Shadowbike
Seasons
Eastern Redbud
On our neighbors’ front lawn at 95 Harwill Drive
Mayapple
I watch for these each spring in our back woods, and saw our first ones pop up two or three days ago. This morning, suddenly, there was a plethora. Didjaknow, just like the Aspen, their colony shares a single root? Mayapple is also called mandrake. It flowers in May, but its “apple” comes later. The fruit may be eaten in small quantities but only after it turns yellow, and only after removing the seeds. Linnaeus described this plant in 1753. See more at wildfoods.ca.
Our twin magnolias
Perhaps at their peak today. Blooms open about the same time as forsythia but they don’t last nearly as long. Rain, wind, or frost often decimate them overnight. For years we’ve called them northern magnolia (to distinguish from the more popular evergreen southern magnolia), but their correct name is probably saucer magnolia. They were 1993 gifts from David and Wena.
A camellia morning
Fredericksburg Baptist
Home to 50 years of Christmas Messiah concerts on Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia. And, from further away, the other side of the spire as seen from Chatham Manor across the Rappahannock River in Stafford County.
Squirrel
Early visitor at the breakfast window
Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail ½ Marathon
The start of the DHRT Half-Marathon has a few hundred yards of rails, a restored ancient wooden caboose, a decrepit freight car, and “The Rocket”, a working railway pumper cart. Race volunteers use it as a moving platform for photographing the runners approaching the finish. See this moving illustration. Among the Fredericksburg Area Runners Club members who finished the race this day was Vic Culp, longtime director, in black hat at back.
From the swingset
