An Autumn Leaf Dreaming of Spring

And so it went.  Day after day after day I waited.

At first, from my faraway post it might have been an injured red Virginia Cardinal fluttering on a barren branch in a forest now devoid of any leaves.

On closer inspection it was actually a lone leaf fluttering in the breeze.

“It may be the only leaf still clinging to life in the state of Virginia,” I thought.

Then we had 60 mile per hour wind gusts.

“Surely it will release its grasp though this,”

But there it stayed and stays still.

I never see a singular leaf like this even though I look along our roadsides.

Now it is snowing and raining and snowing with a sometimes stiff breeze making for peculiar weather.

And there she is, hanging on

as if dreaming.

She is to be admired – an Autumn leaf dreaming of turning green again for one more chance at life.

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For As Long As You May Need Me

Over twenty years ago, Bill planted a sapling.

It was a Red Maple that never turned red in the Fall.

Yellow was always her color.

But this summer she is again sporting her beautiful mantle of green.

Other trees managed to succumb to benign neglect or wicked weather;

• a gigantic Bradford Pear who split in two during a storm called a Durecho,
• a Weeping Cherry who never made it past puberty,
• an enormous Crab Apple who nourished our deer but simply gave up.

But the beautiful Red Maple stayed on as if to comfort and assure,

“I will linger long and grow toward heaven for as long as you may need me.”

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A Changing View Point

Each time I look, there is something else to see.

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Nature’s Apology

A Virginia View

After foreboding clouds and thunder the air turned cool and dry and the sun lit up our mountain valley.  I sat outside watching happy hummingbirds, butterflies, and the mother deer and her young ones.

We were all celebrating nature’s  wondrous apology.

“Sorry ,” she said, “for the unrelenting heat wave and all the storms, humidity and heavy rains!

But here is a taste of autumn joy to come!”

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Forgotten Winter Snow

Weekly Photo Challenge 

Pure

How quickly we forget the way the world transforms after a fresh snow.  This is a photo from my archives.  How strange and pure a Virginia wintry scene is from an air-conditioned room at the beginning of a long hot summer.

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Mushroom Magic

It must be Virginia’s perpetual wet weather.  My little woodland retreat is transformed into a magical mushroom haven never seen before.

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From the Neglected Garden of the Gods

I like to think my garden is charmed.  Some things actually grow and flourish in spite of harsh sun, drought, flooding rains and winds, all encompassing weeds, and benign neglect.

Our  Pyracantha, alias Firethorn,  is a prime example.

There are actually two of these standing near to each other but one has never bloomed.

I am assuming the boring one is the female (who is no doubt working too hard to be bothered with beauty).

After all, only the male of any species is stunningly adorned, right?

Anyway, the Magnificent Male bush next to its unattractive female companion is sometimes striking for its rusty red berries.  Perhaps that is its only job – to look good.  But in all these years we have never seen such magnificent white blossoms in Spring.

I am convinced this is the male version of plant attraction.

What do you think?

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The Could-Be-Best Avian Hotel

Vacancy – Birds Only

Bird Hotel  Needs Restoration.

Rooms Available for Consideration.

Not Listed in Trivago but

Call for Reservation.

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The Right Kind of Snow

We had a snow storm yesterday and I was all prepared.  Water was stored in miscellaneous containers, candles at the ready, flashlights with fresh batteries, and the wood stack stacked in survival mode.

As it turned out, none of that was needed.  The snow fall was heavy at times and landed thick and threatening but never stuck to our gravel driveway and melted on the paving stones so you could get to our front door.

And today the sun arrived!  And we watched the fastest melt in history.

It was a the right kind of snow and a sweet farewell from winter -like a concession speech to Spring, the victor.

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What in the World is That?

This week my friend Norma and I were privileged to be taken on a private tour of Ridgely Historic Gardens, an amazing walk backward in time through a mountainside property in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia.

There was a slightly ominous, ghostly apparation hanging in the garden that prompted my first question.  “What is THAT?” I asked and was surprised and delighted at the answer.

Can YOU guess what that is?

Answer to come in my next post about Ridgely Gardens and the fascinating little town of Clifton Forge.

 

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