Flower for the Day Fall Boneset 10-31-25

Fall boneset (Eupetorium perfoliatum) is a North American native perennial in the aster family. It is also called

ague weed, feverwort, and sweating plant. In herbal medicine it is a diaphoretic  or an agent to cause sweating. It was introduced to American colonists by natives who used the plant for breaking fevers by means of heavy sweating.  The name "boneset" comes from the use of the plant to treat dengue fever, which is also called "break-bone fever."

Eupatorium perfoliatum grows up to three feet tall, with opposite, serrate leaves that clasp the stems (perfoliate).The stem is hairy. It produces dense clusters of tiny white flower heads held above the foliage. 

Syncopations

Lines in this poem want

to wail and sail, loud as wood

frogs, forage deep into

stanzas of bonesets

the rhythm syncopated

as sprawling as a

trailing arbutus, flower

and language divine, summer

scrawls, palimpsests, traces

Plymouth gentians, syllabics

seven pink pronouncements.

Kathleen Kremlins

Don's Blog "The One Where We Have A Wedding" 9-20-25

Saturday we sponsored a wedding at the Lake House on Lake Aspen at Innsbrook, Missouri.

Sherry (the bride) and Lou (the groom) are longtime friends and we were excited to have the ceremony

on the dock by the lake.

It was a small wedding but the planning and the preparation were intricate. Parking was made easier when all four of my neighbors offered their driveways. The site worked great as the trees shaded us from the sun. The forecast of rain

was incorrect - we would not have cared. We were ready to have a joyous time no matter what.

Sherry surprised me by asking me to accompany her down the aisle - a winding steep walkway. This was a first for me as we had all boys. How do you like our flowers? I gave her a hug and presented her to the groom.

The ceremony was a treat. The bride and groom are to the left of the minister with the maid of honor and 

the best man on either side. We were all moved.

Jan and I got to sit in the front row. We are blessed.

The star of the show was Sherry's Grandson Blake. With the age of the guests many had an opportunity

to go down the hill (and back up) in our golf cart. Blake who drives FAST racers in Dirt Car Races had not driven

an electric golf cart before and was amazed at its quietness. He helped them in and out and got them to their seats.

His kindness and patience were an amazing gift to us all.

After cupcakes and punch in the front of the house, the bride and groom headed for the party in Montgomery City.

It was an inspiration to participate in Sherry and Lou's wedding. You can be sure that we will not be going into the wedding business. 

   Here are the bride and groom on the steps of the Historic Log cabin.

Flower for the Day Taterian Aster 10-27-25

The fall is continuing to produce more muted colors. Our large patch of Tatarian aster (Aster tataricus) has been deer decimated. They eat the leaves like salad. It can tower over six feet and is a butterfly magnet.

The plant overall is coarse, with large leaves and thick stems. The flowers are borne in late autumn, violet  ray florets and brown disc florets.

Aster

Thou, like a star-flower in the wood,
Thy modest charms are hiding;
Content with humbly doing good,
And in God's love abiding.

But though the world observes thee not,
In one fond heart thou'rt treasured;
And bright indeed must be the lot,
That shares a love unmeasured.

SC Edgarton

Yesterday

Its what happened AND my interpretation of it is the story.

I got up early, had a light breakfast, packed the car with food and meds and drove to the Lake House. I stopped at Wright City Hardware for a fireplace lighter with a long handle. On arrival the house was cold. The furnace was not working. The Ecobee thermostat was dark. The Spectrum TV downstairs was working. My phone and the computer indicated that there was no internet. Touching the thermostat did nothing. Checking the left electric box in the basement showed the power was on for the furnace - breaker on.

I called Survant Heating as Chris had very recently done a clean and check. They agreed to send Chris out. I called Spectrum and a nice lady trying to sell me something also told me how to re-boot the internet - I had to go to the basement to unplug two Spectrum boxes on a back basement shelf for a few minutes and this got me back the internet.
The computer was working and my phone had bars and was working.

Another reason for the visit was to get the propane tank filled. I changed all batteries in the two fireplaces and the two hand held starters. The truck had not arrived yet so I called the company (Amerigas). In the midst of the call the call was lost. After multiple attempts i noted that in the upper left corner it said "SOS only. I did not know what that meant. Luckily the phone text component still worked so I was in contact with Jan. She called several people. Sherry arrived and was helpful. I drove to the clubhouse to get the phone to work but it did not work there either. Sherry waited in my absence for the two people coming. I came back and we started using Sherry's phone (non AT&T). About an hour later Jan texted that the Innsbrook Property Owner's Facebook page reported that the entire area's AT&T was offline and not working.

