March 18, 2012

Meeting for Worship in Nature: Benjamin explores the woods.

Meeting for Worship in Nature: offering fresh made biscuits with butter made in First Day school

Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata) in the meadow west of the back basin.

A primroseleaf (?) violet (Viola primulifolia)

Spicebus Swallowtail (Papilio gtroilus) on Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)

Today we had a Meeting for Worship in Nature in the circle of benches south of Temple Shir Shalom.  We could hear the children playing happily, listen to birdsong which inspired one message, and see the children come at the rise of meeting and sample he butter they had made.  After meeting David asked about the trees in the vicinity of the meeting for worship area and I pointed out the Eastern Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), which is in the birch family. It had bloomed earlier in the year with is lovely hanging flower that looks a bit like the hop flower (hops are used in making beer). Benjamin, visiting from Alaska, wandered about in the adjacent grassy meadow following a cloudless sulfur butterfly as it flitted among the lyreleaf sage blossoms (Salvia lyrata) or visited the native geranium plants growing there.
In February the area was blooming with violets.  Bud mowed it after meeting to ready it for parking and to keep it from growing up in trees and shrubs. As we walked from meeting for worship to the social room for lunch, Bill pointed out that the mock orange growing on the fence was blooming.  We examined one of the oak leaf hydrangeas which was putting out fresh leaves to see if the cluster of green at the top was the start of a flower head.

Chicasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) east of the back basin.Chicasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) east of the back basin.

Chicasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) east of the back basin.

White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus L.) by the driveway across from the meeting room.

An unknown mushroom, growing on a fallen log.

We admired the new sprinkler system Bud installed at the bottom of the slope in front of the meetinghouse.  He used pvc pipe nestled in by the curb with sprinkler heads poking up at an angle so they spray the whole slope.  On the day he installed it with help from the members of the Meetinghouse, Grounds and Landscaping Committee, the blue-eyed grass was blooming for the first time since it had been planted the previous spring.  A surprising amount of the purple Tampa verbena (a cultivar of Tampa mock vervain Glandularia tampensis or Rose mock vervain Glandularia canadensis) has come back on the upper slope with gay flowers brightening the slope.  In other parts the Mimosa strigliossa is moving in along with fogfruit (Lippia nodiflora). After lunch and meeting birthday cake (Connie read from the March 16, 1951 inagural minutes as part of our celebration of 61 years), Bill and I went for a walk in the woods.  He pointed out the green dragon (Arisaema dracontium) near the meeting for worship in nature area, and we realized that there was a new one sprouting whose leaves were still furled up in thin cylinders.  It clearly has a flower. A welcome rain scattered beverage containers and a plastic wrapped paper down the ditch that first skirts the Shir Shalom property. It was nice to see that it had not progressed past the ditch where it was easy to pick up.  We wandered in and around the meeting property, observing where the water washed leaves to the sides of channels whose bottoms were white sand.  Since it was the day after the St. Paddy’s Day dinner, I was reminded of shamrocks by the three-part leaves of the wood sorrel.  Ours have purple/pink flowers so are non-native members of the Oxalidaceae family, since the native wood sorrels have yellow flowers.  Another member of this family is star fruit or carambola (Averrhoa carabola).  Bill’s eye was caught by some mushrooms growing on a log. Later we wandered into the pond area where Bill noted that the taro has come up, and I found a plant that reminded me of the carrot family (Apiaceae, formlerly Umbelliferae).  When I tried to take a sample with flowers I ended up with the whole plant.  My best guess is that it is spreading chervil (Chaerophyllum procumbens).  It is related to the cooking herb chervil which apparently is used to refer to both Anthriscus cerefolium and Chaerophyllum bulbosum, native to southern Russia, Eastern Asia and the Balkans.  Note that the Apiaceae family contains poisons like poison hemlock and water hemlock, so one does not casually sample leaves or roots from plants that look like parsley, dill, carrots, anise, fennel, Queen Anne’s Lace. Back in the vicinity of the meetinghouse, Gary checked to see if the cassia (Senna pendula) he planted was sprouting and found a tiny leaf letting him know it was alive. It is surrounded by native Gaura flowers which have prospered over the winter, but are not very showy.  The fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) nearby had flowers this year, the first since it was planted with flowers about two years ago.  To the west of the meeting for worship room, Bill pointed out the clusters of white flowers on the white wild indigo (Baptisia alba). The Camilla on the same slope donated by Bart has red flowers on it.  Nearby we saw sprouts of passionflower vine and noticed that the neighboring cassia (Senna pendula) has started putting out sizable leaves (it is a year older and in a sunnier location than the one Gary planted).  The bright flowers of the yellow jessamine had come and gone on the fence behind the meetinghouse.  The blooms on the dogwood donated by Annie and David were spectacular this year and now it looks healthy with green leaves.  The fresh green leaves coming out and the many waves of flowers blooming lift our spirits in the spring.

