"Hope Does Spring Eternal"

  "Hope springs eternal".  This is a partial quote from Alexander Pope in his poem "Essay on Man".  It is usually applied when one thinks that a situation is doomed but a small sliver of hope still gleams in the wings. That is how I saw it today.  "Hope springs eternal".  For years just outside the front door, two old black gum trees stood seemingly forever.  It is hard to kill these trees and even when one does die,  it is equally hard to take it down.  Hurricanes try their best to knock over the trees but to no avail.  Hurricane Katrina, with her fierce winds and extreme storm surge, could not fell one such tree that had been long gone due to flying squirrels chewing a colony of tunnels through the trunk.  The tree stood solid against all odds.  Now, twelve years later, the two trees near the door have met their demise due to the very same hurricane.  Old injuries from storm tossed debris were welcoming doors to wood boring beetles and now termites.  My two sentries that guarded the front door cease to live.  It saddened me as the trees provided shade from the harsh summer sun and blocked much wind from storms coming off the Bay.  

  This afternoon as I stood giving my last goodbyes to two steadfast friends, I noticed that hope does spring eternal.  A large section of one tree had rotted from the center outward.  The outer bark had been ruthlessly torn during Katrina tossing a deck (from across the Bay) into the tree.  The gash was a good four feet in length and probably a foot wide.  Trees were the least of our worries after the storm as we cleared the (ten feet deep) debris from around the house and made repairs.  It was far more important to rid the place of potentially disease carrying debris than worrying about the health of a tree. Eventually, the borers moved in and gutted the tree.  But...from death comes life.  Today, I found that the very same wound that killed the tree brought forth a new life.  

  Where the core of the tree had sifted down into the shell of bark, a arrowhead philodendron had taken root.  A nearby hanging plant had sent a tendril reaching out until it found the soft mulch inside the hollow tree.  The new shoot took root and now stands as a completely separate plant.  The new tendrils dangle gracefully from the gaping wound of the old tree.  The tree, itself, had become a "pot" for the new plant. Hope and life springs eternal when given a chance to take root.  There is always an answer if we only look for it.

Duck Potatoes

It is unbelievable how many species of plants growing wild in the backyard (or frontyard) that are edible. I never thought about these things when growing up many years ago because on the farm there was always plenty to eat. Now just out of curiosity, I search for things that could be a possible food source. Today's find..Duck Potatoes! These fine specimens are better known as Sagittaria or Arrowhead Plants and they grow wild in marshy areas and ditches. The leaves of this plant are quite..well..arrow shaped and the flower is a showy three petaled thing with bright yellow centers. These yellow centers later fall off and leave behind a bright green button. But it is the potato or corm that grows beneath the water that interests me. It gets the name Duck Potato from this corm and the fact that ducks and geese are said to love eating them when given the chance. No great news there, ducks and geese eat a lot of things in the marshes, but should I? The Native Americans supposedly would grind these corms to make a flour or would boil them and use as "regular" potatoes. They used the entire plant in their herbal medicines as a cure for everything from constipation to arthritis. The "potatoes" are usually about the size of a golf ball and are found surrounding the plant. To get at them, you must dig in the water about a foot away from the plant rosette (stalk clump). This would be a frightening task since the marsh is full of creepy crawly things better known as snakes, snapping turtles and alligators. It is good to know that it is edible and is probably better for you than some processed food from the grocer's shelf. If I ever get really hungry, I may just try some..then again maybe not..but it is fun to be able to find your food in the wild! ~Just a reminder..never eat any wild plant until you get a positive identification from a professional! (Not someone like me!)~

Today was a rainy, dreary day. The tropical system dissipated enough to just dump quite a bit of rain on us. Thunderstorms rumbled and grumbled most of the day keeping me inside making me rumble and grumble, too. Whenever there was a break in the showers, Ezzy, the mutt, and I would sneak out. Several times our outing ended with us getting soaked but it was worth it just to be out and about. I did not venture onto the pier today as it was being occupied by gulls that were trying to seek shelter. They would hunker down with their heads under their wing during each squall. In between rains, they would take wing, dive in the Menhaden in search of a meal, then return. I did not want to disturb them, so Ezzy and I steered clear of their temporary territory.