Category Archives: Despatches from the Hollow

The east meadow is in full milkweed glory. We have a lovely patch of the native common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) spreading up from the creek through the grasses and forbs that make up the meadow. In all my years, this … Continue reading →

  Spring sprays confetti through the hollow. Whitebud (Cercis canadensis alba), Redbuds, Spicebush spangle the woods and the dogwoods are just plumping out. We are blessed with one of the most beautiful and prolonged springs either of us can remember. … Continue reading →

We’re blooming inside and out in February here in the hollow thanks to Alder (Alnus), Amaryllis and Snowdrops (Galanthus). Inside, the late ‘Christmas Gift’ Amaryllis, a holiday present from a friend, has graced our table for a month or so. … Continue reading →

  Lights on Witchhazel ‘Diane’ (Hamamelis x intermedia) welcome the new year to the hollow. My celebration of 4+ inches of rain last October was premature. Though we’ve had a few inches over the last week or so, creeping up … Continue reading →

Altogether, we had about 4 1/2 inches of rain in September, mostly in little spits of .3″ with one good soaker. October  has started off with another scant .3″ and I am waiting hopefully for an autumn cycle of regular … Continue reading →

The drone of bees among the Jewelweed is louder as summer wanes. Here on the glider porch, their hum and buzz blends with the background of grasshoppers and other small cheepers that sing throughout the day. It is the only … Continue reading →

Queen Anne’s Lace, the wild carrot naturalized from our European days, spangles the sunny end of the meadow, up from the damper bottomland that nurtures Deer’s Tongue  and Yellow Ironweed. Along with the native switch grass, their textures weave a … Continue reading →

The path to the hollow meadow runs east along the creek, flanked by common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), just beginning to bud now in early June along with patches of Butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) and swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) farther down. … Continue reading →

Fill the house with daffodils Hear the courting birds trill Earth tilts Buds break Winter sleep comes awake. Spring calls but she’s still stuck in a chilly end to winter. The hills remain leafless with just a few red maples … Continue reading →

I’ve become entranced by a piece of Spanish moss I pass each day on my afternoon walk. It dangles out in the open from the end of a dead mountain laurel twig like a little world unto itself, resembling nothing … Continue reading →