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alex51324 · 5 months

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Botanical garden expedition!

Today's adventure was a visit to Longwood Gardens, a large botanical garden a reasonable drive from my home. They cleverly draw crowds in what would otherwise be their slow season, with a big display of Christmas lights, trees, and other decorations.

It's hugely popular; you have to reserve tickets in advance, and it's timed entry, where you can stay as long as you want, but you have to arrive within half an hour of the time that's on your ticket--so they don't have a zillion people showing up just at dusk, I guess. By the time I decided to go, in the middle of this past week, the latest arrival time they had left for Friday was 1 PM. (Every Saturday and Sunday until the end of the Christmas event is sold out; luckily, I don't work on Fridays and my dad is retired.)

It worked out OK--we went through all of the indoor displays while they were just crowded and not completely packed. Here's a picture I took in the main conservatory:

The flower beds in here were mainly poinsettias, amarylis, and paperwhites (shown). The bright green lawn in December was also an interesting novelty. There were about a dozen different Christmas trees, and some rooms with period furniture/Christmas decorations. This corridor was neat:

(The people are strangers; see above re: crowds.) This hallway leads to the orchid room. A lot of people just zipped right through the orchid room--I guess since it didn't have anything special in it for Christmas--so I took advantage of the elbow room and ability to get a few pictures without being in anyone's way:

It smelled really nice in there, too:

We also had plenty of time to explore the grounds and decide what we wanted to go back and see again once it was lit up.

They had several of these treehouse things, all decorated for Christmas:

This one had these Dr. Seuss-looking trumpet things:

And Christmas trees, of course:

We also had a walk through the Wildflower Meadow, which is the Gardens' natural area. Admittedly, in December is doesn't look a whole lot different from, say, a soybean field, which we can walk through any time we want, but it was nice to get away from the crowds for a bit, and we talked about coming back in the summer when the wildflowers will be in bloom. Here's some staghorn sumac:

The destination for the meadow walk is this 300-year-old farmhouse:

It has a few exhibits inside, about the history of the house and what you can see in the meadow (when it's not December). I liked the cooking hearth, of course:

The big tree next to the farmhouse is completely wrapped in lights, so that was #1 on our list of things we wanted to see lit up. We didn't hike up to the house again in the dark; there's a place you can see it from the edge of the platform:

The picture doesn't do it justice at all; either my phone camera just isn't good enough to take pictures of Christmas lights, or I didn't get the settings right. Here's a similar tree in the middle of the meadow, that came out a little better:

This area near the edge of the meadow was one of the neatest places for lights. There's a boardwalk that runs along it; one section they had these lights that were done to look like torches, scattered through the grass, and then another section they had these multicolored orbs that pulsed through a range of colors.

Back to daytime, I was fascinated with this berry bush:

It's called beautyberry, and the purple is even more vibrant in person. Here's a closeup:

Around here, it's not hard to find red and orange berries on winter bushes, but purple was new for me.

The other big thing at this garden is the water features; my dad and I both remembered them from (separate) visits some decades ago. A lot of them don't run in December, of course, but they have one section of fountains that do:

They do a show with lights and music, every 15 minutes. (More strangers in the picture.) And here's another water feature that I attempted to take a picture of:

There was a lot of other cool stuff that I couldn't get pictures of--several tunnels of lights, and lots of trees lit from below with colored lights, like the green ones in the picture above. There was one group of trees lit in red and silver, that looked really nice. But by that point I had realized that it made more sense to just look at things, rather than taking disappointing pictures of them, so I'll leave you with one more of the meadow area:

#christmas #longwood gardens

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headspace-hotel · 2 years

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It seems like bare-root trees and shrubs are a bit of a crap shoot. One of three dogwoods, three out of four redbud trees, one of two hawthorn trees, and two out of four Beautyberry bushes appear completely dead. Only the crabapple trees are unilaterally thriving. The only surviving redbud is sprouting just a few leaves at the very base.

#gardening #trees

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sayafics · 9 months

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The Makings of an Army - Chapter I

The sound of cheers echo through the crisp air.

It was a cold winter evening, the snow was thick, lying over the woodlands like a dense blanket, most of the trees were stripped of their leaves but the spindly branches were still weighed down heavily as soft mounds of snow collected on them.

Shrubs of beautyberry and mahonia were dotted around chaotically, the hues of blue and purple flowers gleaming brightly against the stark white that had lulled the woods to sleep.

The sky had already darkened, but the three stumbling figures felt as though nothing could dim their glowing spirits.

They had escaped.

They’re free.

The realisation had been spiralling around the mind of the shortest boy, his heart racing with adrenaline, hands trembling as he laughed in disbelief causing his shoulders to shake lightly and strands of blonde hair to fall and brush against his forehead with every breath.

His eyes glanced down at a mop of dark curls. The boy he was holding up, tired and wrecked, had also been laughing, relief filling his body as the air from his lungs escaped with manic glee.

The shortest boy then glanced at his other friend, his hair shining almost red in the moonlight as they caught each other’s eyes, there was a whisper of incredulity reverberating through the gap between them.

“We did it Barty,” the blonde boy’s voice shook, his blue eyes wide in joy, the colour almost glittering in the slivers of light as they burned at the realisation before he looked down at the boy the two were holding up, “we’re free Reg,” he pulled the dark-haired boy up higher, pulling the arm over his shoulder tighter so he wouldn’t slip, “we’re free.”

Regulus sighed quietly, his body slumped over and his eyes were closed as he moved his feet subconsciously to match the strides of his friends and leaning his head on the blonde-haired boy’s shoulder, a lop-sided grin tugged at his lips, “we made it Ev.”

Silence stretched between them soon, but it was the type of silence they had longed for over so many years. It was calm and quiet, there was no urge to fill it with endless rambles, or dares and gossip meant for distraction, or questions about schoolwork and exams to avoid what truly haunted their thoughts.

