Monthly Archives: November 2022

Trifoliate Orange

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 05, 2022 by Henry
Trifoliate Orange

Trifoliate Orange

Cathy, Dorothy, and I took a trip up to Pennsylvania today to put a few things in the cabin and to take the front steps apart in preparation for replacing them. The stringers have mostly rotted away after over 40 years and it’s time something was done about it. We walked around a little and I took a few pictures including this one of the Trifoliate or Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) growing at the edge of the woods below the pond. There is a cultivar called ‘Flying Dragon’ that has curved spines and more contorted branches, but this specimen is the species, which is native to China. If you want a hedge that isn’t going to be easy to climb through, this might be a good option.

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Spider, Flower, and Bird

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 06, 2022 by Henry
Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orbweaver)

Araneus marmoreus (Marbled Orbweaver)

Tricyrtis (Toad Lily)

Tricyrtis (Toad Lily)

Sialia sialis (Eastern Bluebird)

Sialia sialis (Eastern Bluebird)

After church today we went to the Agricultural History Farm Park for a little while. It was a beautiful fall day and a great day to be outdoors. We didn’t really feel like taking a long walk, though. We started, as we so often do, by walking around the shade garden next to (and part of) the fenced Master Gardeners demonstration garden. This spider, a marbled orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus) was there, sitting in the middle of her web (I don’t actually know this is a female). I know not everyone is enamoured of spiders but you have to admit, this little creature is quite beautiful in its own way.

For those of you who prefer flowers or birds to spiders, I’m posting two more photos. In the shade garden not far from the spider was the toad lily (Tricyrtis) seen in the second photograph. I’m a big fan of anything blooming in November, but I’ve never had much success getting this to grow in our garden. Seeing it here made me want to try once more, because it’s really very lovely.

We walked around the demonstration garden and I took a few more photographs there. Then Cathy walked over towards the barn and house and I moved the car there. I sat under a tree and took a few photos of birds and the third photo here—an eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis)—is the best (I think) of those. Even with my long lens zoomed all the way out I had to crop this photo a bit. I’m hoping to do better but thought I’d share this one now, anyway.

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Camellia ‘Winter’s Star’

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 12, 2022 by Henry
Camellia ‘Winter's Star’

Camellia ‘Winter’s Star’

I love camellias of all types and although they are still not very large, I have six in the ground and one more ready to be planted. One that I planted in April, 2020, is a hybrid called ‘Winter’s Star’ that was developed by Dr. William Ackerman and introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum in 1991. This is similar to the Camellia sasanqua ‘Cleopatra’ that my dad had, and which survived better than most in very cold winters. This one is a cross between Camellia oleifera ‘Lu Shan Snow’ (for its cold hardiness) and Camellia hiemalis ‘Showa-no-sakae’ (for its flower form) and is considered to be hardier still. Native from North India to China and Japan south to Northern Indonesia, Java and Sumatra, many are not reliably hardy this far north. Anything that blooms this nicely the second week of November is a winner in my book.

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Karlee and Dorothy

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 19, 2022 by Henry
Karlee and Dorothy

Karlee and Dorothy

We flew down to Birmingham Alabama this afternoon and the drove a little way to the rehearsal dinner for our dear friend, Karlee. We were a bit late due to flight schedule changes but there was still food available to us in the buffet. I took quite a few photos including a bunch of Karlee and Patrick with various friends. Although Cathy and I had met Patrick once, Dorothy had not before today. This was one of the last photos of the evening of Karlee and Dorothy.

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Noccalula Falls

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 20, 2022 by Henry
Noccalula Falls, Gadsden, Alabama

Noccalula Falls, Gadsden, Alabama

After flying to Birmingham, Alabama yesterday and then driving to Gadsden, we had a good night’s sleep and then went out for the morning, doing a little sightseeing before this afternoon’s wedding. We found our way to Noccalula Falls Park. Most of the photographs you see of the falls are taken during a time of year with more water in Black Creek and are much more impressive. Nevertheless, it’s a very pretty place. From the path along the south side of the creek you can see the campground in the north side. We didn’t stay too long, because at that point we needed to get back to the hotel and get dressed for the wedding.

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Patrick and Karlee

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 20, 2022 by Henry
Patrick and Karlee

Patrick and Karlee

As mentioned in the previous two posts, Cathy, Dorothy, and I are in Alabama for Karlee and Patrick’s wedding. The weather was a bit cooler than expected, even for this time of year, but they went ahead with their outdoor ceremony (under a pavilion roof but without walls). They provided hand warmers for anyone who needed them. With my suit coat, I was fine, although the girls were a bit chilly. After the service and before they came into the reception I was able to take a few photos of the bride and groom. So, may I present to you the happy couple.

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Ampersandwich

Photograph taken on Monday, November 21, 2022 by Henry
Ampersandwich

Ampersandwich

After yesterday’s wedding and a good night’s sleep, we headed back towards the airport this morning. Our flight was not until mid-afternoon, however, so we had a bit of time to do some things. We went to the Bass Pro Shop just off of Interstate 20, east of Birmingham because Dorothy had asked for a Carhart jacket for Christmas. After driving into downtown Birmingham, we started to look for a place to have lunch. We got ourselves relatively near the airport and then Dorothy found this place, called Ampersandwich at 4124 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35222. If you’re looking for a good sandwich from friendly folks, this is a good choice and if we ever find ourselves in the neighborhood again, we’d revisit them. Tell them Henry sent you. It won’t get you any better service. There’s no chance they’ll know who I am. But it might be a good for a laugh.

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George, Carmela, and Chester

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 24, 2022 by Henry
George, Carmela, and Chester

George, Carmela, and Chester

Iris and Seth hosted us for Thanksgiving this year and also cooked the turkey. George and Carmela drove down and arrived at around 1:00 PM. We had a lovely time visiting and of course eating. We had taken a good group photo at the beach and we decided that trying to get a good group photo today was not going to happen. Nevertheless, I took a good collection of photos of the festivities. I’m happy with this one of George and Carmela with their dog, Chester.

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