Our Good Old Cozy Little Country House

Judy and I are totally happy in our

good old cozy little country house.

It's good (for us).

It's old (about 100).

It's cozy (but not cramped).

It's little (but bigger than a breadbox).

And it's country.

When you have a little house and the weather

is beautiful, it's a blessing to have lots of

surrounding land to ramble about on. 

And I did a bit of that today.  Now I get

extra credit for exercising my knee.

This is Royal Fern, found at the stream.

This ocean of Bracken Fern is on the dry sandy land
between our stream and a natural wetland.

Our Orange Milkwort spreads a bit every year.  Once
I identified it, I've been careful to preserve and
nurture it on the path to the stream.

Cinnamon Fern.

A blackberry patch on the path to the stream.
Though it grows larger every year, birds and deer
beat us to the harvest.  But that's okay.

Our 100 year-old pear trees appear to be laden
with a bumper crop of old-fashioned pears this year.
Last year looked good, but they mysteriously disappeared.
We suspected squirrel, but will be observing closely.

These pears are hickory-nut size, quite promising
for this early in the year.

Ebony Spleenwort is a small but sturdy fern.
Like Bracken fern, it does fine in dry areas.
Ferns are quite diverse, including habitat.

The proliferating Prickly Pear Cactus is oblivious
to the fire ants in the midst.  And vice versa.
The cactus will abound with waxy yellow blooms soon.

This blackberry patch is at the roadside, and last year
the deer left it alone.  It helped Judy to a summer of
cobblers and muffins, with a few left over to freeze.

This unusual plant is Cranefly Orchid, which I first
got acquainted with on the Farm Life Nature Trail.
As far as I know, this is the only patch of it on our
property.  The violet or purplish underside of the
leaves aids in identification.  The plant produces a
single leaf each year, and some years, a single flower,
which resembles a cranefly on a stalk.  But to me,
the most interesting thing about the orchid is that it
lives from fall to spring, when the leaf withers, and
the plant remains dormant during the summer heat.

Pipssissewa, or spotted wintergreen, is one of my
favorites.  As nature instructor as Camp Cherokee,
I chose this little plant for my Indian name.
In June, its tiny white flowers will open wide briefly.

 Some of our favorite plants grow right

around the house.

This cool-weather loving plant is Bellwort.
But it's also known as Trinity, due to its trademark
three petals.  I have told the grandchildren how that
stands for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each
of them has taken a specimen home to plant.

Judy adores the Sweet Shrubs that provide a
lovely fragrance to her prayer garden.

We hope to get a lot of blueberries from this bush
in the prayer garden.  But we may have to share
with the deer.

This Coral Honeysuckle is not as sprawling as wild
honeysuckle.  I dug this up in the woods years ago,
and it continues to thrive.

Another of our most fragrant plants is Mock Orange.
We are thankful to be the beneficiaries of past
residents who planted lots of old-fashioned varieties
not available at most garden centers.

Can you blame us for spending so much time outdoors?
At least until it's time to head back in to our
good old cozy little country house.