Hurricane Michael left more destruction than Florence. We had relaxed because we expected only prolonged rain and we did have that; however toward the end of the day the winds increased and brought down some of the largest trees in our woods. A poplar fell across two fences; osage orange (Maclura pomifera) crushed the compost pile; the top fell out of one of the cypresses near the animal shelter; and a very large oak broke off at the base and lies at a right angle across the nearby trees. We were fortunate. There is no damage to the house, buildings, or garden. Due to the storm, we are later than usual removing microstegium in the woods.

In fact everything is late, even crocuses, but finally we have C. caspius blooming beneath Cedrus deodara and in the lawn in front of the house. White tinged pink flowers with a bright yellow throat mean, “watch your step”. C. tournefortii has flowers mixed with Cyclamen hederifolium beneath the metasequoias and has spread into the lawn nearby as well as into the dianthus walk and beyond. We don’t grow Crocus sativus easily. We have only one corm in the rock garden with a flower. C. speciosus blooms in many shades of purple-blue as well as white and brightens the rock garden and the cyclamen walk. C. boryi, beneath the metasequoias, has a small mass of cup-shaped white flowers.

The first snowdrops finally bloomed yesterday in the woods—well, almost bloomed. I could see clusters of flower stalks with pointed buds facing up. Galanthus reginae-olgae and G. peshmenii confirmed that fall is really here!

The best news of the past month is the newest member of our family. Mazie, a small black, white, and brown dog came to live with us just before Michael arrived and now welcomes our visitors with a bark and a wagging tail.

Michael and All That Followed

MONTROSE