These leaves are from a single red maple tree in our garden—all taken at the same time. This tree is usually one of the first to show its fall foliage. Click on the image for a larger view. If you would like to see the tree… Continue reading
Category Archives: Our Forest
Raspberry Leaves
Raspberry-leaf tea is great all year round. In summer, we mix it with mint or Japanese green tea and serve it cold. In winter, we mix it with camomile and drink it hot. Raspberry-leaf tea is claimed to have various medical benefits, particularly for women.
In July, we harvest the new shoots of our wild raspberry. We air dry the leaves on the branches indoors, and finish by placing the leaves in a dehydrator. The tea is light and sweet. Wild raspberry spreads quickly and is considered a weed, but we value it as a herb and source of soft fruit. We have several varieties. Click on the image for a larger view.
Blackberries in July
The blackberries are fruiting. It is far too early to harvest, but it looks like this year’s crop will be bountiful, unlike last year. Click on the image for a larger view.
June Forest
Our forest takes a richness this time of year that is striking. It was only about a month ago the foliage started to return. But now, the greens are deep. The foliage claims what was empty space. In summer, while most of the world is in light, the forest is in shadow. Click on the image for a larger view.
Wind Resistance 2
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Wind Resistance
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Metamorphosis
About two weeks ago, our wild plum was full of white blossoms. Now, the foliage has emerged and the flowers have taken a deep pink hue. It will not be long before the blossoms are gone. Spring is such a dynamic season. Click on the image for a larger view.
Fern, Interrupted
Interrupted fern, Osmunda claytoniana, is common in throughout Maine—this specimen being in our forest. The dark green leaves in the center of the stalk are not actually leaves, but sporangia, spore-bearing structures. Continue reading
As if by Magic . . .
As if by magic, our forest springs back to life. Within a week or so, fern has returned to the understory. The new green combined with the warm evening sun makes the new foliage startling. Click on the image for a larger view.
Waiting . . .
After a long winter, waiting for springs can be hard—waiting for the last of the snow to disappear, waiting for the trees to bud, waiting for the crocuses to break the ground. You notice the wildlife return first, birds mostly. But even the annual residents seem to be more visible, more active, as if the avian and mammalian world is cheering the flora on.
This is one of my favorite places on our land—a small grove of young trees that are pioneering a corner of a field we have. At dusk, the sun illuminates these tender trunks. Unlike the more established trees in our forest, these project a kind of optimism for the future. Click on the image for a larger view.
