Sunday, 21 February 2021
Always glad to see crepe myrtles that haven’t been butchered, with many sunward-bound branches/withes. Quite enjoy the gnarly quality of the limbs.
Don’t know the story of the practice of drastic trimming…but, ouch. [Speaking for the plants.]
Saturday, 20 February 2021
We skated through The Time of the Polar Vortex, because we had no polar and no vortex. We had some cold, yeah, but mild cold, not polar cold. Here’s camellia proof; the inner petals will be just fine.
Tuesday, 16 February 2021
I know this is a battered specimen, yet it’s the first hyacinth I’ve found in my neighborhood wanders this year. So, it’s a record-breaker!
I was additionally surprised at my find because the overnight temps dropped below freezing last night, and it stayed cold all day, and will drop further overnight tonight. I know the polar vortex is a nightmare elsewhere, and the comparatively mild cold here lacks parity with the snow and power outages elsewhere.
But. For here: brrrrrrr. As in: wore my Goretex neck gaiter for my ENTIRE walk (first time this winter). And my gloves for all but the last half-mile.
Sunday, 14 February 2021
We don’t “do” Val-Day here, although we did have a fancier-than-normal dinner as a nod to the hubbub…the menu included roasted potato chunks…which have better browning these days in our “new” stove with the fan in the oven.
Can you say we roast veggies instead of saints?
Saturday, 13 February 2021
Always easy to ID beech trees in winter…they hold their leaves through the winter and are among the last to lose them in the spring. And they are pale, pale beige.
Wednesday, 10 February 2021
It occurred to me as I watched snippets of the videos presented by the House managers that for some years the Republican Party has essentially been an uncomfortably coupled coalition, rather than a united party. And this, I keep thinking, will make it increasingly difficult for elected Republicans to do the logical and rational thing regarding the President and the January 6th insurrection. Mostly, it seems they feel they must do what they can to “unite” these major factions, in order to have enough support to make a run at national offices. [And ethics be danged.]
Sunday, 7 February 2021
I saw no owls today. Didn’t hear any, either.
About two months ago, several times over a ten-day period when I was at the southeast corner of Orme Park I heard an owl high above in a tree…not always the same tree, but the same area. Not since, however. [Do they migrate????]
No owls, not even superb owls.
Friday, 5 February 2021
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw green in a dogwood with nice buds, but nothing else: winter.
I laughed inside thinking that the dogwood (yes, anthropomorphizing) was trying to move the arrival of spring up with a captured leaflet from another tree. Or pretend to.
Wednesday, 3 February 2021
I’ve been thinking the theme of my walks each of the last few days has been Keeping Carotids Warm…and my (absurdly expensive—and worth it!) Grrrrrr-tex neck buff does the trick.
The leaves on this vine tend to hang down, but the cold today has made them more limp than usual.
Bonus photo: so strange that in this bright, bright sunlight, this otherwise perfectly grey panel looked greenish. I’ll check it again tomorrow to see if it’s back to matching the body color.
Monday, 1 February 2021
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this fungi with uncharacteristic lobes…plenty of them. I looked closer…
…and spotted this “normal” fungi, same kind (pretty sure), just below it.
So, why the difference?
Fungi on the fungi? Viral infection? Alien artist manipulation?
Don’t get me going; I’m full of possibilities and potentials.