Viburnum utile ‘Eskimo’ – October
The last of the sugars are trapped within the leaves of ‘Eskimo’ viburnum as chlorophyll fades with summer and systems shut down for leaf-drop, next spring’s flower firmly nestled in bud. This lovely cultivar of the service viburnum has welcome fragrant pom-poms in early spring. Placed outside a northeast window its branches display a twiggy aery for birds as they pick off the shiny black berries.
Raisinettes for the birds.
Blue jays have been busy for weeks, cawing and jawing as they flit through the trees and brush from beech to, I must confess, the invasive autumn olive, on to native alder to goldenrod to aster and sunflowers, picking avidly through the seeds. This is the ripe time for all – titmice, wrens, redbirds and woodpeckers, the deer and turkey, muskrats, mice and foxes. So many hickory and beech nuts and acorns to devour as soon as they can, before real want comes with winter.
We live in peace and plenty here in the hollow amid all the beauty nature allows. Our spring flows, our plants fruit. Thank God for our good fortune.
Hollow beech smolders.