amelanchia

amelanchia
Originally uploaded by woodsrun

The shad is in bloom. It's a nice sign of spring, blooms at the end of April if it's early, early to mid-May if it's on time. I wait for the shad to bloom as a sign of forward meterological movement.

My father was an avid horticulturalist. He gardened the way no one I've ever known since did. He knew what the soil needed--more phosphorous, more nitrogen, etc. He knew generic names of plants--acquilegia instead of Columbine, etc. I admire that (now). Of course when I was old enough to know what he was doing I thought it was eggheaded and pretentious and that he was trying to force us to be something he wanted us to be by learning them too. Now, of course I wish I'd followed him around all the time and memorized all he told me. I do know the proper names of lots of plants, most of my perennials, and it's important for me. I try to learn proper names before the common name. It's dorky, I know, but it gives me pleasure.

ANYWAY--my father (and mother) loved shad trees. Probably because of their early spring blossoms, as well as the berries they produce in the summer that birds love to eat. Along the shore of Silver Lake the trees are alive with cedar waxwings fluttering and chirping as they eat the berries.

My father would point out shad trees to us and say, "Look children, amelanchia canadensis." It became a standing joke--with me, anyway, I don't know if my siblings were part of the joke or not. He would point to shad and say "What kind of tree is that?," knowing the only answer I could give would be amelanchia canadensis. I like saying to myself "look--amelanchia canadensis!" when I see shad. Too bad there's no one around to laugh with. Also, really too bad I don't know more proper names of trees. Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing. I concentrate more on being able to tell different kinds of trees a part. That's a life-long project.