As Friends, we add our voices, affirming that speaking truth and striving for equality are consistent with our long-standing Quaker testimonies. Friends believe that there is that of God in every person. Occupy demonstrators have – through nonviolent protest, consensus-based decision-making, and inclusive assembly – expressed a faith in the worth of all people that is consistent with our Quaker values. They have also expressed a trust in the world’s willingness to listen, and to respond with courage. As Quakers, we respond by listening, by seeking the ways in which we are called upon to respond as individuals, and by opposing any endeavor to silence those who are exercising their right to speak truth.

We share with the Occupy movement a longing for a society with political, social, and economic institutions in place that sustain and enrich all forms of life on the planet. We look towards a just and equitable world where all people live and thrive in the virtue of the life and power that take away the occasion for war.

~ Jen Ambrose

Adopted by the Gainesville Monthly Meeting on March, 11, 2012

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Newly planted Brussel sprouts in the Children's garden.

Primroseleaf (?) violet, (Viola primulifolia) blooming in January.

Yesterday I was weeding the area in front of the Meetinghouse and noticed that one of the large coonties near the peace pole had ripe orange fruits. I have heard that they require processing as in the digestive track of an animal before the seeds of a coontie will germinate, so I suggested to Bill that we spread some where we know a raccoon travels. I gave him a wildlife camera over the holidays, which he had positioned along the dry creek bed. We put some of the fruits near the camera, where it had taken a picture of a squirrel and a movie of a raccoon. Then we walked along the creek, discovering an invasive Coral Ardisia needing to be removed in an area we rarely visit. We also spotted a lovely pale violet, possibly a Primrose-Leaf Violet (Viola primulifolia). We learned at the rise of Meeting that the children had planted Brussels sprouts and pansies (garden flowers derived from Viola species that bloom robustly during Florida’s late fall and winter). They also created planters out of recycled liter soda pop bottles. I’m looking forward to seeing the Brussels spouts grow. They did well last year. After meeting and snacks today, John Burton joined Bill and me on our walk. John confirmed that the longleaf pine we planted some years back was definitely out of the grass phase with

Sticky Willy (Galium aparine). Also know as Catchweek bedstraw, Goose grass, and Cleavers.

a clearly visible bud. Bill commented that it was growing very slowly. I recalled that John was familiar with what I call “Sticky-Willy” and pointed some of this Florida winter plant out near the back retention pond. He reminded me that he called it “Bedstraw.” I had been pulling it out of the coonties near the front door to the meetinghouse and it would keep sticking to my gloves when I tried to put in it my weeding pail. We wandered into the woods past the Meeting for Worship in Nature area and onto the creek bed. The coontie fruits were still in place so Bill scattered some in the dry creek bed where raccoon tracks were evident. Bill observed that the Air Potato Round Up was the following week, so we wandered down the creek bed to look for areas south of the Meeting property where many air potatoes cluster. As we moved down the creek bed, I pointed out that the creek had changed its course. For now it’s staying close to the south boundary of the meeting property, instead of turning south near the end of the fenced portion of the south boundary which is shared with a condominium complex.

Air potatoes (Dioscorea bulbafera), waiting for the air potato roundup.

That vicinity is where – in a previous round up – we piled air potatoes into a large round plastic tub that Sandy brought. Bill slogged the tub through the rain on our wheelbarrow, back to the parking lot for collection. The area currently has air potatoes but not nearly the profusion we had seen before. John and I kept picking up litter along the way. We found drink containers: plastic bottles and aluminum cans for the most part, with a sprinkling of balls and bits of snack packages. The litter is largely found where the water washes through. The changes in the landscape from the passing water – and from the animal life supported by the passing water – are some of the ongoing changes that are most enjoyable to watch. With a full pail of litter, we called the walk done.

