Toothwort

It's definitely getting to be spring here in the Ozarks. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom, especially down in the woods. One of the most prolific is this toothwort. (Photo by Jo)

Toothwort

Surprise Lilies

(Lycoris squamigera)

The surprise lily's foliage emerges from the ground in late winter. The green leaves look a lot like those of the daffodils, only a little larger. Unlike the daffodils and other bulbs currently (or soon) pushing their way up out of the soil, the surprise lily doesn't bloom -- not now, anyway. The foliage will grow until the weather starts getting hot and then it dies back. Then, in late July or early August when the foliage is totally gone, the surprise lily sends up a two to three foot tall stem topped by a pale pink flower.



Surprise lilies are also known as magic lilies or naked ladies. They are native to southern Japan. We have three clusters of these plants growing randomly in the yard. They were here when Jo and I arrive. We've often talked about digging up the bulbs and moving them to better locations, but we've just never gotten around to it.

Surprise Lilies

Thursday, 2/24/06

There certainly isn't any of that snow left, and hasn't been for a couple of days. Our high temperatures are pushing sixty degrees. I'm not at all sorry to see the snow gone.


This is the "bench" road down into the woods from our house. It's part of the loop we walk most every day in the winter. A naturally occurring shelf above the creek was widened (a little) and cleared (a little) and turned into a road -- if you've got four-wheel-drive. They say that back when horses and wagons were the only means of transportation -- besides walking, of course -- this was the only road off Star Mountain and down into Bear Creek Valley. Maybe so.

Thursday, 2/24/06