Hunting for (but Not Finding) Spring

 Cathy and I hiked four miles this morning, and I was determined to find some signs of spring. Well, not much success there.

This is Pennsylvania Sedge, and if you squint, you can just see the stems starting to come up in the middle of this clump.

This picture is terrible, but the blackberry canes have just the tinyest leaves starting.

The best evidence is swelling buds on the red maple, but they haven't even erupted in flowers yet.

But when I got home... there are primroses in bloom. So there's that!

After lunch, Cathy and I did a jigsaw puzzle. It's called "Dog Days," and it was a lot of fun. 750 pieces and just the right level that we managed to finish in one afternoon.

I did manage to get two loads of laundry done and dried on the line as well.

Four miles with 22 pounds. That is great because I believe I can do a two-day one-night backpack with only 22 pounds. So, now I just need to work on the mileage. My back is sore, but not too bad.

Miles hiked in 2025: 97.5. Hile 100: 32.5.

NCT, Timber Creek south to Wingleton and back. 4 miles

See Leitch Bayou

Philadelphia Flower Show- Shining Through

  I haven't shown you any of the miniature arrangement categories of the Standard Flower Show yet. This one was titled "ShiningThrough." Each is displayed in a lighted cubical niche that is about 8 inches on each side. The exhibitors provided their own background.

This was just about my favorite, but the judges didn't like it- giving it 4th place. They said the piece of pumpkin was strong and unusual but the poppy seed and the blade of grass were out of proportion.

Third place used only one plant, safflower. The judges liked the colors, but noted that only one plane within the niche was used. I thought that was a good point.

Second place also only used one plant, Stella guacamaya, the inirida flower. (I'd never heard of it) The judges said it had style and flair, but the background interfered with the design. Hmm.I would have said the background was part of the design. Very creative, I thought.

I can certainly see why this one took first place. I thought it was the best interpretation of the category. This uses three plants: shitake mushroom, midollino (which are simply dyed rattan sticks), and palm.

The judges said, "powerful gallactic concept." And it also took a special ribbon from the Philadelphia Horticultural Society.

There are other miniature categories, and I hope to show you those also. But the next couple of days have hikes! There's sure not much to see that's spring-like yet, but I'll try to find some interesting pictures to take.

I edited, I worked on projects, I went to the store. Ho hum.

See PFS 2012- Small Themes

Philadelphia Flower Show- Welcoming Wildlife Home

 This was a great display, but it was hard to get good pictures because it was mobbed with people. It's one of the commercial displays, sponsored by Bank of America. It won five awards from groups like the Philadelphia Horticultural Society and the Pennsylvania Federated Garden Clubs.

The idea was to symbolize human interaction with nature and immersion in a rich tapestry of plants. From one side, you are looking at the end of a house with rich gardens.

... and nice window boxes.

But what was inside the house was the spectacular part, and that side had so many people clustered around that I really couldn't get close.

In a somewhat Alice in Wonderland style were huge animals all made from plant materials having dinner at this gorgeous table.

I can get you closer to some. The bee and turtle are on the left. You can just see a butterfly behind them.

Fox (I think... that fluffy tail seems to belong to it) and Frog.

And a huge robin perched on the back of a chair.

I should have fought the crowd a bit longer to try to get pictures of more of the plant material. It was truly rich and immersive.

A pretty good day. I did some things I was supposed to. I tried to get all my backpacking equipment located and in order. One thing is missing, but if I can't find it, replacement is not too difficult. In the process of looking for it, I found three other things I had thought were lost!

Nasty weather day. We started out with ice, but thankfully that did not last. Maybe spring will start to show up soon. No walking happened.

See PFS- Good Friends Enter Here

Philadelphia Flower Show- Good Friends Enter Here

  This is another of my very favorite categories in the Standard Flower Show portion of the PFS. There are usually various permutations of it... maybe a front entryway, a deck, patio, or a front porch... but some space that is associated directly with a home. The link at the end is from the 2019 category which was front entryways.

The title of this year's was "Good Friends Enter Here" and it was to be a backyard entrance and had to include at least one design element constructed of recycled or repurposed materials. These spaces are always small enough that I feel like creating something like this would actually be possible.

This one took fourth place. Unfortunately my photo with the information is so out of focus that I can't read anything except the title which is "Backyard Memories."

