Playing Favorites in My Back Yard

Gleditsia--Locust tree. (has twelve varieties- unsure which attempts to invade in my back yard)    Pinus Strobus--Eastern White Pine

My back yard is my little haven.  I can be a little emotional about my back yard and what is going on in it.  I am not always fair.  I have my favorites among the growing things.   My neighbors have a locust grove in their back yard which borders on my property. Baby locust trees sprout during the growing season and cause me some consternation.  I have just decided that I best adopt a zen attitude of acceptance.  The locust trees are not evil invaders.  They are just a type of greenery that is trying to survive, reproduce and do its plant thing in the world.  I have a feeling that the baby locust trees sprout from the roots of the neighbor's trees.  I have no intention, though, of letting them run amok all over my back yard.  They will be eliminated as I see fit!

This baby locust tree is deluding itself, if it thinks it has a future next to my day lilies (in the lawn??)!

The locust grove is situated in between two young pines.  I think that the planting of the pines there was silly, as there is not enough room for them among the locusts.

Below, evidence of Locustocide.

Now who gets preferential tree-tment in my back yard?  The majestic white pine does.  Its superior form  makes for a very impressive presentation.  The Haudenosaunee have a legend of peace that centers around all nations burying their weapons under the roots of the White Pine.  My tree is like a sentinel that watches over me. I have heard screech owls hooting from the branches.

 You can see one of the offspring which found its way into a pot.  That is a woodland geranium (?) which also seeded itself.    I did try a few years back to nurture a little pine past the seedling stage, with no luck.  I replanted it next to the stone wall and it was nibbled on by a vole during the winter, and did not survive.  That was a very sad event.  I see a baby white pine and I get a really happy feeling.  I see a baby locust and the effect tends to be the opposite!  Imagine playing favorites with babies?!  Not nice at all! 

Garrett Chapel

The title of this blog is Greenery.  The subject of this post is a chapel on the Bluff at Keuka Lake, Garrett Chapel.  Chapels would not usually be considered  a greenery topic, but the nature that surrounds this church is exquisitely beautiful.  I embarked on this trip to the Yates county finger lake with a new acquaintance.  We discovered that we each had experienced a childhood on the lake, so we took a drive and shared the common thread which has woven through our lives.  Most all people who have or do inhabit the north end of Keuka Lake have an appreciation for the beauty of this landmark.  My cousin was married here in the late 1980's many years ago. The link to Keuka lake has an interesting page with lore are fun facts- such as- Hoagy Carmichael wrote "Stardust" while at the lake!

The story of the Garrett Chapel is sad.  It involves the death of a young man many years ago.  The chapel was built in his memory.  Please click on the above link for more facts and history! Or here.

Comfrey

When I was about 13 I was on a bicycle ride at my girlfriend's house.  Her name was Anne.  She was the daughter of German immigrants.  Her family was in the business of growing grape stock for the vineyards in the Finger Lakes area.  I am sure that her family's business has done well the past few years!  We have so many new wineries in the area!

Anne and I went down this huge hill!  I was hesitant to just let the bike fly but I did.  Actually, in retrospect, that was a bad idea.  The bicycle went out of control and I ended up on the side of the road in a daze.  I sustained an injury to my left elbow.  I still have a piece of road cinder in that elbow.  I was dazed and I went to the road ditch to wash it!!!!!  That was a very stupid action to take!  (we never heard of flesh eating bacteria back then!) As a nurse, now I am very impressed with my stupidity.  I went to the Emergency Room and received a stitching.  A few days later, my wound became infected and I was prescribed antibiotics.  At this time we were living in the country on Waddell Road in Clifton Springs.  My father had planted comfrey in his garden.  As a treatment, he made a comfrey poultice for me to apply to my arm.  (He was a practicing MD at the time) I recall the arm had pitting edema.  Definition:  Pitting edema is when there is swelling which stays pushed down when pressed on.  My arm healed, but I do have an ugly scar.  I would bet it would have been even uglier without the application of the poultice!

Comfrey is a very interesting plant.  It has scratchy fuzzy leaves.  The flowers are purple and they are in bloom now, as this picture reveals.  If a bee tries to enter the flower he has great difficulty, due to it's shape.  Often there will be a tiny hole chewed on the side of the blossom, where the bug as entered to get the nectar of the plant.  Hummingbirds really enjoy it.  Tonight my father was telling me that they practically fly upside down to drink the comfrey nectar.

My father used to make "comfrey tea" fertilizer for his vegetable garden.  My father grew his comfrey in the 1970's and 1980's on Waddell Road, he took cuttings to Vine Road in Penn Yan.  My daughter must have taken root cuttings to our farm.  She subsequently took cuttings from the farm to her house on her Street extension.  She brought cuttings to my father's apartment at Centerpointe.  Wow.

Mostly Miniature Mayflowers

I noticed these lovely specimens around the yard.  I thought I would share.I reside in upstate NY.  This, of course, is a tiny daisy..in the lawn about four inches tall. I will continue to search for a more scientific name.

This is Ornithogalum Umbellatum

Veronica Chamaedrys

Geranium Robertianum

Forget-me-nots

Cinquifoil

Lily of the Valley

Water Pennywort?

Yes, the notorious Dandelion! It managed to sneak in- as usual! 

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