N°4 2024 perpetual calendar (perpetual calendar,

[elainegrey]

The hellebore in the front are budding -- i've not visited the ones i transplanted from Mom's woodland patio yet. And i saw my first bittercress with buds.

Today i scrubbed the front steps. There's still a ... patina  ... on the bricks and sandstone, which i appreciate from a wabi sabi aesthetic and the general principle that patinas are protective layers.  I think this spring after the pine pollen-calypse[1] i will use a touch of bleach though, because the algae growth  on these north facing steps is pretty significant.

[1] note that "calypse" in "Apocalypse" is from the Greek /kaluptein/ ‘to cover’ -- and that is PERFECT.

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In other news, i finally had all the usual caffeine today. I'm still eating much lighter and differently. Christine's eating normally today, so hopefully i'll be fine tomorrow. My sister came down with similar the same day Christine did, which was just 24 hours or so after visiting with Dad. I'm finally coming down on the side that this is some contagious misery as Dad's sweetheart and someone else in the organization Dad is involved in also has misery.

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These photos were taken on Sun 21, when i was raking the mossy glade (and other areas):

A single tiny fern leaf in the moss is a full grown member of some species of Botrychium, the grape ferns. I uncovered it while raking.

A stump hole in the woods. We have so many stump holes. Surely someone lives in this? I'm slowly clearing the undergrowth around it because it's all autumn olive. I regret taking down critter cover: trying to replace it as promptly as i can.

Our mossy glade, raked. With a very diseased and dying dogwood, the green cover for our pump, and a bench that rarely gets used in the back. The over story of tall pines and the undergrowth of autumn olive visible.

This dogwood was lost in honeysuckle when we bought the place: the thick vine is still wrapping part of the trunk. There are some lower branches that are healthy but it's been dying back. So many of our dogwoods, young and old, seem to be dying. Maybe we'll replace it with a fringe tree.

Another stump hole; this one at the base of the dogwood. I've tried filling it with leaves in the past, but it gets cleared out.

To the west of the mossy glade is an area that was thicket -- and i slowly cut back the underbrush -- and then this fall we had many sweet gums (and that tupelo) taken out to allow more light on the solar panels. The black cherries remain as their canopies seem more diffuse. Maybe someday those trees will come down, but i'll make sure someone wants the beautiful wood. In the background is the fence to keep deer out, cats in.

Wide view of the mossy glade with the male native persimmon tree to the left -- it used to have an oak, a sweet gum, and a cluster of dying dogwoods all tightly growing together. We had all the others cut down, so i hope this tree will get to thrive. And maybe stop sprouting from the roots. To the right is the Juneberry .

The $25 5 gallon shadblow/juneberry i bought in November and finally planted where we had cut down a pine and a sweet gum. The flowers should be visible from the driveway past the eastern wall of the house when it gets its growth. Right now it's an awkward three trunks that i am trying to get to grow a little separate from each other. I hope i can get an elegant shape, but i fear it will be yet another odd tree.

"”Sochi” tea plants, Camellia sinensis, cold hardy to zone 6b. ..." From Feralwood Nursery, planted mid January 2024: A tiny two leaved plant surrounded by sticks with underbrush in the background. It's towards the eastern border of the property: more hopes for a visual barrier if the neighboring parcel gets developed.

A young southern magnolia, maybe two foot tall. This is a cutting from the magnolia at my parents house. I planted it years ago, but it was deep in thick undergrowth at the time. I cleared out around it a few years ago, and it's starting to put on growth. I suspect it's going to start putting on height more quickly now.

Bonus:

Fairy lights on a branch glowing a warm orange with dried roses, a large ginger jar and a buck's skull visible.