Monthly Archives: December 2020

Farm Skyline in Winter

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 12, 2020 by Henry
Farm Skyline in Winter

Farm Skyline in Winter

We didn’t have time for a long walk today but wanted to get out for a while. There’s a loop at the Montgomery County Farm Park the goes around this good-sized corn field and we walked around that. It can be entered from a few different places but we came in on the Upper Rock Creek Trail. We saw quite a few birds, including eastern bluebirds, a blue jay, and lots of crows. We also passed a group on horseback (people, not birds). It was cool and pleasant and good to be outdoors.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Farm Skyline in Winter

Another Strange Ornament

Photograph taken on Friday, December 11, 2020 by Henry
Carol Singer

Carol Singer

We don’t remember where this little Christmas ornament came from. Cathy thought it was made by the woman who cleaned her mom’s house for so many years but the things she made were more homespun. This is different. Just about as strange but different. It’s a Christmas caroler and it’s one we put out every year, but we don’t really know much else.

It’s a funny little thing but as one person commented on Instagram in reference to the Strange Little Ornament post (see Tuesday, December 01, 2020), our house “is a haven for strange little things.” I think perhaps she was including us in the “strange little thing” category, but I can’t be sure.

I’ll post a photo of a nativity scene that Margaret’s housekeeper did make in a few days. I think you’ll agree that they, along with this, qualifies as folk art.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Another Strange Ornament

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 10, 2020 by Henry
Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

This is the second of our Thanksgiving cacti (Schlumbergera truncata) to bloom. The first was mostly white (see Monday, November 23, 2020) and this one, as you can see, is mostly magenta. The third, also magenta, is blooming now, as well. Their flowers are really attractive and I think especially so when shown against a dark background. In this case, the background is the outdoors at night (our kitchen door) with the flower lit by my camera’s flash. S. truncata can be differentiated from the Christmas cactus (S. russelliana) by the pointy ‘teeth’ along the edges of the segments and the fact that the flowers are not symmetrical (the top half is different to the bottom half).

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving Cactus)

Painted Box

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 09, 2020 by Henry
Painted Box

Painted Box

I don’t really know anything about this painted box. We assume it’s Persian but don’t know if it was bought in Afghanistan or Iran (Cathy’s family lived in both). It has some writing around the top edge (not seen here) and if I can find someone familiar with the languages, perhaps we can get it translated and that will tell us more. It was difficult to get a good picture of this, because it has a high gloss finish and getting a picture with a large area of reflection was tricky. This one turned put pretty well, though.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Painted Box

Mum

Photograph taken on Tuesday, December 08, 2020 by Henry
Mum

Mum

This mum was part of a bunch of cut flowers that we had on the table at Thanksgiving (you can see it in the photo from Thursday, November 26, 2020). It’s lasted pretty well and is still brightening up the dining room table. I’ve never really been into cut flowers but I have to admit they are a relatively inexpensive way to add a splash of color and cheer to a room. They don’t have to be particularly exotic, either. Mums, after all, are easily grown and not very expensive. So, next time you have a celebratory meal planned (or even on more mundane occasions), buy a small bouquet of flowers, stick them in a vase (or a pitcher, as these are) and put them on the table.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Mum

Camellia japonica ‘Hokkaido Red’

Photograph taken on Monday, December 07, 2020 by Henry
Camellia japonica 'Hokkaido Red'

Camellia japonica ‘Hokkaido Red’

This spring I planted three camellias. One was a fall blooming hybrid between C. oleifera and C. hiemalis ‘Showa-no-sakae’ called ‘Winter’s Star’ (see Thursday, October 15, 2020). The other two are spring blooming Camellia japonica varieties. One of them, however, has a bloom that’s opened a bit early. It’s called ‘Hokkaido Red’. My understanding is that it was selected from plants grown from seed collected on the northernmost parts Hokkaido, Japan and grown at the National Arboretum. It’s supposed to be one of the most cold tolerant C. japonica and also blooms prolifically over a long period in the early spring. It’s a relatively slow growing shrub and of course mine was only planted this year, so it will be a while before it’s of any stature. But it looks very promising.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Camellia japonica ‘Hokkaido Red’

