Fifty And Free

Just over one quarter of a century ago, fifty and free was my frequently spoken motto.  The purchase of thirty-six acres consisting mostly of glacial deposits that were anything but flat was where I intended to spend my retirement years.  In my relative youth we found outdoor activities during all four seasons.  February frequently found us outside hiking on snowshoes or riding down the steep slopes on our Swiss Bob sleds.  Now the wisdom that sometimes comes with age finds us mostly looking out of the windows.  That is not all bad as yesterday we saw our fox.

Maidenhair spleenwort is the first pictured plant.  It has been with us for several years and all of these transplants survived.  In nature it occurs close to fractures in bedrock stone cliffs.  In our wildflower garden, we first built the broken stone level surface then the wall.  Finding a green growing plant outside today was quite a thrill.  The tiny red spheres are Sumac berries that have fallen from the trees that make this area a shade garden.  Both birds and rodents see them as winter food.  They are bright bits of red color.

This Woodland phlox has an interesting history here.  Many years ago Becky was weeding around the base of a new transplant when she broke off a piece of it.  I was instructed to find a place to plant this rootless piece if green expecting that it would certainly perish.  It was regularly watered and look at it now.  The fallen Oak leaves grew on a tree located on the other side of the lane.  The phlox grows inside of a wire fence circle since the deer find it tasty.

Rattlesnake plantain has been with us for years.  One purchased plant became several but they all remain tiny.  A natural location finds them growing at a much higher elevation but nothing can be done about that issue.  Perhaps a light deposit of crushed limestone would improve their appearance here.  Although they have never flowered, their veined leaves are attractive year round.  They certainly lifted my spirits today.

This is a purchased fern whose label stone is hidden under Fall litter.  Becky's memory says Polypody but that name has no meaning to me but is correct.  The lighter colored undersides of several leaves display brown spore circles that appear to be actively providing material for new plants.  So far this plant has been well behaved and is only slowly expanding its ground.

 

A Locust tree fence rail is home for this lichen.  It has a visual appeal but its presence on tree trunks is a sign the tree is approaching death.  Nothing can be done to halt that process so we feel only a small measure of guilt for providing the lichen with a home.

This moss covered stone was planted here to define the edge of the planting area.  The glaciers left huge deposits of stones similar to this one on our land.  The smooth rounded surface speaks of this stone's long trip in torrents of melt water.  The size of stones similarly placed as path edging has diminished out of the reality of the impact of age on the gardener.  We had to walk on smooth wet slippery ice to take these pictures.  A slow careful pace while firmly grasping tree trunks kept us upright.  Our outside temperature reached fifty degrees today and for awhile we were free to move among some of our plants.