Cottage Renovations

[OT from cottage renovations]

given how ridiculously soggy wet this year has been it really didn't come as a surprise when the temperature went down for the precipitation to have continued.  it was a very quiet day here in the Grove, most folks having the sense to stay indoors.  the only people I saw abroad had snow shovels, sleds or cross country skis. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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the Circle

there are some images that I haven't had the sense to get past taking, and this is one of them.  of note is that the snowcap on the porch roof has drifted up above the bottom of the upper front window; it is odd to look out through it and have the view partially obstructed by snow. 

cottage in snow. 

of course.  what else were you expecting? 

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M^cCathran Hall

with no events going on in the Town Hall the snow was drifting up to its porch.  the sign in front, the flag and the brick chimney provide the only chromatic highlights in an otherwise highly subdued scene. 

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1^stAvenue

another iconic image, we seem to have some severe repetition settling in here.  the large oak growing up through Mimi's porch is framed by lesser trees in the foreground; that one on the R with its leaves doesn't do much for the image but I was neither able to crop it out nor willing to remove it digitally (not that I wasn't tempted, but perhaps tomorrow will afford a chance to go back and find a better location from which to try again with this image). 

cottage row

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Acorn Lane

unlikely though it may seem to those who know the setting well, this has become one of my favourite views within the Grove: looking down Acorn Lane across Chestnut Avenue and the church parking lot into the West Woods.  this is another image I've tried to capture at different times but it can be a challenge to compose -- I wanted it to be about depth as well as height so it needed more cropping to the R than I would have liked. 

if you think you've seen this before, you're right. 
crank the wayback machine to April 2006 (and scroll to the bottom of the entry). 

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Grove Avenue

holiday lights shine brightly on the façade of Hutch and Linda's cottage. 

 

[OT from cottage renovations]

the day's respite from cold and rain lasted for only a few hours.  the reversion to cold and wet was abrupt. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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Chestnut Road and Acorn Lane

these images were taken only a few seconds apart.  immediately thereafter Meg and I scampered back under rapidly darkening skies, though not quickly enough to avoid being pelted by the first of the drops as the front moved back in. 

[OT from cottage renovations]

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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3^rd Avenue

Hosta

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Acorn Lane, at Grove and 3^rd Avenues

wet head

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5^th Avenue

Yucca filamentosa

it was rather a while after moving here that I noticed how common these Yucca have become around here.  and in the region.  and beyond. 

the species distribution map is a bit intimidating:

image: USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 3 June 2007).
National Plant Data Center,
Baton Rouge, LA  70874-4490
USA.

[OT from cottage renovations]

as I headed out Friday morning to a difficult and depressing day at the office, it was even harder than usual to leave the Grove with the light so clear and abundant.  this instilled in me a wish -- and resolve -- to get out into that light if it were to last into the weekend. 

it did, and I spent almost all of Saturday just walking around the Grove, seeing afresh what the light can do for the place and, consequently, what the combination can do for my own spirits. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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Acorn Lane

flora incognita: artificia sinofabricans?

the taxonomy of this ornamental species was elusive at best, but I was pleased with the reflection of tree and cottage in its glass marble fruit.  the plastic berries and fabric blossoms will be wanting a bit of dusting. 

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Bittersweet Cottage garden

hydrangea

we've already been touched by a couple of frosts so these hydrangea leaves won't be looking like this much longer.  but there's plenty of texture, shadow and light here, and that one stalk behind the leaf to the L can be made out both by shadow and by translucence. 

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Ridge Road

Phytolacca americana

this pokeweed stem has already set loose its fruit and seeds.  though use depleted for that purpose, it now provides a habitat for the tiny spiders whose webs can be seen against the light streaming across the field and through its structure. 

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Zoë Wadsworth Park

autumnally blooming crocus can be found in a few places around the Grove.  these clusters are near the gazebo.  others can be found near the Circle, where in a week or two a couple of the azaleas will be following a similarly syncopated cycle. 

are these plants out of season, or is it merely the floral embodiment of traditional Grove eccentricism? 

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Oak Street

there's nothing special about this plant, other than what these leaves did with the light.  I didn't need any more provocation than that. 

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upper field

multiflora rose hips


detail

multiflora rose is one of the nastier invasives around -- right up there with bamboo and kudzu.  but that doesn't keep me from falling for its shape and form.  I really should be firmer about these things. 

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I don't know this one either, but it sure does a fine job of catching afternoon sweetlight. 

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1^st Avenue

Mimosa

it can take a lot of work to keep up with the tendency of Mimosa trees to spread all over the place -- it seems one is forever pulling up seedlings.  nonetheless one can admire the luminous quality of the pods from which they disperse. 

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Chestnut Avenue

Callicarpa americana

I was alerted to these by the property owner, who kindly invited me to take these images.  getting the right sun angle entailed two trips back: one in the afternoon and another the following morning. 

the common name for this plant is American Beautyberry or Beauty Bush; the former brings to mind roses and the Grateful Dead.  the berries are wonderfully chromomorphic: lavender in sun and purple in shade. 

[OT from cottage renovations]

today's forecast called for snow but it didn't really begin to show up until the light was running out. 
typical. 

these conditions call for skills greater than mine but I went out anyway and on returning had more to delete than usual. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher definition images)

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6^th Avenue

snow on branch


droplet beads

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Grove Avenue

snow capped hydrangea

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Acorn Lane

Miscanthus sinensis