Life in Blwack Fox Hollow
My hope for this page is to provide a journal in pictures as #BlackFoxHollow changes through the seasons, new plants are discovered and young trees grow. This is looking toward the southern corner.
The bleakness of winter has set in. We’ve had some beautiful days, but they have been bitter cold. Even on the coldest and bleakest day, I love to walk the trails through Black Fox Hollow. It doesn’t look like much in this picture, but this is a portion of the #nursery nearest to the fallen #MotherTree. In this picture are Rough Leaf Dogwood, American Elm and Green Ash. All of them are at
This is what’s left of our beautiful Mother Tree. The root ball is about half the size it originally was. I keep removing earth and trimming roots. My goal is to get all of the earth out from the roots and leave only a portion of the Mother Tree as a memorial. The rest was given to people who could make use of the wood in their farms or homes. It is hard to see the depth of the sink hole, but I
Our home, which I call our 'cabin in the woods', sits about twenty feet above the hollow on a natural outcropping of 3.5 million year old limestone.
As summer ends
As summer ends we are overjoyed to find that all of our beloved plants and trees made it through the blistering heat and stifling humidity. Our little Buckeye, most likely the gift of a squirrel, is now mature enough to bear fruit.
We also have figs on our fig tree which actually lives on the deck among the visitor plants. (visitor plant = those which may or may not be native and live in pots and beds on or by the deck.) Some of you might remember the little Tulip Poplar that we thought was never going to make it. It is a large healthy tree now. Wow. Happy!! The signs of the brutal summer heat and humidity are everywhere but as the days become milder and we’re getting some gentle rain, things are beginning to perk up. The Late Boneset is beginning to flower. During the summer it is a tall gangly plant that I’m sure a lot of people would pull, but it rewards those who care for it and let it live. The tiny progeny of our wonderful Chestnut Oak that we lost last year is still looking good, as are some tiny Sugar Maple, Magnolia and Elm. The giant Green Dragons, which were magnificent this year, are going to seed and the beautiful Jewel Weed is about done. Check out my essay "There be life here" in the Essays section.