It was a silence they relished in as they tried to settle their frantic hearts and convince their paranoid minds.

They were free. Truly free.

The silence was broken by Evan’s squawk of indignation as Regulus seemed to hunch over further, his breathing laboured and shallow, dizziness overtaking him as he screwed his eyes shut further, in an attempt to shake away the feeling he was on the verge of collapsing.

“Shit,” it was the first word Barty had spoken, his voice rough and raw, as he threw a hand around Regulus’ waist to stop him from keeling over. He stopped abruptly, forcing Evan to come to a halt as they both manoeuvred Regulus between them so they could hold him upright once more, when Barty continued his voice was tight, “we have to get somewhere safe. Fuck, we can’t apparate anywhere like this, it’d bloody well kill him if anything goes wrong.”

Barty was right, but Regulus still tried to protest. As his head raised against the nausea that weighed heavily on him, Evan interrupted his pained whispers of protest.

“Bart’s right. You’re still hurt from the first time. We can’t risk doing that again. Look we’ll go somewhere close, okay? We’ll stay for the night, try and fix you up and then we’ll leave.”

Regulus still shook his head in dissent, his tongue feeling too thick to speak in his usual aloof tone.

“This isn’t up for debate Black,” Barty had used his last name, that only meant he was getting annoyed with Regulus, he was already paranoid and seeing Regulus like this? Both Barty and Evan were on the verge of losing their minds, their hearts sinking in dread.

Without another word, Barty lugged Regulus further up, nodding at Evan to do the same. Between the two of them, they shared the burden of Regulus’ wilting body, feverous wishes whispered into the darkness as they searched for somewhere safe.

Anywhere safe.

Evan felt his breaths stutter when he saw it. A small path was outlined by pebbles and slabs of rocks, the dirt path led up to a quaint and homely cabin.

Off to one side Evan could hear slow running water, and as his eyes followed the path ahead, they began to trace over the wooden residence. It looked neat and tidy, it was made of rough logs, the oak covered in growing moss and twining vines that leach up every corner they could find, and although it seemed small, he knew it would be safe.

It had seemed Barty had caught sight of it too, and the two began to lug Regulus’ collapsing body its way.

Barty’s eyes roved over the bushes of firethorn and winter jasmine, secretly admiring the shrubs of daphne and winter aconites.

The air was tinged with a floral scent, it was overpowering. But in some way the boys found themselves relaxing at the scent, such fragrances had never graced the halls of the houses they grew up in. And it seemed to further cement the fact they had escaped.

As they drew closer, they looked around the cabin cautiously. Barty heaved Regulus’ weight onto Evan, ignoring his yelp at the sudden load, before trekking around the house, looking for any sign of life.

There was not even a lit candle, and he deemed it safe enough to enter.

If there happened to be a muggle inside, he could always take care of the problem. For now, the more important thing was to get Regulus out the cold, and to help him before they formulated a plan to escape.

Barty came back to his friends, helping Evan bear Regulus’ weight as he gave them both an affirming nod – this place would do, for now.

They began to stumble their way in, reaching the door. There was a moment of hesitation then, as the boys hoped that the door would open with no resistance.

They were defenceless. Wandless.

Regulus had lost his wand to his brawl with the Inferi, Evan had snapped his from his own clumsiness and Barty had tossed his away, afraid his father might have charmed it with a locator spell.

It was Evan who reached for the doorknob, his hands were now steady as he calmed from the adrenaline that had been racing through his blood when they had first apparated into the woods. They wrapped around the handle, pushing down on it.

Click.

A surprised laugh escaped him, a gasping sound as he realised the door was open. That they could go in, they could help Regulus and they would have somewhere warm to sleep.

“C’mon Ev, let’s get him in.”

Needing no further prompting, the pair dragged in their tired and injured friend, crossing into the threshold with darting eyes.

Barty didn’t see much sense in taking in the decor, accepting the burden of Regulus’ limp body as Evan spun around in one place and took in the house.

Barty dragged Regulus towards a tattered sofa, it was a muddy brown colour with mismatched throwovers strewn across the arms and back. It was just long enough for Regulus to fit comfortably, but his long legs still hung over one side as his head rested against the arm on the other.

Regulus released a soft sigh, his heart calming as he sank into its warmth.

Barty had taken that as a sign to survey the room, and so his eyes began to dart and trace every item he could find within reach.

The cabin was larger than they expected, they stood in the living room, which was pieced together with shades of nude, brown and grey.

Apart from the sofa Regulus began to lightly doze off in, there was also a reclining armchair glowing a hideous yellow that sat on one side of the room, beneath a large window. At the centre of the room sat a teal tea table, potted plants and drained cups of tea littered atop, and underneath it was a plush cream rug.

Behind them sat a fireplace, outlined by a wall of cobblestone. In it was the ashes of a fire that had been doused long ago.

So far, the trio had been eyeing each other and their surroundings in the dark, the moon as their only source of light. But it didn’t take long for Evan to fumble with the trinkets nailed to the walls and switch on the lights by accident.

He flinched when the lights flickered on and pooled the room in a hazy yellow, glancing across the room to find an open kitchen, separated from them by a counter. The kitchen was blooming with hues of teal and green.

His lips twitched in amusement; the cabin was a myriad of mismatched colours. But it looked cozy, like it had been well used and was filled with a kind of warmth the boys had never gotten close to scratching.

It didn’t take long for the boys to track their eyes back to Regulus’ form, guilt flooding their eyes at the sound of his pained breaths. Evan looked to Barty, “find some stuff we can use.”

Without their wands they were practically useless, and being so unfamiliar with the muggle world meant they had no clue how to use their resources.

Still, Barty replied with a steely nod as he began to rummage through the kitchen drawers looking for something that could help.

