October 2024

We have a nearby neighbor whom we affectionately call “Blower Man.”  We don’t actually know him – he lives directly across the quarry from us – but we definitely know when he’s outside doing yard work. The deafening sound of his enormous leaf blower drones on hour after hour, often chasing us inside until he finishes. As annoying as it is to be sent into retreat mode on a picture-perfect fall day, I find it heartbreaking to think about the environmental impacts of stripping a property bare of every fallen leaf. Autumn leaves are, I believe, Mother Nature's gift to the earth. 

Have you ever seen the hilarious Abbott and Costello sketch Who’s on First?”   Over the  weekend I happened to overhear (Ok, I was eavesdropping; it was too funny to miss) a conversation that immediately reminded me of the sketch. A relatively harassed sounding salesperson was trying to explain to a very confused woman the difference between an evergreen and a conifer. She just wasn't getting it and the longer they talked, the more confused they each got. I have no idea why they were having the conversation in the first place, but it did get me thinking about the two terms.  

I have spent the last two months cleaning debris from my mimosa tree off of my front patio, porch and even my   entryway.  I love the tree in the summer when it is covered in blooms and hummingbirds are flocking to its sweet nectar, but I have to admit that I curse at it a  bit the rest of the year. Why anyone would plant such a messy tree right next to the   house is way beyond my understanding.

While cliff golden rods and rough blazing stars are vying for attention in my front garden, my third, and unexpectedly new fall favorite, quietly fills a shady corner of my backyard with tall stems covered in soft rose-purple flowers. At a first, quick glance, the plants could be snapdragons revived after the heat of summer or digitalis giving one last burst of color, but a closer look reveals an entirely different plant, rose turtlehead, or more precisely Chelone oblique.   It’s a plant whose blossoms bring to mind dozens of small turtles raising their heads to see if anyone is looking for them and whose name recalls a long-ago story.