At last, a photograph of Piney Woods Church Road, at about the half-way point. Bathed in golden late-day light, the path appears enchanting. And so it is, and has been, these past three months. I approach a bend in my own journey; tomorrow is the 100th day of the Piney Woods Church Road Project.
Here are two more photographs from today’s late-day ramble down Piney Woods Church Road, in the time of day photographers call the “golden hour” before sunset. The first is of leaves of Chinese wisteria; the second is a nondescript shrub aglow with light.
On a late afternoon in spring shortly before sunset, even an invasive Japanese honeysuckle along Piney Woods Church Road looks stunning, bathed in sunlight.
As I like to tell everyone, I am very frond of ferns. Venturing out after a deluge (complete with flash flood watches and warnings), I was delighted to see all the resurrection ferns green and vibrant along Piney Woods Church Road. I am amazed by how these same ferns appear brown, shriveled, and dead most of the time, yet turn a brilliant green overnight after a considerable spate of rainfall.
The title of today’s image is in homage to the intriguing beauty of the Chinese wisteria, just coming into bloom along Piney Woods Church Road. For the next week or more, the forest will be draped with purple curtains of blossoms, and the air nearly intoxicating with the wisteria’s sweet scent. In another post today (from the Examiner archives), I will speak at length of its aggressive, highly invasive habits. But for a moment, I will pause and appreciate its gift to my daily walk.
Along the edge of Piney Woods Church Road at the junction with Rico Road, I glimpsed some of the earliest blooms of everlasting pea (Lathyrus latifolius) today. This photograph makes this small flower look almost glamorous. An immigrant from southern Europe that commonly frequents waste places (such as roadsides), everlasting pea arrived in the New World around 1720. Despite the flower’s unassuming, pea-like appearance, Thomas Jefferson judged it worthy of a place in his Monticello garden, so it certainly merits inclusion here.
On my walk late this morning, I was serenaded by the shrill calls of an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), perched in the undergrowth along the roadside. I am not a birder, and have no intentions of beginning a life list. But I am pleased to say that this is a species of sparrow that I had never seen before.
As a change of pace, I set out this morning for Piney Woods Church Road by way of Hutcheson Ferry Road. Glancing in the ditch at the end of Piney Woods Church Road, I saw what I thought at first were unusually small dandelions, with flower heads perhaps half an inch across. What I found suspicious is that there were so many, all of which were about the same size — leading me to think that this might be a different flower altogether. Returning home, I did a quick internet search and discovered that they are, in fact, dwarf dandelions (Krigia virginica), native annual wildflowers common to roadsides, fields, and lawns in the eastern half of the United States. Despite its similar look, the dwarf dandelion is only distantly related to the non-native true dandelion (Taraxicum officinale).
I ventured out to Piney Woods Church Road today shortly after discovering that one of our cats, an orange and white adolescent Manx cat shaped rather like a bowling pin, had sneaked outside last night and was missing. My walk was necessarily distracted, as I paused every few steps either to take a photograph, call out the cat’s name, or a combination of the two. Early on my walk, I glimpsed a pink tree blooming in a backyard beside the road — crabapple, I think. Here is my impression of the tree — a bit unfocused, like myself at the time.
Just as I began writing this post, the prodigal kitten returned, none the worse for wear, but rather hungry.
As I approach Day 100, I continue to marvel at the new discoveries I make every day along Piney Woods Church Road. Now that spring is underway, I have difficulty keeping up with all the new flowers in bloom and trees and shrubs in leaf. So much is happening that one visit per day hardly seems sufficient.