As I was calling Amerigas again the truck showed up. It was the same driver as the last time. He reported the the tank was completely empty and that made it dangerous. He did a successful leak-check and began filling the tank.

At this time Chris showed up from Survant. He noted how cold the house was.He checked the dark Ecobee thermostat
and found that 'SOMEONE" had bumped it and that it wasn't working because it had physically lost its connection. He pushed it back in and the furnace started working. He left to my thanks.

The tank was now full and the Amerigas guy tried to light the fireplaces. that did not work so I will have to schedule a fireplace repair man that I have used before to come fix them. In the mean time we left the propane tank handle
on on the outside and closed firmly the handle at the back of each fireplace on the side. This should be safe until the repairman comes. We will not attempt to light them in the meantime.

In the middle of this Jan texted the Spectrum was burying a new orange cable in our front yard and they were not friendly.

So now at IB the home was heating up, the Ecobee was working, we had a full propane tank, the TV and computers were working. The phone was still offline. I ate lunch, did a few things and drove home. The phone started working after leaving when I was on the road.

When I got home the Spectrum cable was now buried. I went inside and Jn was still put out. The 2 TV's , the upstairs computer, and the phones and iPads and even the land line phone did not work. I went outside to 5G and called Spectrum. They said they could get a tech out Monday. Then realizing how absurd that was she said she would contact an emergency tech.who would contact us tonight or tomorrow. After dark about 6:00 there was knock on the door. It was a very nice tech who said that he had done the line burying and connection. He was training someone who did not do a correct connection. This tech re-connected it. I went everywhere and checked all the items (TVs, computer, iPads, land line phone. eSeries. tc.) and WAHLAH everything worked. I ate dinner and watched Toronto beat the Dodgers in the first game of the World Series. Tired at bedtime.

Other than that not much was going on.

That is my story and am sticking to it.

DAD

Flower for the Day Mums and Pumpkins 10-24-25

In case you wondered why I have not shared any mums this fall it is because the deer got to 

them before I could photograph them. Here is the shameless culprit in our fenced in country garden.

The fence did not deter this hungry opportunist who ate  the newly planted yellow mums.

 

She ate them all even removing the deer netting that I had inexpertly applied.

And in case you wondered whether deer eat pumpkins here is an image from a friend showing

that not only do they eat them but they also love them (heart them). 

Perhaps next fall we will be able to see where the deer have spread the seeds after eating.

               The Pumpkin

Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun,   The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run,   And the rock and the tree and the cottage enfold,   With broad leaves all greenness and blossoms all gold,   Like that which o'er Nineveh's prophet once grew,   While he waited to know that his warning was true,   And longed for the storm-cloud, and listened in vain   For the rush of the whirlwind and red fire-rain.     On the banks of the Xenil the dark Spanish maiden   Comes up with the fruit of the tangled vine laden;   And the Creole of Cuba laughs out to behold   Through orange-leaves shining the broad spheres of gold;   Yet with dearer delight from his home in the North,   On the fields of his harvest the Yankee looks forth,   Where crook-necks are coiling and yellow fruit shines,   And the sun of September melts down on his vines.     Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,   From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;   When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board   The old broken links of affection restored,   When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,   And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before,   What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?   What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?     Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling,   When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!   When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,   Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!   When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune,   Our chair a broad pumpkin,—our lantern the moon,   Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam   In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!     Then thanks for thy present! none sweeter or better   E'er smoked from an oven or circled a platter!   Fairer hands never wrought at a pastry more fine,   Brighter eyes never watched o'er its baking, than thine!   And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,   Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,   That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,   And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,   And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky   Golden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie! 

John Greenleaf Whittier 

Flower for the Day American Burnweed 10-22-25

American burnweed  (Erechtites hieraciifolia) is a native annual in the aster family. The plant branches and grows in a clump with multiple stems.The flower heads which are borne in fall are followed by clusters of small, wispy achenes, each of which contains a single seed. 

The flower heads which are borne in fall are followed by clusters of small, wispy achenes, each of which contains a single seed. What does it remind you of?

