Author Archives: Cathy

One of our favorite quotes here in the hollow is Henry James’ “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon, to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” This summer I picked Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus … Continue reading →

The hickories are heavy with their nuts at the edge of the meadow. Queen Anne’s Lace, Black-Eyed-Susan, Yarrow, Butterfly Weed, and Switch Grass spangle the sunny spots of our little swath. All you need for a meadow is a properly … Continue reading →

Daffodil and pine are one of my husband’s signature arrangements, the sharp green needles and tender yellow blooms presenting a perfect picture of late winter morphing into early spring. Along with bi-colored ‘Ice Follies’, the little yellow ‘Tete-a-tete’s’ are just … Continue reading →

A good month away from the equinox and vibrant color wakes up the winter doldrums. Brand new ribbons of  witchhazel contrast with wrinkled amethyst berries of Callicarpa dichotoma, Japanese beautyberry. Beautyberries, like viburnums, are one of the last berries to … Continue reading →

Holidays start here in the hollow on December 21st with the winter solstice and run through the new year. Late autumn and early winter open their arms to us as the planets turn and tilt in the winter sky. Orion … Continue reading →

I love picking through the cool nasturtium leaves before the first frost – this year, the night of November 10, down to 21 degrees. Filling the house with their flowers and spicing up salads with their peppery seed heads that … Continue reading →

  The solar eclipse came to the hollow between 2 and 3 pm Monday, August 21st in lovely sunny skies with just a few poofs of cumulus clouds. We weren’t in the zone of totality, but I did see a … Continue reading →

It was only a few years ago that our 27 year old American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) began to display its imperfect dioecious flowers, male and female separate on the same tree, and produce beechnuts. The pendant, globose flowers at the … Continue reading →

Early Spring, Sprung wire, Daffodils all mixed up. The daffodils are all mixed up this year. As we staple up the fallen wire on the vegetable garden fence, I see ‘Ice Follies’ out first instead of the usual little ‘Tete-a-Tetes’ … Continue reading →

After a week or so of intermittent rain we found the perfect window to burn our three-year-old brushpile. John and Milo are watching over some large old logs left from the Derecho wind damage as well as smaller twigs and … Continue reading →