Nearing the Summit

Decidedly rockier near the summit.

With various kinds of vegetation trying to hang on in what can be, I think, a pretty harsh environment.

High Knob Tower Trail

George Washington National Forest

Variety

 

Hightop Mountain Trail

Shenandoah National Park

Leverett Trail

Leverett Trail

Milkweed

No, this isn't why people hike the Leverett Triail, at least not the principle reason. This is just -- I think -- Common Milkweed, of which there is an abundance along that part of the trail that empties out onto what remains of the Teawaddle Hill Farm. As is true of the milkweed growing at York River State Park near my home, it's a dining favorite of the Monarch butterfly, among other species.

Paperplant

The Julian Shrine, Norwich

Magnolia Leaves

Amazing how lovely a simple basket of magnolia leaves can be.

Plumegrass

Greensprings Interpretive Trail

Pesky Weed

Thistles have long been thought of by farmers as pesky weeds. So I suppose that in many ways, I must seem like a thistle to those who voted for Trump on November 5. I don't believe we need a new Department of Government Efficiency, which sounds a whole lot to me like Dickens' famed Office of Circumlocution. I don't believe we need to fire all the generals at the head of our military who happen to have notions contrary to those of--well, let's be nice!--the Duck. I don't believe it will necessarily reduce my taxes or increase my personal sense of well-being by deporting "millions of people." I don't believe RFK, Jr. is going to save us from the next pandemic by firing hundreds of federal health employees. 

But I will tell you what I do believe. First and foremost, I believe it's important to be honest. I'm tired of Trump's lies and the lies of his co-conspirators. I believe in the value of personal integrity. Someone who cannot control his own worst impulses or his tongue does not deserve to be president of the United States. And, among other things, I believe in humility, the truth that none of us--no, not even the Duck--is perfect.

Just some thoughts from a thistle.

Neighbors

Formidable

Powhatan Creek Trail

Pollinators

York River State Park

Greensprings

Greensprings

Thistle

Powhatan Creek Trail

"Ears"

Powhatan Creek Trail

Curious about why we call corn "ears"? Well, so was I. So I looked it up. Here is some of what I found from Grammaphobia:

The “ear” of corn that we eat in summer and the “ear” that we hear with are unrelated. Yes, these are two separate and distinct words, both of which have been with us since Anglo-Saxon days and have different prehistoric roots.

In Old English, Middle English, and Modern English, the word “ear” has been used to mean a spike or head of grain. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “the part of a cereal plant which contains its flowers or seeds.”

Here’s a typical citation from the OED: “The ripen’d Grain, whose bending Ears Invite the Reaper’s Hand” (from a 1740 poem by William Somerville).

This spiky agricultural “ear” is descended from an ancient Indo-European root that’s been reconstructed as ak (“sharp”). It became the Proto-Germanic akhuz, which eventually gave us the Old English word ear around the year 800. 

Fruits & Veggies

The name Barbados Peppers, I think, probably says all that needs to be said about these little bombshells I spotted growing in one of our CW gardens.

A much safer alternative might be the squash.

Homegrown

Meanwhile, in our gardens back here in Colonial Williamsburg  . . .

 

Ferns

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey

Surprising how plants like these, arranged and layered so carefully, can make you feel cooler even on what was otherwise a terribly hot and humid afternoon.

Lines

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey

I was fascinated--mesmerized, really--by the patterns here at the entrance to the Frelinghuysen's summer home.

Wall Fountain

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey

One of my favorites spots in any garden that has one.

New Growth

Frelinghuysen Arboretum

Morristown, New Jersey