Braggy Braggy

Hey, check out what Dean got me for Christmas...a new Canon 28-135mm zooooooom lens. With image stabilization (he knows me well). It's totally awesome. Not too many pictures of plants yet...













...lots of pictures of kids, and lots and lots of pictures of Trout Lily.

"Vacation" Fun - the Renegade Gardener

I'm technically working today and tomorrow, but with everyone else lazing about, playing Nintendo DS and helping the itunes store to crash, it's hard to keep a serious focus. So after I had worked for four or five minutes this morning, I took a much needed break and checked out renegadegardener.com. Don Engebretson is funny. Goofy and silly, but truly funny, and also he appears to know horticulture. Check out the 2006 Renegade Gardener High Spot/Black Spot Awards, where you can read Engebreston wax poetic about this favorite willow: "Growing ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ is like waking up and seeing Dakota Fanning standing silently in your garden. It’s just gorgeous, somehow emitting depth and meaning."
(I don't know why part of the above paragraph appears in semi-bold type. New Blogger thing I guess.)

Late November

These pictures were taken at one of my favorite spots in Caledonia—the shortest nature trail ever, which runs from Tennent Park back to one of the trestles that crosses Spring Brook. It is one of the two places I take Lily (see below) most mornings. OK, weekday mornings. When there's school. The other is the MacKay Wildlife Preserve trail, which is about a mile loop and is definitely her favorite place in Caledonia.

A Beautiful Flower

IMG_1582
Originally uploaded by Jane Milliman.

Since Trout Lily is truly a native American wildflower, I can put her on my blog, right?

Right?