Passion vine (Passiflora incarnata) getting an early start by the meetingroom door.

Early blooms on a Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

Then Bill and I checked out the freshly planted Brussels sprouts, and circumscribed the Meetinghouse. Behind it, we admired the incoming crop of Sticky-Willy/Bedstraw and spotted a Yellow Jessamine vine climbing on the dried stalk of a milkweed. We took a close look at the single flower on the Yellow Jessamine that Bill had pointed out at rise of Meeting (there are lots of buds). We pulled a few beans off the Senna pendula (non-native senna which we thought was native when we planted it) which has largely died back for the winter. As we came to the front of the Meetinghouse, we spotted a passion vine sprouting near the hose cart. This host plant of the Zebra Longwing butterfly is very hardy and tends to pop up seemingly randomly near where it grew the year before.

I felt blessed to see cloudless sulfur butterflies during Meeting and during the walk. The senna and cassia plants are their larval hosts. Their brief flits through our area remind me that each of us can be a bright spot in someone’s life with a smile here, a turn washing dishes there, or joining together in worship on a Sunday.

Red Maple (Acer rubium) leaves

Red Maple (Acer rubium) seeds

Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

FCNL: Setting Priorities for the 113th Congress (2013-2014).

Moyers & Company 101: On Winner Take All Politics from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

~Jim Morrison

Last flower of the year on the Oak Leaf Hydrangia (Hydrangea quercifolia) at the end of the fence.. This was named by the Quaker WIlliam Bartram.

Berries on the Holly (Ilex vomitoria) bush in front of the front retention basin.

Bill and I have been walking every Sunday so far this December and while there are not so many flowers blooming, there are still interesting things to see, including the faded blooms of the Oakleaf hydrangea at the end of the split rail fence. At the edge of the parking lot on the side with the front retention basin there is a small Yaupon holly which has put forth some shiny red berries. Florida has a number of native holly trees, including the Myrtle Leaf holly which is represented on our property by a tree donated by Bart Hulett. At the Cleaning and Greening party the day before our Christmas party, Bart decorated the Meetinghouse with armloads of these branches, bright with berries. At his direction, we put some of the berry-laden branches in the bird feeder in hopes that birds would eat them and spread their seeds to other locations on the property. Most of the native holly trees are thornless, but we have low shrub-like American holly (Ilex opaca)with prickles. We have been walking up the creek toward the Northwest corner of the property to check on the turtle whose portrait appeared last month. But then one Sunday the turtle was gone. Because we have been walking in the fall up the creek, we spotted some bright red tallow leaves floating in the water, and, looking up, saw the substantial tallow tree from which they came. It is likely the source of the tallow seedlings I had been finding downstream and pulling up as invasive exotics with the potential to disrupt the ecosystem.

This Taro, about a foot and a half high, had a underground stolon as long as I am tall. This undoubtedly explains why we have new Taro plants coming up after I think I've cleared an area.

Bill has continued to dig taro, especially from the pond area. He followed the root of a specimen that was about a foot and a half high and discovered it was a long as he was tall. Speaking of invasive exotics, the meeting will be participating in the Great Air Potato Roundup organized by the City of Gainesville on Saturday, January 28 from 9am to noon. This is an opportunity to spend time in the woods helping to improve the environment by gathering air potatoes and other invasive exotics, and any trash lying around for disposal by the city.

The Children's garden.

The vegetables planted by the children are enjoying the rain and cooler weather we have been having. In the adjacent beds, the golden rod has gone to seed and the wild flowers are growing well. We can expect more blooms in the coming year. Around the corner, behind the meetinghouse, the goose grass (Galium aparine, not Eleusine indica), a cool weather plant, is coming up. In some places this plant is known as sticky willy, since its hairy stems and leaves stick to your clothes. Bud Brennan’s rose sported several blooms that were enjoyed during lunch since they were visible through the kitchen windows.

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) growing tip. This tree, planted near 38th Street, is not growing as fast as we would like, possibly because it is lacking the mycorrhizal fungi which would be in the soil in a long leaf pine forest. But it is growing.

Frequently at the end of our walks we check on the longleaf pine planted a few years ago. Bill photographed the handsome bud, which is its growing tip. As the year closes, think about what you have done that you continue to enjoy: singing, laughing, eating together, sharing stories, or walking in the woods with a friend.

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