Archived Thoughts for 06/04/06

Thoughts of a Rural Woman

Hewn From the Forest
by The Editor, Rebecca Brown

Where the blacktop meets the forest
is crowded in impressive abandon with:
green of a zillion Grasses - Poaceae, Ferns - Sporangia, Rushes -Juncus, Sedges - Carex & Buckwheats - Polygonaceae - Western Dock - Rumex occidentalis, the delicious Sheep Sorrel - Rumex acetosella & the most tenacious & spreading Giant Knotweed - Polygonum sachalinense

Into which are embroidered, like the lapels of a regal robe
purple Foxgloves - Digitalis purpurea & Cooley's Hedge-Nettle - Stachys cooleyae
mauve Bluejoint - Calamagrotis canadensis
blue Forget-Me-Nots - Myosotis laxa
golden Salsify - Tragopogon dubius, Apargidium - Microseris borealis, Dandelions - Taraxacum officinale, Buttercups - Ranunculus repens & Birds foot trefoil - Lotus corniculatus & the dread Scotch Broom - Cystisus scoparius that escaped California's highway beautification & now colonizes any sunny patch in great sneeze-inducing swaths
white Ox-eye Daisies - Leucanthemum vulgare, Fringecups - Tellima grandiflora & Poison-Hemlock - Conium maculatum
creamy Oceanspray - Holodiscus discolor
& pink Salmonberry - Rubus spectabilis & Roses - Rosa nutkana

The horse pasture across the river is daubed with the yellows of Field Mustard - Brassica campestris & Pennycress - Thlaspi arvense, Shepherd's Purse - Capsella bursa-pastoris, while along the coast grows life-saving Scurvy Grass - Cochlearia officinalis.

Our garden is hewn into re-growth conifer & deciduous forest, growing taller by the yard each & every year. Now, Sunrise glows through the lattice of young Alders - Alnus rubra -- which also absorb most of the summer heat. As with the happy little hippy house a mile back up the logging road, we reside in a wok of intense light & heat. Every single tree, shrub, plant & grass, wild or cultivated, grows as leggy as basketball players, as they reach for the Sun.

The Skunk Cabbage - Lysichiton americanum are the heralds of the Season of Scents. By late February in likely bogs, they'll unfurl their brilliant xanthic hoods. They don't stink at all until they're disturbed: rather like the Spilogale gracilis or Mephitis mephitis after which they're named. I don't know which, as I'm never around when they are, although I surely have smelt 'em after they've been through! Swamp Lanterns do set up a pong that floods the area when Black Bears - Ursus americanus have awoken & broken their fast with a yummy feast. Or the Sun has burst through the clouds & baked them into releasing their parfum. By the way, the Skunk Cabbage is of primeval stock, with leaves as long as my legs & as wide as two outstretched hands.

The Rowan or Mountain Ash - Sorbus sitchensis, Red Elderberry - Sambucus racemosa & Crab Apple - Malus fusca pour their semi-sweet (some say sour) scents from cream-colored clusters. After them, the Apple trees gift me with memories of the mother of my childhood -- she was partial to Apple Blossom talcum powder. & the Cottonwoods - Populus balsamifera ssp.trichocarpa will saturate the air with their rich, high aroma.

Then come the sweet Lupines - Lupinus arcticus et al. If you've never smelt a field of Lupines in the sunshine, your olfactory repertoire has been deprived.

& so each day I pluck a few blossoms & bring them in to scent up our cabin with their delight.

Rebecca