My own judgely comments would be that the house wall is one-dimensional, and the gardens themselves are also quite static. I don't even feel that anyone would play with the toys. And, what is repurposed? Are the Jenga blocks made from scrap wood, the fake stone wall from recycled plastic. It's not very clear?

Third place is called "The Enchanted Garden," and although it only got yellow in the category, it took a Philadelphia Horticultural Society ribbon for "outstanding use of herbs."

The intent (you know these are much longer- I'm distilling some of the verbiage) says, "Inside the garden wall, young friends gather... to imagine, explore, and plan for their future gardens."

The judges said, "Delightful theme, and exceptional use of natural materials." But they thought there were too many fairy houses that detracted. Well, you can easily see how something like this outshines the fourth place entry! You can easily imagine the children scurrying around to all the play places

Second place is called "The Gifted Gardner." The intent says "Potting up plants for friends and neighbors, she is reminded of the gifts the garden brings each day." The judges said "the use of white is effective and authenticity was consistent... a wonderful snapshot of spring."

I'm going to show you two pictures of this so you can see the front corner by the bench. Also, you can see how attractive and multi-layered the back wall of the house is. This reminds me of my friend Margaret's back yard.

Where do we go from the previous two entries, which are both extremely nice? Here is first place, "S'more Time with Friends." The intent says, "Nestled in the shady woods of the Pocono Mountains... fishing and hiking... Our evenings are spent gathered around the fire."

The judges said "exceptional attention to detail. Intent was executed throughout the display."

I have to share several pictures of this one! Don't you just want to go visit the cabin?

Love the candle lantern- about the only change I'd suggest in this exhibit is that the lantern maybe should have been on a post or hung to add some height to that corner.

And they didn't neglect the "fire" on which to roast the marshmallows. Pretty good recreation of a natural environment with some enhancements, eh?

Here's an interesting factoid. All but the Enchanted Garden were created by high schoolers!

I buckled down and did a fair amount of work today. I also walked for errands with 17 pounds, 2.5 miles. Easy peasy- not tired or sore. Next, I up the weight a bit.

Miles hiked in 2025: 93.5

About all that's happening here in relation to spring is that the buds on the silver maple trees are swelling.

See PFS 2019- Entryways See PFS 2019- Balconies

Philadelphia Flower Show- A Twist in Time

 This competition at the Philadelphia Flower Show was similar to the one linked below from 2020. In that one, the exhibits were to capture the essence of an Impressionistic painting provided by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society.

This year, they were to interpret a poster provided by the PHS.

This one took honorable mention. The plants materials are aster matsumato, palm spathes and carnation. I tell you this so you can see that you don't have to use a huge variety of plants. The judges liked the proportions and called it "whimsical and playful," but they said it mimicked the poster rather than interpreted it. Whatever.

This one has a long plant list- I won't list them all- just making the point that the idea is to use plant materials... the finished result does not have to look like a flower.

I think this is my favorite one, but the judges said it was out of balance and lacked a strong focal point.

The red ribbon went to this one. It's also right up there in my list of ones I liked. The "industrial" look is great.

The judges liked the use of color. They didn't like that the center cluster was in the center of the circle. Well. I think I agree with that. But I don't understand why this one didn't get cited for mimicry, when the fourth place did. It seems to me they are about equal in that regard.

And here is the blue ribbon. Again, a long plant list. This entry is OK, but it doesn't speak to me.

The judges said it was "robust with easy interpretation of the poster," but they didn't like that the three elements were disconnected from each other.

It seems odd to me that three of the posters are graphic art and one is more realistic. I would think the contest would be more equalized if they were similar styles.

I was pretty productive today, but no walking occurred. It was cold and raw outside, and we've had just enough hints of spring that it makes me want it to be nicer to walk. I did errands and edited, and worked on a couple of my projects.

True confession: I'm wanting it to be nice enough to work on gardens. Now, if I were actually dedicated to that, I'd spend some time removing autumn olive now before I can play in the dirt. I also confess to looking at plants on the internet.

I have to report that I resisted buying the little $40 greenhouse at Aldi. It would probably last 5 minutes in the wind here, and I'm really not starting things from seeds anyway. But it was so cute!

See PFS 2020- Impressionistic