Morning sun filters through the overcast above Morgantown. Taken from my cell phone.
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Well after surviving incessant deer raids and a few frigid nights this past winter, lo and behold, my sharp-lobed hepaticas (Hepatica acutiloba) are having a moment. Hepatica is one of the earliest-blooming wildflowers in Central Appalachia, but it's by no means an ephemeral. The plant's leathery, three-lobed leaves persist all year, even through the toughest winters. Hepaticas are an absolute must-have for a shady spot in a native wildflower garden, especially when planted around rocks and along edges - just too gorgeous for words.
Incidentally, I buy my live native plants from Rare Roots, a small, women-owned business within reasonable shipping distance of Morgantown. The plants are always immaculately packed and in good shape when they arrive. So far, so good - the plants I bought last year have survived the winter and are putting out new shoots. And I've ordered more for the spring, including Meehan's Mint and lyreleaf sage, two positively stunning native mints I'm eager to establish in my garden beds.
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Light is a teasing spirit
conjured by the shallow sun
of a short winter's day,
in one instant pushing long shadows
across freshly fallen snow,
before it wavers and vanishes,
only to appear in the next instant
at a far place on the road,
a playful if elusive companion
at each step to journey's end.
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Studies in frost.
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"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life."
Federico Fellini
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Damp, cool, and overcast are the prevailing themes of this year's fall season. But even on the darkest of days, nature's inner light cannot be denied. On days like this, as a photographer, I get the benefit of longer exposure shots, which make the colors of the fall forest all the more vivid, expressive, and moody. My early morning hike in Cheat River Canyon reminded me how mist, carotenoids, sandstone, and moss can cast a magical spell that brings joy even on the darkest days.
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