Sycamore Tree

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 06, 2020 by Henry
Sycamore Tree

Sycamore Tree (Platanus occidentalis)

This American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is in our neighbor’s yard. It’s a bit, healthy tree and in the summer it is often lovely at dusk with the evening sun turning the bright green leaves a wonderful orange-green that’s very hard to describe. In the winter, without its leaves, the beauty of the sycamore is in their bark, which is a lovely white, especially against the blue of a winter sky. They are large trees and generally better suited to parks and open areas but they also make a fine city tree, being quite tolerant in their habits.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sycamore Tree

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 05, 2020 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cathy and I went for a walk on the western side of Lake Needwood this afternoon, parking at Needwood Mansion. It’s a trail we haven’t walked on before, although Cathy ran at least one cross country meet here when she was in high school. We saw quite a few eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and some of them were even close enough that I was able to get a reasonable picture or two. I really would like a longer lens for this sort of thing. Relying on the 100mm lens I have leaves me a little disappointed, but this one is pretty good, if I say so myself.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Middle House

Photograph taken on Friday, December 04, 2020 by Henry
Genna, Liz, Thea, and Dorothy

Genna, Liz, Thea, and Dorothy

We stopped by to bring some things to Dorothy this evening. She and the young women she lives with are self-quarantining because of a possible exposure to Covid (I’m writing this more than two weeks after the fact and they’re all clear). We had stopped at Trader Joe’s but there was a line the length of the building so we didn’t bother with that. We’ll try again when we think it likely to be a little less busy. It was good to see Dorothy, even if we only spoke with her from outside while she stood in the doorway.

Categories: People | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Middle House

Euonymus Berries

Photograph taken on Thursday, December 03, 2020 by Henry
Euonymus Berries

Euonymus Berries

I know I posted a photo of these berries in November but that’s all I got today so I’ll have to repeat myself. They’re pretty and always come later in the year than I remember. I really need to prune these bushes heavily and will try to remember to do it early in the spring so that they will still bloom freely. The bees really love the little, sweet smelling flowers and the whole hedge buzzes for a few weeks. Of course these hedges are pretty popular with the birds, as well, both for the berries this time of year and as simple cover. Evergreens are particularly nice for that purpose.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Euonymus Berries

Dried Flowers

Photograph taken on Wednesday, December 02, 2020 by Henry
Dried Flowers

Dried Flowers

Dorothy brought these dried flowers over a while back and they are lying on top of the large fish tank in the breakfast room. I believe they were her bouquet when she was a bridesmaid in a wedding. There’s something magical about dried flowers. Flowers are, generally speaking, transitory in nature. Their beauty is fleeting, something like a sunset. But a dried flower is a snapshot that lasts, not the same as the flower in all its glory any more than the snapshot is the scene it captures. But they both can evoke a memory or even an emotion. What a wonderful thing.

Categories: Flowers and Plants | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Dried Flowers

Strange Little Ornament

Photograph taken on Tuesday, December 01, 2020 by Henry
Strange Little Ornament

Strange Little Ornament

This strange little ornament is one of our favorites. I don’t know much about it. It seems to be made of wool and it’s clearly a man riding on an animal. Beyond that it’s all conjecture. Is he riding on a horse? Who can say? Is there some significance to his pointed hat? What about the stripes on the hat and on his other garments? Is he meant to be someone in particular? We have more questions than answers. Nevertheless, he has a certain appeal.

We have many more ornaments than we can possibly display at once. If we had a huge house with four or five large Christmas trees, then perhaps we could use them all. But unless and until that happens, most of them will languish in boxes. But this funny, little man will always find a place on out tree.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Strange Little Ornament