Evan made his way to Regulus. The curly-haired boy was still dressed in his school robes, so Evan began to pull those off first. They were damp now, an earthy and musty scent emanating from it with each movement. As the robe was thrown aside Evan had to hold his breath at the sight in front of him.

It wasn’t the first time he had seen Regulus in such a state. No, the first time had been when Kreacher had apparated them to the outskirts of a dark and despicable cave, where they had found Regulus’ body broken and limp at the mouth. Kreacher had begged them to take him. To take him and run, to save his Master.

And of course, they did.

Regulus had looked so small in that moment, and it caused a fiery sense of protection to bubble in the hearts of his friends.

Their first attempt at apparating somewhere safe had gone completely wrong, causing Evan’s wand and Regulus’ thigh to get splinched.

Evan profusely apologised as he wrapped the shredded pieces of his robe tightly around the wound, hoping to stop the bleeding.

Barty had discarded his wand on the rocky island, fearful of getting caught by his father. So there was not much to do but hope Regulus did not die until they could get him somewhere safe.

It was only now though, that Evan got a clear look at the damage Regulus had faced alone in that cave. His shirt was splotched with blood, deep gashes and light lacerations marking his body, tearing itself across his stomach and back and shoulders and neck.

Evan drew in a shaky breath, Regulus had either fallen unconscious or succumbed to the deep sleep his body had been begging him for, which only caused Evan to panic further.

His voice raised, his eyes round and face pale in distress, “Crouch! Hurry up and find something!”

Find something. But what?

Barty didn’t know.

He knew everything there was to know about the Dark Arts, consuming every book and novel he could find, researching every legend and every myth.

But healing? Especially as a muggle?

Still, he rummaged chaotically through the drawers, uncaring of the thuds and crashes he causes. He had just made it to the cupboard under the sink when he saw it.

First-aid kit. That had to be a muggle tool, right?

He wasn’t too sure, but tearing it open he found bandages. And he was sure he had seen Madam Pomfrey use them numerous times during his visits to the nurse, so they had to be helpful.

Yes. Yes, this would do.

He stumbled to his feet, lurching out the waist-length door attached to one side of the kitchen counter so he could make his way back to his friends.

“Here,” he thrusted the first-aid kit into Evan’s hands as he took a seat next to him on the floor, “here, use these.”

Evan looked at the materials in confusion, the boys had no clue what they were doing. But if they didn’t try, they weren’t sure if Regulus would ever be okay.

His gashes had stopped bleeding, and Evan was sure the place where he was splinched had stopped bleeding too.

Still, he looked at Barty in poorly concealed fear, “I don’t…I don’t know how to- fuck, I don’t know how to use this stuff.”

Barty opened his mouth, unsure of what he was going to say but trying anyway, before he was cut off.

“Oh.”

Evan’s lips hadn’t moved, and a glance at Regulus showed he was still in a blissful sleep. To make matters worse, this voice was quiet, it was soft, and it was feminine. It had come from behind them, and the two boys twisted viciously as they clambered to their feet, standing defensively in front of the sofa Regulus occupied.

It was a girl. A muggle?

Barty closed his eyes in frustration, he should have checked the house. He should have made sure they were alone. He thought back to the potted plants that were still alive and the cups of tea that were freshly drained and berated himself for his carelessness.

The girl that stood in front of them was shorter than them all, her dark hair flowed around her in unruly waves, her eyes squinted against the light and in her hands, she held tightly onto a pink slipper. The dim lights made her brown skin glow golden under the yellow hues.

Evan snorted quietly at the sight of that, but Barty only released an angered sigh as he began to step forward to the girl.

Evan could tell from the way Barty’s shoulders had raised, the way his lips curled with ferocity and the way his muscles tensed that Barty was getting ready for a fight.

He would kill this girl if he had to, if it meant Regulus and Evan would be safe. He would kill her with no remorse.

But he was stopped by a tight grasp to his shoulder, fingers clenching tightly into the material of his school robes as Evan tugged him back, so he stood at his side.

Barty looked at Evan with narrowed eyes, but Evan was only looking at the girl as she raised her slipper higher as though she was ready to take aim. Barty could see how Evan was holding back his amusement at the sight, his worry for Regulus outweighing his urge to pull his usual antics.

Barty’s back straightened at Evan’s voice, it was low – almost a whisper, full of pleading as his other hand came up in a placating manner.

“Please, can you help our friend?”

The girl’s eyes glanced towards the legs that hung over the arm of the sofa in scepticism, and Evan nudged at Barty to make a path for her to see.

The girl had so many questions running in her mind. Who are these people? How did they get here? Why are they here? Are they going to hurt her?

Every question died as they tried to escape past her lips, every protest squashed as she took in the sight of a boy who looked so small and so frail as he laid back against the sofa. His shirt was bloodied and torn, and around his thigh was a tightly wrapped piece of clothing.

Her brows furrowed as she struggled to make a decision, but Evan spoke again, “he’s our friend. He’s hurt, badly. Please.”

Her eyes flickered back to meet his, the blue eyes were drowning in guilt and in sorrow but a glance at his friend made her hesitate a moment longer.

It was then Barty had chosen to speak, “we won’t hurt you. Just help him.”

His words were not as kind, nor as pleading but she could see the grief-stricken expression he tried to restrain, the stoic mask he tried to put in its place.

So, she stepped forward, the hand holding her slipper lowered as it dropped to the floor. She treaded her way closer cautiously, holding her breath as she brushed past the two boys who stood at the end of the sofa like guard dogs, before coming to a stop at the injured boy’s side.

He looked like he was sleeping, but his face would tighten in pain every now and then, his breathing would become sharp and laboured before slowing down again. She glanced to the first-aid kit left on the ground at her feet.

She had three strange boys in her house, and she couldn’t do anything which would spook them unless she wanted them to hurt her. She recognised the spark of violence in the eyes of the taller boy when he stalked his way towards her before the blonde-haired one had stopped him.