Burnweed germinates in response to fire. It is one of the earliest pioneer species in areas that have recently burned, hence some of its common names: fireweed, pilewort and butterweed.

 Burnweed Haiku

  no dandelion 

  
  bold burnweed soars, shares nectar

 a butterfly's wish

  johackl

Don's Blog Fall Odds and Ends 10-20-25

We  actually had some rain over the week-end -a full Day soak. Magically brown has turned to green. Now for some fall odds and ends fun. Here are some berries from our Scarlet firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea). They almost allow you to forget how sharp the thorns are.

The persimmons are on the trees and beginning to drop. when fully mature they are sweet and delicious. 

If not - very bitter.

Here is a small tree with many persimmons and no leaves.

On the trail if you look down the juniper berries are collecting.

And if you look close there is an occasional surprise.

Closer to home the deer have eaten the leaves off my favorite stonecrop.

But its nature is to produce its amazing flowers however small.

            Yard Work

I think that someone will remember us in another time,

Sappho once said — more or less— 

Her words caught 

Between the tongues tip and the first edge of the invisible.

I hope so, myself now caught 

Between the edge of the landscape and the absolute,

Which is the same place, and the same sound

That she made.

Meanwhile, let's stick to business.

Everything else does, the landscape, the absolute, the invisible.

My job is yard work— 

I take this inchworm, for instance, and move it from here to there.

Charles Wright

Don's Blog: A Peaceful Place

Here is a view from the dock at the Lake House, truly a place to experience

the peace that passes all understanding.

Flower for the Night Moon Flower II

I thought you would enjoy some followup images of moon flowers. These are blooming nightly

on the front porch and they last into the morning. 

They are surprisingly large,

especially in relationship to the morning glory.

But the most fun is to go out after dark and enjoy them.

Flower for the Day Oriental Lady's Thumb 10-15-25

Here is another meadow miniature which requires you bend way down to see it. It is oriental lady's thumb
(Persicaria posumbu). Its other names include Asiatic smartweed, bristled knotweed, bunchy knotweed, and long-bristled smartweed. Those without imagination may call it a weed. It is a non native Asian annual.

Flower for the Day New England Aster 10-13-25

This is aster time in the Heartland and elsewhere. New England aster (Symphotrychium novae-anglia,formerly Aster novae-angliae) has been fairly deer hardy. It is one of my few plants that re-grow from the deer eaten-off tips that can still bloom, although it does make them shorter. It is also known as the Michaelmas daisy. It is a perennial native.

The genus name, Symphyotrichum, is a Botanical Latin construction derived from the Greek meaning to make or bring together and hair. The species' former genus, Aster, comes from the Ancient Greek word for star.  

The  flowers have multiple ray florets. These surround the flower centers which are composed of just as many tiny yellow disk florets. The plant grows naturally in clumps, with several erect stems emerging from a single point. The stems are stout, hairy, and mostly unbranched. The untoothed, lance-shaped leaves clasp the stem with earlobe-like appendages, and the lower stem leaves often wither by the time of flowering. 

And mine come in two colors.

    New England Asters

They're firing purple from the rock wall,
shouting hurrahs amid gloriosas,
towering on leggy stalks
near the rose trellis, before the frost.

The dames are taking over.
Fringy and sticky, drunk with nectar,
they lean and swagger,
staging a revolution.

Volunteers from last year's seeds
spring up near the house,
and new forces bivouac
down the long dirt drive,
ready to occupy the roadside
past the mailbox.

Shovel in hand, I am fully enlisted
in the cause of late bloomers.
I transplant rootstock,
shake out new progeny,
post ensigns amid the wan and cheerless,
marshal troops down desolate hollows,
seed my universe with stars.

Lynn Ascrizzi

Flower for the Day Moonflower 10-8-25

The moonvine has finally begun to produce its extraordinary moonflowers (Ipomoeae alba). It is a night blooming morning glory. The large buds have begun blooming almost nightly.

Here is our first bloom with the supermoon. 

 

The flower is spectacular. It opens quickly in the evening and lasts through the night, 

remaining open until touched by the morning dew.

 

Moonflowers

Milly Sorensen, January 16, 1922 - February 19, 2004

It was the moonflowers that surprised us.

Early summer we noticed the soft gray foliage.

She asked for seedpods every year but I never saw them in her garden.

Never knew what she did with them.

Exotic and tropical, not like her other flowers.

