A quiet morning

Family visited. There were three very busy days and evenings, with lots of socializing. Now I’m ready for some quiet time. The soft fog and overcast sky are collaborating with me in slowing everything down. I’m going to spend some time with the many plant beings that are thriving here.

The cranesbill is blooming exuberantly in the front garden. I transplanted it here two years ago so I could see it better, unsmothered by its companions. Since then it’s grown a lot stronger.

I picked two bouquets for the Thursday night pizza party. Lady’s mantle, lavender, comfrey, calendula, and gaillardia.

Yesterday’s photo of the mullein in the garden. To its left, potatoes, to the far left, peas. To its right, escarole and Swiss chard. In front, young collards. The porcupine (I assume) got into the garden the previous night and gave the escarole and lettuce a haircut. Didn’t touch anything else, has discriminating taste I guess.

The mullein doesn’t usually appear in the garden – I don’t want it to proliferate here because it takes up so much space. But this one has been interesting to watch closely. When seeds appear, I’ll take the seedhead out and put it elsewhere in the yard.

I walked through the woods yesterday and found this beautiful clump of ghost pipes had just popped up. Such fascinating white flowers with no chlorophyll. They are completely bound to the forest. Being dependent on the mycorrhizal network for food, they can’t be domesticated or cultivated. With all the planting, transplanting and cultivating I do, it is refreshing to encounter this little interdependent being that’s so independent of me.