Jack is in bloom

Our unpretentious Jack-in-the-Pulpit, or Arisaema triphyllum, in bloom on May Day, 2012. We transplanted this one a couple of years ago (with permission) from a farm in southern Roane County, West Virginia, to our backyard in Clarksburg. This is the first spring it has bloomed.

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April Nears the End

April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. – T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land” The land was not dead after the warm winter, and the lilacs appeared early. Through several weeks they brightened the yard, then gradually faded, then shrank, then [...]

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An Early Spring?

In a year of little snow and unusually warm winter temperatures, spring seems to be ready to arrive in Clarksburg earlier than it has the past few years. Last October, startled by Clarksburg’s very early first snow of the winter, I thought we were going to have another long, snow-filled season, perhaps longer, colder, and [...]

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Our Landscape Changes

This has been a summer for rain and storms. A few weeks ago the volunteer fire department at Anmoore, just down the road, was flooded. Less significantly, several projects around this house have been delayed because of rain. A week ago, 2:00 a.m. last Thursday to be precise, the winds hit Clarksburg. There had been [...]

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Pinwheel

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First Moon Flower of the Summer – 4

The summer’s moon flowers continue. The seed pod matures.

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First Moon Flower of the Summer – 3

The first moon flowers of the summer have appeared. Before the end of the next day the flower hangs limp, its brilliant white marred by brown splotches.

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First Moon Flower of the Summer – 2

The first moon flowers of the summer have appeared. Each bloom lasts only one night, still bold and white in the morning, but soon a limp white ghost.

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First Moon Flower of the Summer – 1

The first moon flowers of the summer prepared to open. Late in the afternoon the buds begin to separate, revealing their twisted, silky white contents. As darkness falls the blooms open fully.

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The Syringa

The vegetable garden in my parents’ yard in Rochelle filled the space between our driveway and the low wire fence that separated our yard from the Lamars’ yard to the east. The garden expanded and changed over the years as my father turned the soil each spring with his pick-mattock, shovel, and pitchfork in preparation [...]

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