dens of my wild friends.
I love my neighbors.
Flow
I wandered through the woods this afternoon.
Early spring is the best time to explore.
I visited the old home place on the hill.
The house was moved about a mile away when the road moved.
What remains of the former road bed has been reclaimed by nature.
Vinca marks the location of the yard.
Spirea bushes are located on each side, now covered with brambles.
I love finding old bricks where the house used to be.
There are thousands of daffodils on the hill.
I can almost see the mistress of the house walking along this path and watching the river.
As I walked back to my house, I wondered if my daffodils will mark my home place a hundred years from now.
I hope so.
Flow
I am always delighted with the first flowers of spring.
I must touch them and talk to them.
Thanking them for surviving and showing up again.
Happy to see their colorful faces.
No matter how small,
I love them all.
FLOW
I have had to be away from home more than usual.
I spent months constructing a “Coyote Cage” inside the bunny pen so they would be safe.
I close it up at night when the bunnies go inside so that no wildlife can get in and poop.
I never leave out water or food.
When I escorted them out this morning, I noticed the fencing in the gate had been pushed out.
Something had been trapped in during the night and forced its way out.
It was either the stray cat that has been lurking about, or one of our raccoon neighbors.
I found where it had fallen through the roof.
Now I must shore up the roof and the gate before I leave today.
Too much to do, too little time.
I’m about to go through the roof!
FLOW
The first fern fiddles are emerging from the ground.
The Japanese Holly fern, Cyrtomium falcatum, is always first.
Fronds are specialized leaves growing from underground stems.
They roll out from the base to protect the tiny new leaflets.
Other protection involves scales which drop off after the young fronds emerge.
They are also covered by hairs for defense.
Once these fronds mature, they will be tough enough not to need scales and hairs.
Mature fronds produce spores on their undersides for reproduction.
Here are spots where sporangia were last season. The spores have been released.
I find fern fronds fascinating.
FLOW
I love anything blooming right now.
Yellow flowers are like spots of sunlight in the garden.
All daffodils are appreciated, but I do have a favorite.
The Tete a Tete bulbs form little bouquets.
They look this way because they have short stems
and because some stems hold twins.
This habit makes the bunch look like a bouquet.
Two cute is too cute!
Flower
When the green shoots up the deer show up.
A pine fell and knocked down the fence around the green patch.
They started there for a snack.
Then the herd moved down the bank to the daylilies.
The big one in the front knows me.
I waved to her as she posed for my camera.
Time to fence in the expensive stuff.
I try to deter the deer, although they are dear.
FLOW
My two Camellia japonicas blooming has reminded me of a fairy tale,
Snow White and Rose Red (Schneettweichen und Rosenrot).
My sister and I had some relation to this story.
She was a redhead and I a blond.
That is where the link ends…I hope.
As with most fairy tales,
the good little girls turn the monster (bear) into a prince and marry him and his brother.
Mothers, let’s rewrite these PLEASE.
Leave in the good and kind,
but change the reward to a self-fulfilling ending instead of a wedding.
(No offense Princes.)
Flow
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