I expected her to throw them in the pasture maybe,

a gift to the coyotes. Huge, platterlike white flowers

shining in the night to soften their plaintive howling.

A sound I love; a reminder, even on the darkest night,

that manicured lawns don't surround me.

Midsummer they shot up, filled the small place by the back door,

sprawled over sidewalks, refused to be ignored.

Gaudy and awkward by day,

by night they were huge, soft, luminous.

Only this year, this year of her death

did they break free of their huge, prickly husks

and brighten the darkness she left.

Karma Larsen

Flower for the Day Dahlia II 10-6-25

The dahlias have been slow to bloom with the changing weather, the alternating hot and cool with the continuing dryness, despite my watering. We are seeing more recently. They continue to amaze.

This is what we have been doing with them.

                 The Dahlias

By now the fields are overgrown,

most ironweed and parsnip have turned black,

even the closed cabinet doors milk pods

have burst open, spilling their shucked silk

into the day. I wear a coat

and remember August, those nights

filled with moths that like fireworks

put on a show at our window, 

circled the lights like monks in meditation.

At every new cycle, I miss the one

now gone. I am never happy and have

no excuse not to love the dying

season, the growing season, the season of sleep.

That is to say, to love it while it is

happening. But what of the fall dahlias

that like bodices planets float above

their roots and leaves?Surely they contain all

the colors of our universe, They must love

the cooler days, the beginning

of a time of rest, less forced display.

Take it easy I will say. But the wind 

has something else in mind.

That might perform a roundelay

or the danse macabre. In time 

we all have bones, our eyeholes hollowed

and our skeletons clattering like chimes.

Didi Jackson

Flower for the Day Morning Glory 10-3-25

I did not plant any new morning glory (Ipomeoea) this year so those that showed up came from last years seeds.

as the  name suggests, most morning glory flowers open early in the day and begin to fade by late morning, as the corolla starts to curl inward. What you see here is pink morning glory growing within many moonflower vine leaves a front porch pillar. The morning glory has been blooming for a month but the moon vine has only just begun blooming in the last week. What is also obvious is that the deer has eaten all the low hanging flowers and leaves but not the vines.

 

Here are some morning glory survivors. 

 Morning Glory/Late Lament 

Cold hearted orb that rules the night,

Removes the colours from our sight.

Red is grey and yellow white,

But we decide which is right.

And which is an illusion?

Pinprick holes in a colourless sky,

Let insipid figures of light pass by,

The mighty light of ten thousand suns,

Challenges infinity and is soon gone.

Night time, to some a brief interlude,

To others the fear of solitude.

Brave Helios wake up your steeds,

Bring the warmth the countryside needs.

//

Breathe deep the gathering gloom,

Watch lights fade from every room.

Bedsitter people look back and lament,

Another day's useless energy spent.

Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,

Lonely man cries for love and has none.

New mother picks up and suckles her son,

Senior citizens wish they were young.

Cold hearted orb that rules the night,

Removes the colours from our sight.

Red is grey and yellow white,

But we decide which is right.

And which is an illusion?   

Graeme Edge  

(A  beautiful poem spoken in two parts in the Moody Blues album 'Days of Future Passed')

Flower for the Day Celosia 10-1-25

We have had a huge crop of celosia (Celosia cristata) for many years. It is an edible oriental in the Amaranthacea

family and is native to East Africa. When the flower head is crested by fasciation as shown it is called cockscomb.

Its other name , celosia spicata, is seen in the spiky flowers below the cockscomb.

One of the issues with it being edible is that this year the  deer have been savaging them, so much so that I covered this one with deer netting. This created its own problem - I saw some movement and there was a swallowtail butterfly trapped in the netting. I carefully freed it up and it immediately landed on my nose. I was so surprised that I let it stay there for awhile and then nudged it off.

           Cockscombs;

        There should be
        Fourteen or fifteen.
 

             Shiki

             trans. Blyth

"Every masterpiece is a flower on a precipice to be picked only with spiritual danger. The risk is life itself. It is too much to hope every poetry-lover will unfailingly grasp all subtleties of the creative act, but no artistic masterpiece exists without the danger of its being misunderstood. It is a tremendous assertion for the poet to have said, 'There must be fourteen or fifteen stalks of cockscomb.' After we read this poem we cannot imagine the possibility there could have been more or fewer cockscomb than fourteen or fifteen."

   Keene