She takes in a shaky breath, taking one final glance in the direction of the boys and noticing how they had come closer – they watched her with wide eyes and terrorised grimaces – before kneeling next to the limp figure on the couch.

She could do this.

She would help them and then they would leave.

Taglist: @xcharlottemikaelsonx

#regulus black #regulus black fic #regulus black x reader #regulus black x ofc #regulus black x oc #harry potter #hp marauders #hp fandom #hp fanfic #barty crouch jr #barty crouch junior #evan rosier #slytherin

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dhr-ao3 · 6 months

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Pulling Leaves Off Trees

Pulling Leaves Off Trees https://ift.tt/L5ZuOks by hauntedde (excitedde) Hermione and Draco find each other across four Autumns. A scent obsessed little love story. Written for the 2023 Harry Potter Pumpkin Spice Fic Fest. Prompts: Scented Candles, Mutual Pining, and Dirty Talk Words: 6245, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: Autumn, A bit of olfactive fanaticism, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Library, Library Sex, Mutual Pining, beautyberry's Pumpkin Spice Fic Fest 2023, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, no beta we die like men, did I fulfill the brief here? not really, less dirty talk and more talk, My First Smut via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/aAlMT3D October 21, 2023 at 05:57AM

#IFTTT #Dramione #Draco x Hermione

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nancypullen · 1 year

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Last Tuesday in April

Hello again, cool cats and kittens! We’ve been busy around the ol’ homestead this week. The mister has eased into retirement like a boss and I think has surprised himself with how enjoyable he finds life out from under the stress of the corporate world. He started rushing around getting projects done and I had to remind him that there are no deadlines. We. are. not. in. a hurry. He’s about to learn how to live Nancy style. One of the projects he tackled was turning his office into a room where he can enjoy working on his photography and relaxing. I’ll probably need to sage that room to get the bad work ju-ju out, but it’s already looking better in there. Today we moved out his big work desk (it’s going on Facebook Marketplace) and painted two walls a color that he chose all by himself. I may have guided his hand a bit by handing him samples that seemed in keeping with what he said he wanted. He settled on the color Jasper Stone.

It looks great. I’m trying so hard not to tell him where I’d put things and how I’d arrange it all and what I’d put on the walls. This is his space and he didn’t butt in when I arranged my craft room. As long as he’s happy, I’m happy. That’s not his office in the photo, that’s just a picture of the wall color that I snagged from the Sherwin Williams site. I also finished my two dollar cabinet. I need to learn to quit while I’m ahead. I may have done too much to it. But I like foo-foo, and this is definitely Fancy Nancy style.

Well, that’s not a very flattering snap - in the garage surrounded by my mess. I’ll put her in place tomorrow and get a better photo. That one was taken from the garage door before I picked up my tools and called it a day.

When Mickey’s office is finished that will mean that the only room left to do is the master bathroom. I’ll probably paint the vanity in there, ideally get new flooring, and that’s about it. I’ve got some cute art on the walls already. the shower curtain is fine. I wouldn’t mind a couple new rugs, but all in all - it’s an okay room. The double vanity is huge, really long, lots of great space. BUT (and you knew there was a but), above that vanity is an enormous contractor grade mirror. Super ugly, but would be expensive and annoying to replace. I think I’ll ask Mickey to just frame it out with trim. If I paint the cabinets a warm off-white, use oil-rubbed bronze hardware, and then frame the mirror in a deep espresso...

If Mickey is reading this right now - sorry, honey. You knew I would get to that room eventually. He’s already replaced the faucets and they look fabulous, now the rest of the room has to catch up. In other news, I’ve got baby zinnias popping up, baby sunflowers, baby basil, and baby dill as well. JOY!! The beautyberry bush that I planted from a bare root shipment is putting out little green leaves and that excites me so much. I’m slowly turning this new patch of ours into the sort of haven that I need, and Mickey drove into Dover on Monday and picked up all of the stuff to install the fence that I’ve been begging for out by the tree line!

He’s conned Tyler into coming out and helping him get it built on the weekend of the 6th. Of course, that means there will probably be biblical rains that weekend. I hope not. That’s also Kentucky Derby weekend. Maybe I’ll win enough to pay for the fence. I’d probably have to bet more than $5. Speaking of the Edgewater folks, we had Little Miss all to ourselves for a sleepover last weekend. On Saturday we took her to the Earth Day celebration at Adkins Arboretum. They had tons of stuff for kids to do, live music, food, etc. I packed a picnic lunch for us and we hiked, played, ate, and had the best day. She wore her Wonder Woman costume (because, of course) and had her face painted like a butterfly (again, of course). She was very popular with the crowd and stole the heart of a little boy named William who enlisted her help in his search for dinosaur fossils. They were hilarious together.

Gee, doesn’t pack the same punch when you can’t see their sweet faces. The world would be better if we all behaved like kids - everyone is a potential friend and everything is fun. Another happy note - this afternoon a neighbor across the street came over and gave me crabs. Let me rephrase that. The lady across the street brought over some locally caught, already boiled in Old Bay, delicious Maryland crabs. Blough’s Seafood is just down the road from us and apparently they’ve got the best prices in the area. She’d picked up a bushel, had a big feast and wanted to share the wealth. Isn’t that nice?? I confess, while Mickey was upstairs taping off his office for us to paint I snapped off a claw and enjoyed the delicious crab meat inside. I could eat my weight in crab (and lobster, and shrimp), so that neighborly gesture was enormously appreciated. I’ll have to send some baked goods over or something. I think one officially becomes a Maryland resident when you have crabs in your frig. Kind of like Tennessee and the Moon Pie. Or moonshine.

