Passion Flower

One benefit of taking care of this largely natural area instead of gardening at home is that we can plant something like this Purple Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata) and not worry about trying to keep it in bounds. It is supposed to be a butterfly host plant, and sure enough, last year it was host to Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) caterpillars who ate everything except parts of the stem and then, as far as we could tell, starved to death. Today I noticed two hatches of caterpillars which we think are Zebra Longwings (Heliconius charithonia). I picked off all but one of each hatch, trying to avoid last years fate—of course it may also be that one of those I picked off had been  the only one not destined to end up as bird food.

on Memorials

This afternoon Jean and I attended the burial of Marylynn Hall, who will be much missed.

The ceremony at the gravesite brought to mind Flushing meetinghouse  in the Queens borough of New York City, where I was introduced to Quakerism during the seven years I was at the Rockefeller University in the 1970s. This building was built in 1694 and (except when it was occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War) has been continuously  used as a meetinghouse ever since.  Of course it, like any other house of worship, had its graveyard on the grounds and that graveyard is still there.   It has been a long time since the last internment, but it is not unused - it is still the meetinghouse yard, and children still play there.

Having an operating graveyard behind a meetinghouse is no longer possible, and this is a loss. Even in Flushing, where the gravestones are the only connection between those buried there and the present worshipers, their presence lends a depth to the experience which for me is captured in the phrase which begins the traditional wedding promise:

In the presence of God and these our friends…

We have been discussing what to do about memorials around the new meetinghouse. It has already been minuted that ashes may be buried, in an biodegradable container, anywhere in the unbuildable portion of the lot. That is the easy part (though there may be some question about what is the "unbuildable part" — If building entails a building permit, then I believe that the unbuildable part is that part on which nothing is built). We still need to decide what sort of memorials we will have, and where they will go.  I would hope that they are put someplace where we will, in the normal course of activity, without planning or even expecting it, see them and be reminded. And I hope that they will be outside, where I will associate them with life.

Swamp Dogwood

Jean noticed this flowering tree, which neither of us were familiar with. Phil Buskirk suggested it might be Dogwood, and in fact it seems to be a Swamp Dogwood, Cornus foemina.    It's quite different from Flowering Dogwood, Cornus Florida, that one sees used for landscaping.   This specimen  is west of the worship in nature area, maybe 45 feet back of the bench.

Taro

One benefit of the dry weather we've been having -- I've been able to walk into what we like to think of as our pond and pull out a good deal of the Taro there.   

At one point I had despaired of doing anything about Taro: herbicides roll off it, and digging it just left me muddy, sweaty, and frustrated.     I tried cooking it, in the hopes that it would be  desirable enough to attract help digging it, but after being boiling beyond reason it still numbed my mouth.

Finally have I discovered that if the conditions are right you can pull it, and the tuber will (most of the time) come with it.     The conditions are decidedly not right in places I've gone after it before, but now there's no water in the pond, so I can walk there, and the soil is still damp, so the Taro will come out.   This trash day I have two buckets of Taro tubers in the trash. 

Found along the path

The largest Green Dragon plant I know is right along the path leading back to the creek, about 40 feet west of the mulch pile on the left side of the path.   Earlier I posted a picture of the flower of a different plant; here are the developing berries.    They turn bright red when ripe.

This plant is easy to find if you want to look for it.   At the left is a picture of its location, a few feet left of a log by the path.   The plant whose flower I posted a picture of earlier is harder; it's a ways west of the meeting for worship in nature area.

After spending so much time pulling and spraying Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), a FEPC category I exotic invasive, it's good to come across the native Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) growing naturally. I recently noticed a strand of this one right in the path, growing up a dried stem not much thicker than it was. Unfortunately the support (like so many of the green plants around here in the current drought) has dried out and fallen; however the honeysuckle seems to be going strong. It's about fifteen feet east of the Green Dragon, also on (and in) the left side of the path. I'm not expecting much in the way of flowers on this one, since it doesn't get much sun there. Here is a picture of the one we bought at the Native Plant Sale last spring and planted by the fence in the children's yard. This year we bought two more and planted one on each side of this.