Garden Nostalgia- Fernleaf Peony

When a fragrant white ginger or a loquat tree or the Little Gem magnolia is in bloom, being in Austin seems to have advantages over colder places ... but when Dee of Red Dirt Ramblings put up last year's peony pictures, it makes me feel as if we Zone 8 folks have the short end of the stick! Ah, Peonies!

Dee talked about the possibility of peonies living longer than their owners, and she also mentioned ordering her peonies from Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery. That made me remember a plant given to me by a long-ago neighbor. Lee said that her lovely Paeonia tenuifolia came from the personal collection of a Klehm family member decades before we met. One autumn she split off a small piece and shared her Passalong peony with me. It grew for a few years before showing the first flower and by 1996 made the May bouquet in the old photo. I knew that trying to bring it here was equivalent to murder so regretfully left it behind. In my mind the fernleaf peony is still there, and still blooming every May.

Things Present; Things to Come

It's the first day of March, and spring is coming in like a lion.  Our yard is covered in robins, so in a nod to them I'm adding the egg background to my blog.  
I've been hanging onto winter.  I love bundling up in sweaters and scarves.  B..U..T...things are starting to bloom around here, so my mind is slowly, slowly turning toward spring.  There's nothing like spring in the South.  I remember traveling through Georgia in 1977 with my husband while he worked his territory.  We were living in Columbia, South Carolina at the time; another beautiful state in spring.
I remember especially the hanging blossoms of wisteria looking like lavender grape clusters made all the more brilliant by the background of dark green pine trees.  I also remember baby goats jumping and playing all over the fields.  It seemed like everyone had goats!  
And the balmy, soft touch of the southern air on your face; just enough to let you feel its presence.
All that will come in a few weeks.  Right now the wind is blowing sideways from the northwest.  There's a chance we'll have snow tonight!  We're all hoping and praying it comes.  The last time it snowed here was in .. and then only an inch or less.  
So tonight, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Warmer Weather

After a couple cold weeks, the weather turned warmer. When I headed out for my ride it was 45 deg and filtered sunshine. Parked at the Wabash Trace Trailhead and headed toward the Western Historic Trails Center.
The bicycle trail is mostly clear and dry. Some spots are wet with melting snow. Caution! Underpasses and the railroad tunnel are icy. The tunnel is particularly treacherous. The tunnel has a lot of standing water with ice underneath. My bike slid under me and had problems just walking in the tunnel.
There is a big drift crossing Indian Creek Trail just South of Hwy 92. A couple other short sections have slushy snow.
With day-time highs in the 50s this week, the trails should be clear withing a couple days.
It was great to be back on a bike for a good ride.

First Thunderstorm of

Ah, the joys of spring! Even if it is a bit early, I do love the signs of spring. Perhaps the most exciting sign of spring (for me, anyway) is the return of the thunderstorm. Last night we had a whopper of a thunderstorm make its way over Grand Portage. This was a very localized storm, with brief but heavy rainfall and some medium-sized hail. Oh, and an awesome display of lightning! I was up late last night working on editing some photos when I started seeing flashes of light outside my living room window. At first I thought I was seeing things. I thought "That can't be lightning... it's only mid-March!" But, sure enough, as time passed I noticed more and more flashes and soon it was apparent that it was indeed lightning. I grabbed my camera gear and headed out to do some shooting.


I went to a location just a half-mile from my house, one that afforded the best view of the approaching storm and one that would allow me to photograph the storm before any potential moisture hit. After photographing the lightning flashes for about 15 minutes, I noticed something that is not often discernible with an approaching thunderstorm in this area. I could HEAR the rain and hail approaching! Before the storm hit shore the conditions were incredibly calm, not a lick of wind and the lake was smooth as glass. But, out behind the island, the hard rain and hail was hammering the surface of the lake. What I heard was an ever-increasing sound, a haunting WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSH as the lake was pummeled by the rain and hail. Soon the sound was quite loud and when the lightning flashed I could see that at any moment the moisture was going to hit shore. A good time to get back in the truck, I thought! So I packed up my camera and walked back to the truck. No sooner had I taken just a few steps when the rain started to fall. It was only about 100 feet back to the truck and by the time I got there it was pouring. By the time my gear was put away in the back seat and I was sitting in the driver's seat, the sound of hail was all I could hear as it pelted the sheet metal of my truck. I drove around to the other side of the bay to see if I could get a different angle on the storm, and it was barely raining just two miles away! Short but sweet, as they say. The rest of the night we had a crystal-clear sky exploding with stars.

Beach Noise

The beach is a very noisy place.  At least inhabited ones are.  In addition to the never ending crash of the surf, you have birds squawking and cicadas screaming out their harsh night calls.  I like these sounds.  They are God's instruments playing together in His never-ending symphony (I've been reading too much Pat Conroy).
The sounds I despise are the hundreds of air conditioners going around the clock in the August heat on a Southern island.  I also hate the cars going by on the main highway a few streets over.
With all the noises outside, you would think people would turn off all unnecessary electric and electronic disturbances.  But no, on my beach walk this morning I estimate that around ninety percent of people I passed walking or jogging were talking on their cell phones or listening to their I-pods.  You'd think people would get tired of so much noise and want to listen to nature's songs instead, but they don't.  And  I don't understand it.

Blue Sky Thinking

I wandered around the garden, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies, taking the occasional photograph...

like this silver birch tree - and the chimney which George and Jonny built.





The silver birch is beautiful, provides a little dappled shade in summer, and the sap has been used by Jonny to make wine... an interesting brew.





The chimney is a wonderful addition to the house as it means we can have a log burner at that end of the kitchen, but it also helps to secure the wobbliest wall of this old building, which was built without real foundations.





Looking at the chimney made me remember this, which I bought as a broken bargain - many years ago. I loved the winky wonky roof line, the chimney stack, the colour of the roof. It cost just £10.00 for this very large chunk of pottery.

This is the 'interior' of the attic.





So really it is just the front roof and chimney with half an interior, completely open at the back with a good solid base. It is chunky and a dust trap, but I still think it is charming. Luckily, Davina agrees...because not long after we all moved here I gave it to her because I thought it looked like a romanticised version of her old farmhouse.

Riding the Trace

With all the flooding along the Missouri River, bicycle riding has taken a turn. The longest ride on paved trails in Council Bluffs is Valley View, 5 miles one way. The options are riding the streets and roads or riding the Wabash Trace.
Over the last week, I took two rides on the Trace from Silver City to Malvern. I was surprised to see the Silver Creek is quite low. Might be a bit higher now, with the rain this week. Some change from the Missouri!
Friday's ride was solo. Took a few more photos of the Silver Creek Bridge. Trail surface was pretty good, just a couple soft spots.
Sunday, I rode with Dennis. With the rain Saturday night, the trail was a little soft. Slowed me down some. We headed out from Silver City about 10:30 as it was going to be a warm and humid day. Though there was a breeze from the SE, there was basically no air moving on The Trace. We were both dripping with sweat when we got done about 12:30. I stayed inside the rest of the day (computer work).
Lots of traffic on the Wabash Trace Sunday. More than I have ever seen before between Silver City and Malvern. Does the flooding (closed trails along the river) put more traffic on the Trace? Sure seemed to, Dennis and I both expect to ride the Trace more this year because of the flooding.