That last photo reminds me that it’s nearly time for me to start dinner. I’ve got chicken thawed, but I’m pretty sure my main course will be crab tonight. Can you believe that Mickey doesn’t care for it? How have we lasted 41 years? He doesn’t like crab or lobster and I’m not a fan of biscuits or banana pudding. It’s like a mixed-faith marriage. Anywho, moving on. I’ll wrap it up and get busy with dinner. Meet ya’ back here tomorrow. I truly hope that you’re having a lovely day and that the spring weather in your neck of the woods is treating you kindly. Spring can be moody, but she’s an artist, isn’t she? Enjoy the process. Stay safe, stay well, spread some love. XOXO,

Nancy

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belleravenstar · 9 months

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#herbalism #eclectic witch #witchcraft community #witchy #magick #herbs #witch stuff #witchcraft #green witch #kitchen witch #witchy vibes

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texasobserver · 11 months

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”200,000 Steps on the Lone Star Hiking Trail” by Sergio Chapa, from the May/June 2023 issue of Texas Observer magazine:

I grew up in northwest Austin at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, where hiking through the woods and playing in creeks were daily activities. So, I’ve always been an “outdoors person.” After moving to Houston for a journalism job, I quickly began running and biking along the city’s mostly concrete-lined bayous. Then an environmental activist told me something intriguing: Just an hour north of the traffic and skyscrapers of downtown Houston is the 96-mile Lone Star Hiking Trail, the longest footpath in Texas.

During April 2020, I began a quest to hike the full trail along with a friend in my “COVID bubble.” It was a sunny and unseasonably hot day as we embarked from mile marker zero inside the 163,000-acre Sam Houston National Forest. So early in the pandemic, we hiked without seeing another person, hearing a car on the road, or spotting an airplane in the sky. The only sounds were chirping birds, squirrels and lizards scurrying, and the wind blowing through the leaves.

It was a Coronavirus-safe activity and I was hooked.

On maps, the national forest is depicted as a massive patch of public land. But on the ground, hundreds of U.S. Forest Service tracts are broken up by private timberlands, farms and ranches, and a growing number of rural homes and subdivisions. Mostly flat to rolling terrain, the forest is laced with creeks as well as the east and west forks of the San Jacinto River and the not-so-scenic lanes of Interstate 45.

Starting near Richards and ending near Cleveland, the Lone Star Hiking Trail proper is 96 miles through the forest with five optional loops adding another 32 miles. Depending on one’s height and weight, that’s roughly 200,000 steps. Given a pace of about three miles per hour, it would take roughly 32 hours to hike the entire trail nonstop. Hiking about eight hours per day means less than a week of hiking and camping.

But that’s not the path I chose.

It took me sixteen trips with various friends over two years to hike the entire trail. Confession: We weren’t disciplined about it; sometimes weeks or months lapsed between forays. Most often, I’d park my car at one of the 15 trailheads and we’d hike for five or six miles and then head back. On every visit, the trail provided valuable relief with its clean air, social distancing, and an escape from the four-wall confinement of lockdown and stress. Our slower approach allowed us to experience the forest in all four seasons.

Spring is marked by fresh light green leaves, wildflowers and white color pops of dogwood and magnolia blossoms. The summer can be brutally hot, but it’s the best time to enjoy Lake Conroe or Double Lake. The fall brings orange, red, and yellow hues as purple beautyberries and red yaupon holly berries ripen in the understory. Pine trees and oaks stay green during winter while colonies of colorful mushrooms and fungus sprout on the forest floor.

I shared our hikes on Twitter and Instagram, and the Lone Star Hiking Trail became a hit with my social media followers too.

It’s much easier to hike the trail virtually. To do it in person, you need plenty of water, snacks, insect repellent, spare socks, powder, paper towels and wipes, and willingness to rough it, since there are no bathrooms or vending machines aside from spartan amenities at the Stubblefield and Double Lake campgrounds. Good walking shoes and long pants with high socks reduce risks of scratches, bug bites and ticks. Snakes on this trail mostly flee from people. However, mosquitoes and spiders are fearless.

Early morning hikes meant the person in the lead breaks overnight cobwebs. Scat with fur signaled coyotes and bobcats, but the most worrisome signs were the wallows and rooting of feral pigs. My worst fear was encountering hogs, which can attack when frightened or startled. Luckily, we never saw any.

Sam Houston is one of the state’s four national forests created by Congress during the Great Depression. The timber industry previously clear-cut large swaths of the Piney Woods. State lawmakers bought hundreds of barren tracts in 1933, with the intent of adding them to the national forest system. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston national forests in October 1936. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps planted millions of trees. The U.S. Forest Service gave the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club permission to build the trail in 1967. The trail and all its loops were complete by 1978.

It’s big enough that you can easily get lost. I’m an experienced outdoorsman, but we’ve gotten lost on the Lone Star Hiking Trail, marked by small reflective markers nailed into the trunks of trees. It’s easy to lose track of the markers after leaving U.S. Forest Service land and walking down a rural road to the next section. Cell-phone service can be spotty, so it’s best to download Lone Star Hiking Trail Club maps in advance.

But not all of this wilderness is protected. Legally distinct from national parks and refuges, national forests can be used for hunting, fishing, timber, grazing, mining, oil, and natural gas. By law, the U.S. Forest Service must manage Sam Houston with no single resource emphasized over others. To that point, the 163,000 acres also include trails for ATVs, mountain bikes, and horses. Lakes are stocked with bluegill, largemouth bass, and catfish. Oil wells and easements for pipelines and power lines are common.

Historically, wildfires kept the forest from getting too dense and unhealthy. Today, the U.S. Forest Service uses controlled burns and sustainable timber harvesting in efforts to control a pest known as the southern pine beetle and improve habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker, an endangered species that favors open “pine savannas” and nests from April to June. Over the decades, environmentalists and forest managers have sparred in court over forestry practices related to the beetle and woodpecker.

I looked for those woodpeckers, but only heard their distinctive high-pitched chirps and tap tap-tapping hidden in the canopy.

