Early Fall Grasses - Lin Frye

Early Fall Grasses
Originally uploaded by linfrye

Daily Practice
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With the sound of croaking frogs serenading me through the dark ...

Early yesterday morning, I took our new VP for a tour around the Arboretum. While we passed the ditchbank, I noticed early fall wild grasses in full bloom and some skeletons of Queen Anne's Lace. Before leaving for my friend's last night, I plucked a bit of plant material so I could put the stems into a vase and use the 'bouquet' to sketch.

I am really crazy about wild grasses as well as the seedpods that are left behind when the beautiful.petals of so many flowers drop off to reveal another 'side' of the plant world. These tawny browns and ochres herald the onset of fall for me, though the 'official' turn of the season won't take place for another 30 days or so. Nonetheless, there are signs all around me that fall is on its way.

We had a bit of rain last night - less than an inch, with more promised today. The Plant a Row for the Hungry volunteers arrive this morning to plant the fall garden .... if we can beat the rain, the timing would work out very well to give these new seeds a good drink of water to get established.

Have a great day!

Lin Frye
North Carolina