"Don't wish me happiness I don't expect to be happy all the time....It's gotten beyond that somehow. Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor. I will need them all." Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Saturday 11 July 2015

Salal and umbrella's

There is a salal bush a short distance away from our hummingbird feeder and this last winter a female Anna's spent a lot of time perched in the bush. When it was dry she was on the tallest branch and when it was raining she was under a leaf- or so it seemed. There is something particularly interesting about the shape of these leaves. They have a point which seems to somewhat direct the rain to run off the tip. These leaves which are very common in the Pacific Northwest -are also popular in the florist industry. There they are known as lemon leaf and are used as greenery for long lasting cut flower arrangements. I remember years ago there used to be a crew who came over to the island. I remember watching their boat leaving the wharf loaded with the bundles stacked so high that only the rider's heads were visible. The leaves are evergreen, leathery, relatively large and shiny. They make excellent emergency toilet paper. Today it rained - a long dripping rain that eventually soaked the dusty earth. My daughter looked out the window at the wet robin perched on the fence and said,"That robin needs an umbrella." Amused I forgot to ask what kind of an umbrella she had in mind. I wonder if it was a salal leaf.

Sent from my iPhone

12 comments:

  1. Oh my friend, your posts are prose poems, compact in a nice chunk of enchanted storytelling with a lovely close.....I know exactly what leaves you are talking about, for when I get a bouquet of flowers, these beautiful greens always embrace the colored blooms in abundance! And I believe in garden magic...but of course that robin had an umbrella: a salal leaf....

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    1. Thank you Anita. I had to google prose poetry to see what you were talking about.....very interesting....thanks for telling me that. I'm glad you get a little piece of the Pacific Northwest in your flowers!

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  2. I always learn something new when I visit you, Ronda. Today it was about salal bushes, umbrellas, florists and toilet paper. How you make it all sound like poetry is a true gift! I must ask, though, did you move this bush around or has it always been in that one location? ;)

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    1. Hi Kim I have bushes all around my yard and one task is to keep them at the edge. Their very prolific....

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  3. Hey, Ronda! Interesting plant! Do you ever make jam with the berries?

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    1. Hi Kimberly No their just not a jam berry although I suppose one could throw a handful in with something else. They really shine in baked goods.

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  4. i wish you could see my smile. at the angel's words.
    she is her mother for sure. a mixture of practical wisdom and magical vision!
    that lemon leaf makes me think of our catalpa trees here.
    they grow almost 70 feet tall though. but the leaves are heart shaped and huge. you can stand under them in a pouring rain and not get wet! they put on beautiful white flowers and long pods at different times ... so people think they're messy.
    i think they're wonderful! i remember eating icy cold watermelon under them in their lovely shade on hot summer days.
    can't imagine using their leaves as toilet paper though! LOLOL!
    but hey... in a pinch... good to know!

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    1. I don't know anything about catalpa trees....I will google it but a tree with a heart shaped leaf is special. Salal which I neglected to mention does not grow any higher than six feet unless of course it's growing on top of an old stump which happens all the time here in this coastal rain forest. As for emergency t.p..... I'm glad you now have a plan.

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  5. Indeed Ronda, as others have said, your thoughts are expressed so beautifully! I just love what your daughter said too, about the robin needing an umbrella! How cute! I learned a lot about the salal bushes from you, and didn't know the leaves were so popular in the florist industry! Awesome post my friend :)

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