Sprawl and suburbanization are the biggest threat to the forest and to this trail. I-45, the busy thoroughfare connecting Houston and Dallas, divides it in two, creating a formidable barrier for wildlife and people. The Texas Department of Transportation spent millions improving a 15-mile stretch of highway between Huntsville and New Waverly but spent little on allowing hikers or wildlife to cross safely under the roadway where cars speed past a white 67-foot statue of Texas founding father Sam Houston.

I wish the Texas legislature would use some of its $32.7 billion budget surplus to create a buffer for this trail—and improve the crossings that either don’t exist or have been damaged and make a through-hike so challenging. Unfortunately, this year has seen news in the opposite direction: The state recently lost a lovely park further north on the I-45 corridor that offered its own woodland paths.

In theory, animals can use the narrow corridor where Big Chinquapin Creek goes under the highway, but hikers must trudge four miles along three rural roadways and the I-45 frontage road in order to reach the next trail section.

Country-club communities such as Elkins Lake and the Texas Grand Ranch subdivision with its two- to five-acre lots allow people to live at the edge of the forest. As an unintended result, nonnative ornamental plants are escaping into the wild and becoming invasive species. The average person may not notice, but I kept spotting exotic plants like nandina, wax-leaf ligustrum, Chinese tallow, chinaberry, bamboo, and hardy orange all along the trail.

Volunteers with the Lone Star Hiking Club and the Houston area Sierra Club maintain the trail and try to clear out invaders. I’d love to give back and join them one day.

But it’s a big job—and progress is often slow.

A vehicle bridge to the Stubblefield Campground washed out during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 but was not rebuilt until 2022. A footbridge over scenic and shaded bluffs of the east fork of the San Jacinto River in the Magnolia section of the trail was destroyed more than eight years ago and never replaced.

Hikers are forced to take a complex detour, though I opted to park my car at the next trailhead and walk to the opposite bank.

Even as the pandemic fades, I’m still going back for more, particularly to hike the loops outside the main trail. To me, this escape seems even more valuable with Houston growing at a pace that will see it overtake Chicago as the third-largest U.S. city. Even as the metropolitan area expands in all directions, the forest still offers respite.

#hiking #east texas #Houston #nature #outdoors

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italwayshadtobeyou · 10 months

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@thebackestofburners Re: my rewilding project, I belong to the Florida Native Plant Society, which advocates for replacing invasives with native and wildlife-friendly plants. They replace missing species in parks and so on. My personal, near-and-dear plan involves my back yard, so about an acre in central Florida. Like much of the state, it was pretty overtaken with invasive species when my family moved here in 2014: Tuberous sword ferns, red fire ants, camphor trees, philodendrons, sapodillas, etc. (I really wish people would learn that, just because something will grow in Florida, doesn't mean you should give it the chance.)

Even more alarming were the quantities of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that people dumped on their yard. That's a problem I started working on pretty quickly, doing spot treatments on fire ant nests and letting the other insects be. (Don't use acephate as fire ant killer! Plants take it up.) The situation very slowly improved: After about five years, I saw our first caterpillar, and I saw a few more bugs every year after.

The rest, I started working on a little a year ago, after my beloved dog, Piglet, died. She was so precious, and I wanted to give her remains back to the world in a way that made sense, so I found a native tree (pignut hickory), planted it over her grave, and started growing the rest of everything around that. I also got a few other native plants at the same nursery; I'd been intrigued by the "forest gardening" agricultural system found in some places, and thought that it might be a good way to replace the barren lawns and water-hogging ornamentals that take up so much space in Florida. And it seemed like something that would honor my wonderful pet.

I made myself a promise, right after Piglet died, that I'd live the rest of my life in a way that made the world more like one she'd deserved. I'm think I would've given up, if I hadn't been focused on that.

The soil was almost dead when I started. People don't realize it, but lots of plants are allelopathic, meaning that they secrete toxins to keep other plants from growing. (In their home environments, the other plants have evolved some defenses, and there's a balance. It's only a bad thing when you put the plants somewhere they don't belong.) Then there are plants kill, or just don't sustain, the local microbial communities that local plants are used to. Other times, people do grow native plants, but they plant them in a monoculture that can't function without constant fertilizing and watering, because ecosystems need more than one thing to work.

Anyway, I've been removing as many invasives, diversifying the grasses, and replacing microbes (I use BioOrganic's Mycorrhizal Inoculant Plus; it costs a lot, but a little goes a long way) as much as I can. I don't have use an irrigation system (not even soaker hoses, which, as far as I can tell, are always made of toxic rubber), and, outside of the useful-plants area where I built beds to absorb any excess, I only apply fertilizer after pulling out a nutrient-greedy invasive.

So I identify plants and find replacements that work with the soil type (acidic, alkalkine, rich, poor) and water table in my area. During the worst of the drought this spring, I was working 4-6 hours outside, 7 days a week. Currently, it's more like 2-3 hours.

And it's working! We have firebushes, beautyberries, Florida betony, creeping mint, frogfruit, a sassafrass, a sparkleberry, a coralbean, a flatwoods plum, purple lovegrass, coonties, hairypod cowpeas, blue sage, scarlet sage, and more. (The firebushes and beautyberries predated my project; I had simply insisted on those particular natives when we moved in.) One day this summer, I saw 3 kinds of bee in the yard! It used to be rare to see any bee, of any kind, here. I've seen 4 different kinds of butterfly on the same day. There are so many different textures and faint scents and colors where before there were only a handful. It's exhilarating, and it makes me feel like I'm doing right by Piglet.

Now, I know that not everyone has the option of turning an acre or more of land into rewilded territory. But there are some things that most people can learn and implement to make future reclamation less daunting.

When you see a plant you find appealing, check a resource like Plants for a Future (PFAF) or the USDA's PLANTS Database to see if it's native to your area. If it isn't, you should do further research to make sure it isn't harmful before you plant it.

