Month: January 2022

I visited Cuba in 2016 on a botanical trip, visiting beautiful gardens and searching for endangered plants. One of our destinations, Viñales, is known for amazing geological formations. Limestone hills called mogotes rise steeply from the valley. With their isolation, they have many endemic species. A week into our trip, I arranged with our local… Continue reading Seeds of Friendship

I heard Kelly Dodson on a podcast last year, who along with his wife Sue Milliken runs Far Reaches Farm nursery. Of course, this led to a virtual visit to his website. One thing led to another and in October I received a box full of amazing plants, all lovingly wrapped and in wonderful condition.… Continue reading Little Plant with a Big History

For as long as I can remember, expeditions to winter woods set my aunt off in a frenzied search for puttyroot. I was always vaguely disappointed that we only found leaves. Despite years of shared walks, we never saw the flowers together. This incessant search continued well into her 80s. She and my uncle moved… Continue reading Puttyroot

After a record warm start to the new year, the rest of this week has compensated by being extra cold and snowy. Two separate snowstorms blanketed the forest with white. Yesterday’s high was in the mid 20’s, and this morning it dipped into the teens, only rising above freezing shortly before noon. Winter seems determined… Continue reading Winter Woods

My father viewed paths as suggestions, and we spent as much time off trails as on them. With rare exceptions he viewed our woods wanderings as detours rather than being lost. Once the flashlights came out, he would reluctantly admit perhaps we had not ended up where he intended. Still, because of these explorations we… Continue reading New Year’s Day Blossoms