Sacred Tree
One morning in Sri Lanka. I happened to get up early, and wandered out of the hotel to see what was going on. It was in the small city of Dambulla, and our hotel was a few hundred yards away from the main road. At the crossroads, I came across what I at first thought was a park of some sort. Then I realized it was a temple. And the heart of the temple was a tree. A magnificent tree, an ancient tree. A double set of temple walls surrounded and protected it. You have to take off your shoes to approach the holy tree. The temple is right in the mainstream of life, a few feet away from honking...
Read MoreBig Leaves
Sri Lanka is a tear-drop-shaped island at the tip of India. Not far from the equator. The noon sun is incredibly powerful, as I discovered after failing to completely cover my winter-white skin with sunblock. There’s green everywhere–every inch that isn’t covered by pavement has tropical foliage bursting out of it. All those leaves soaking in the sunshine. Tall, elegant palms. Banana trees with leaves as long as a basketball player. Papaya trees that look exactly like the truffula trees in The Lorax, with football size papayas growing at their tops. Flowers everywhere,...
Read MoreThin-leaved Coneflower: What’s in a Name?
A cold and dreary winter field. In summer it’s a green and golden wildflower meadow. In winter it’s brown stalks. Peeking out from under this abandoned piece of haying equipment (I think it’s a baler?) is a not-very-well-known wildflower. In summer it looks a lot like a daisy, but with golden-yellow rays surrounding a dark “eye” center. Nope, not a Black-eyed Susan. This is one of Susan’s cousins, though, in the Rudbeckia family. Three-Lobed Coneflower, or Thin-Leaved Coneflower, or Three-Leaved Coneflower, depending on which field guide you use....
Read MoreRed Orange Yellow Day
It’s the last day of January. The dead of winter. Long ago, I had a terrific boss who insisted that every year the staff celebrate Red Orange Yellow Day. I’m not sure if he made it up, or if there really is such a thing. The celebration was always held in January, a month famous for gray skies, dirt-speckled snow, and cold toes. I guess the idea was to brighten everyone up through the mid-winter blues, and it certainly brightened the office, as every on the staff wore the requisite colors and shared a pot-luck lunch of salsa, ziti, orange juice, rainbow sherbet, lemon meringue...
Read MoreCelandine: A Cozy Microhabitat
This little green plant is thriving, as so many weeds do, in the crack between brick and blacktop. Somehow a seed got in there, and found enough soil and moisture to sustain life. The dainty scalloped leaves are a non-native wildflower called celandine, a member of the poppy family. In summer it has a pretty yellow, buttercup-like flower. It also has a vivid blaze-orange sap that is quite toxic, but is a tried and true folk remedy for warts. Just dab it on. (It worked for me, but be cautious, the sap is quite caustic and could irritate the skin.) The amazing thing is how this little plant...
Read MoreAvian Weeds
No, it’s not the Parthenon. Or something built by spendthrift emperors in Ancient Rome. This is the State Education Department building in Albany, NY. It’s really a magnificent building. Based on the greatest traditions of Western architecture, only on a huge scale. You could comfortably fit about eight Parthenons inside it. I marvel at the beauty of this building, and also at what’s perched on top of it. Now, if you’ve been reading this blog you know I like odd plants. My favorites of all are dandelions and poison ivy. I just have a thing for the unloved ones. And so,...
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