PFAF is also a great resource if you're out of inspiration and want to browse the possibilities. You can search by habitat type or plant family.

Be very careful about following "trends" in gardening. For example, people copying "influencers'" succulents collections leads to overcollection in the wild.

Chlorine and chloramine kill good germs. I started out leaving big boxes of water to sit for 48 hours while the chlorine evaporated, but I've since moved on to hose-end filters, and they seem effective. However, if your utilities add chloramine rather than chlorine, evaporation won't work, and you'll need to look closely at the specs on your filters.

Try to dig up (preferably with a handheld tool, not a tiller or plough that causes deeper soil damage) at least some patches of lawn grass and replace them with different groundcover for diversity, and make sure that you let at least some of your grass go to seed for birds to eat.

Co-ops and extension services sometimes offer discounts on native seeds. But make sure that you understand the seeds' requirements: Many germinate better after scarification and/or cold stratification under specific circumstances.

If you can't afford native plants for your land just yet, try running a search for "wildlife-friendly" plants that you can grow in your area. This means plants that, although they originate somewhere else, aren't toxic to local plants and animals, and may provide food or shelter to them. For example, I have a form of wild coffee plant that likely originated in Africa, but thats berries can be eaten by birds.

Currently, I'm working on spreading cuttings throughout the yard, keeping them watered, and planting my late-summer vegetables. But I don't think that a caring lifestyle ends at the door. One of my big goals is be to retrofit our house with a composting toilet and start growing my own "toilet paper" leaves, thereby sparing our local aquifer, feeding my dirt, and keeping PFAS-contaminated toilet paper out of the ocean.

#not fandom #mine #in which i take questions #long post #personal

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rjalker · 1 year

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K gonna go check on the pawpaws quick to see if tree #3 is flowering yet but here's the list of plants so far for this guide, mostly once I've actually found growing in the wild on public land, or in the case of loquats, fruiting palms, and Japanese persimmons, planted so often and then no one gives a shit about the fruit. They literally just let it rot on the ground.

American Beautyberry

American Elderberry

Black Cherry

Blackberries and Raspberries

Blueberries

Chestnuts

Common Persimmon

Fruiting Palms

Graybark Grapes

Hackberries

Hickories

Japanese Persimmon

Loquat

Mock Strawberries

Mulberries

Muscadine Grapes

Purple Passionflower

Small-flower Pawpaws

Strawberries

Taro

Wild Potato Vine

Yellow Passionflower

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urne-buriall · 2 years

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today in the "our lights in ashes lecture series", also known as "posts absolutely no one asked for": plants!

everything's blooming around me right now so I gotta. to me, setting is key and I have to believe in the place I'm reading or writing about. including local flora makes it feel distinct to me, and was the kind of thing I hoped contributed to making the setting come alive even if you don't know the area or the plants that come up

from chapter 1: They paced through the woods in sight of each other, moving in tandem while covering a wider swathe. Jack appeared in steady flashes between trees, shoes pressing down pine needles and packed dirt. The thick canopy lent the forest a purple gloom, while clusters of pipsissewa and ginseng dotted the lower brush with colour. The green of every leaf deepened as they traversed further into the woods.

these first two examples aren't heavy on symbolism, but they're pretty. and woods aren't only about trees. the lush undergrowth of a Virginia forest with ferns and flowers add such depth.

from chapter 3: One moment they drove through a low-country landscape of oatmeal-brown marsh grass, then they crossed the bridge and a city rose with its handsome old buildings and lush greenery like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Jack looked around with new eyes, taking in a city that entirely lacked the usual commotion and buzz. Shaded streets lined with Southern live oak, their dark reaching branches hanging with Spanish moss.

Southern live oak and Spanish moss! oh boy, you know you're in the South when. it's the way the live oak reaches out and the moss drapes over the branches like a ghost. it lends such a colour to the very atmosphere, this ancient and mysterious green-grey.

from chapter 5: They reached the gulch where the bodies had been found. The whole area crawled with kudzu, enshrouding the trees and the forest floor in vibrant green. An abandoned truck and an even older car had been lost to the gulch in ages past, and now the kudzu threatened to swallow them entire.

okay, now we're in to some more overt symbolism. kudzu, an invasive species, is known as "the vine that ate the South." it's fast-growing and can easily choke out other plants and block their access to resources. this is in a chapter about explicit prejudice and hatred, which endangers diversity and under which none of us can flourish. hatred is a poison and the rise of alt-right extremism concerns me. you want to see what will devour our society? kudzu doesn't seem so bad.

from chapter 6: The twins lived in the bayou, in a white, two-story house with a small porch that had the swing and another balcony on the floor above it. Tall trees shaded it all through the day, and azaleas grew abundantly around the porch steps.

so I'm very fond of azaleas. this was one of the flowers that had more traditional symbolism attached: they are seen to represent familial duty and homesickness, as well as wealth and elegance. this was a great fit for our semi-disinherited twins, Emory and Sawyer. they are also poisonous, which I like for representing the dark and dangerous strain of their familial past. the azaleas represent the way they are still attached to their mother despite everything, and the fact they bother to care for these flowers is a small nod to Mona's far more extensive garden in the next chapter.

from chapter 7: He eventually took a seat within a tiny enclosed arbor, where vines and flowers crawled over the surrounding latticework. A honeybee joined him, investigating the purple beautyberry and blazing star, carving a path through the world that told a story to anyone paying attention.

purple is frequently associated with witchcraft in spn, so I couldn't resist mentioning purple flowers in Mona's garden as a way to code her as magic. as it happens, bees also tend to love purple flowers so Cas isn't complaining. oh, and blazing star is sometimes also called "gayfeather" so there's something in that about gay angels because I'm very mature, I guess.

chapter 7: Golden afternoon light shone in shards through the leaves and boughs of the old magnolia trees, glinting in the glimpses of sky between grey tendrils of swaying Spanish moss.

