Roadside Wildflowers

And so I was on the road once more. Of course, being a long trip, I do like to break things up by stopping to stretch my legs and attend to other things now and again.

This time of year, during these most glorious golden days, there are flowers in bloom everywhere...and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to stop and enjoy them all, as my celebration of the Summer Solstice continues!

If I'm to follow my own advice about enjoying the flowers along my path, you know I'm going to have to break up the trip by stopping to enjoy some of these fantastic ornaments that adorn the earth in June.

So here are some of my favorite wildflowers, like this feverfew, only just coming into bloom.

I'm not certain, as it's been a number of years since I've grown any, but this may be catchfly.

I'll have plenty of rudbeckia blooming in my gardens back home soon enough, but meanwhile, here's some more.

But I don't have any of this lovely crown vetch, which was growing in great spreading patches here.


Progress was made, however, and the next time I stopped was in the Berkshires, at a truck rest area I'm fond of because of its close proximity to the railroad tracks.

I found this viney beauty (is it morning glory, moonflower, or just bindweed?) twining its way through some tall reeds alongside the tracks.

And these brilliant yellow fellows, I assume, are some wild form of snapdragon. I've not had the chance to consult my wildflower book, but the flower heads are so similar, there must be a relation of some sort.

Do you remember what I said the other day about daisies? The world just can't have too many.


Of course, the Midnight Gardener has a reason for stopping at trackside, as I always like to collect a few of the old, discarded railroad spikes, which crews seem to leave lying in the ballast after replacing the old with new.

If you've got a hydrangea which you'd like to see bluer flowers on, or have some rhododendrons which seem to be languishing for their placement close to your home's foundation (concrete leaches minerals away from soil over time), a few railroad spikes driven into the soil around them will add a long-term source of iron to your soil, encouraging bluer blossoms on one, and general good health for the other. Just a little tip to share.

Of course, I don't technically condone trespassing on railroad right-of-ways, since it isn't especially legal. And I do absolutely urge you to exercise good caution (Stop. Look. Listen) when you're anywhere near the tracks.

And sometimes, if you follow all the rules, in addition to lovely trackside flowers, you might just see a train, as I did when this CSX freight train came rumbling by.




I believe that some of the problems railroads face in our 21st Century society are matters of image. If only they would bring the caboose back, it would be a good step in the right direction. I miss them, and the rear end of freight trains just look naked without them.

Later on, as I made my final approach to the Cape, I reached my camera hand out the window, pointed behind me, and captured the fading light of another summer sunset.

Old Toy Trains and Christmas Gardens

Last evening, as I headed home from work, I made a stop at Snow's Home and Garden in Orleans.


I always enjoy stopping in there to look over the latest Christmas decorations, lights and most especially, the train displays they have going this time of year. And last night, I was also on a mission, as I had heard that they had reduced prices 50%. I was looking for trees: trees of all sizes for my village under the Christmas tree at home.

I was also not above a few minutes of drooling over the Lionel Polar Express.

But I've been "jonesing" for more trees for the village for years, and try to add a couple each Christmas(there's often slim pickins by sale time)...but since getting the ranger tower (lower right above) a few years back, I've wanted more of a forest. And then we found this dusty old burl in the basement, which Owen recently brought up as a possible focus for cat scratching. However, Agent LaChat was having none of that, and after looking at it for a day or two, I realized I could transform it into a mountain in the back of the village. But I was going to need a forest of trees to help in the transformation.


As you can see, my search at Snow's was a fruitful one, as I came home with two bags full of assorted sized-trees for a grand total of about $12. And "Burl Mountain" came out pretty well, too, I think. Not only is a nice backdrop to give the village some scale, but it's big enough to completely conceal the large train that circles round.


As long as I can remember, there's been a village the Christmas tree. Usually, there was a circle of HO trains, and in my early years, just an assortment of glittered and flocked cardboard buildings.


Of course these days, the Christmas Village is big business... and I've collected an assortment of larger ceramic buildings, as well as the smaller, cardboard ones. These days, the village has suburbs...and there's talk of zoning ordinances for next year, tho this tree-planting campaign should be an improvement. It's an all evening project, laying on my belly beneath the tree, figuring out how the town will look this year.


Only recently did a friend pass on this article about the tradition of Baltimore's Christmas Gardens. Mine fits into this mold a bit, since the scale is wildly varied and by now, I've collected all sorts of little bits and pieces.

So...that was this evening's project, bringing us one day closer to the Big Day.

Southbound

CSX Southbound freight, Austerlitz, NY.

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Another pleasant coincidence, as a southbound CSX freight rumbled by my stopping point just after I arrived there on my trip back.

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