it just wouldn't be the South if there weren't magnolias. they wouldn't have been in bloom at the time that Dean and Cas are at Mona's, so I did not get to lean into the lovely scent as much as one would like. actually, I tried to be careful with what would theoretically be in bloom or berrying in autumn, when the story takes place. however anyone who knows more about plants must excuse if I stretched seasons too far, writers will absolutely push the limits for the sake of a story.

from chapter 8: He found the swinging sign of the Brass Lantern Inn, surrounded by feathery pink muhly grass.

look at this stuff. it's so dreamy. wispy as pink mist, then catching the light to look like tiny fireworks. the final chapter of our lights in ashes is all about dusk and dawn and is tinted with the colours of sunrise reflecting through the water, gold and pink and orange. (in the first chapter, the hope of daybreak doesn't save a boy from his fate. in the final chapter, daybreak fulfills its promise.) and there may not be fireworks for the Big Damn Kiss at the end, but maybe we got near enough.

#our lights in ashes #writing inspiration #works cited #flowers #southern gardens #southern gothic #THIS HAS BEEN A POST #like I don't even know who the target audience is for this #just me putting off other things I should be doing #our lights in ashes lecture series

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toddstreeservices · 11 months

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9 Fast Growing Shrubs for Marietta Georgia

Looking for the perfect fast-growing shrubs to plant on your property? Knowing which shrubs will thrive in your Marietta yard will help you plant and have a beautiful landscape.

toddsmariettatreeservices.com gathered the following species, growing, and care information to help you determine which shrubs are ideal for your yard.

1. Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)

This deciduous shrub blooms bright yellow flowers in the spring. It grows to 6 to 10 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of about 2 to 3 feet annually. It is hardy in zones 5 through 8 and prefers a 6.0 to 7.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun to partial shade.

2. Glossy Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora)

This evergreen shrub features glossy green foliage that turns bronze in the fall. It grows 4 to 6 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of about 2 feet per year. It is hardy in zones 6 through 9 and prefers a 6.0 to 7.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun to partial shade.

3. Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

This deciduous shrub shows off bright purple berries in the fall, attracting birds. It grows 6 to 8 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of about 2 feet annually. It is hardy in zones 7 through 10 and prefers a 5.5 to 6.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun to partial shade.

4. Fastest Growing Privacy Shrub - Leyland Cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii)

This evergreen conifer is a stunning hybrid of two cypress species and has become a popular choice for privacy screens and hedges due to its fast growth and dense foliage. It can grow 3 to 4 feet annually and reach a mature height of 50 to 70 feet with a spread of 10 to 20 feet. It is hardy in zones 6 through 10 and can tolerate various soil pH levels, from acidic to alkaline. It requires regular watering and prefers full sun.

5. Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)

This deciduous shrub blooms bright yellow flowers in the winter. It grows 6 to 10 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of about 2 to 3 feet per year. It is hardy in zones 6 through 10 and prefers a 6.0 to 7.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun to partial shade.

6. Purple Leaf Sand Cherry (Prunus x cistena)

This deciduous shrub features purple foliage and pink blooms in the spring. It grows 6 to 10 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of about 2 to 3 feet annually. It is hardy in zones 2 through 8 and prefers a 6.0 to 7.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun.

7. Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)

This deciduous shrub features white blooms in the summer, attracting butterflies. It grows 8 to 12 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of 2 to 3 feet annually. It is hardy in zones 4 through 8 and prefers a 5.5 to 6.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun to partial shade.

8. Dwarf Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus 'Compactus')

This fast-growing deciduous shrub features bright green foliage turning brilliant red in the fall. It grows 6 to 8 feet with a similar spread and has a growth rate of 2 feet per year. It is hardy in zones 4 through 9 and prefers a 6.0 to 7.5 soil pH. It requires moderate watering and prefers full sun to partial shade.

9. Fastest Growing Flowering Shrub - Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

This deciduous shrub or small tree is well-known for its crepe-papery flowers blooming in the summer months in pink, white, lavender, and red shades. It can grow 3 to 5 feet per year and reach a mature height of 15 to 30 feet with a spread of 6 to 25 feet. It is hardy in zones 7 through 9 and prefers slightly acidic soil with a 5.5 to 6.5 pH. It requires regular watering and prefers full sun.

Crape Myrtles are popular for their rapid growth and stunning blooms, making them a perfect choice for homeowners wanting a splash of color in their landscape without waiting too long. Crape Myrtles prefer well-drained soil and should be planted in locations with good air circulation to prevent fungal disease growth.

Fast Growing Shrubs

In this article, you discovered fast-growing shrubs, their growth habits, hardiness zone, soil, water, and sun requirements.

Understanding which shrub species will grow best in your Marietta, Georgia, yard will help you plant and develop a stunning, well-kept landscape that could significantly increase your home’s curb appeal.

Without hardy shrubs, your soil will more easily erode, look unappealing, and leaving your trees and home more susceptible to wind and storm damage.

Sources: plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/euonymus-alatus-compactus/ edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FP001 clemson.edu/cafls/demo/plant_profiles/callicarpa-americana-american-beautyberry.html plantfacts.osu.edu/tmi/Plantlist/fo_media.html landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/jasminum-nudiflorum uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-database/shrubs/purpleleaf-sand-cherry.aspx dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=273 lsu.edu/departments/horticulture/plantmaterials/Plant%20Groups/Evergreen%20Trees/X%20Cupressocyparis%20leylandii/index.htm apps.cals.arizona.edu/arboretum/taxon.aspx?id=152

Todd’s Marietta Tree Services

Marietta, GA (678) 505-0266

Originally published on: https://www.toddsmariettatreeservices.com/9-fast-growing-shrubs-for-marietta-georgia/

#gardening #landscaping #shrubs #tree service #marietta #marietta ga

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