Laughing Ravens

For the longest time, I wanted to belong. As a little kid, I wanted to be picked for the kickball team.  I wanted my brother David to be able to speak. I wanted friends who were allowed to come over to my house. I wanted to understand why people weren't terrified of crowds. How could they attend a concert and not feel crushed? I wanted to share something deeply personal and not feel like it would be cast aside. I wanted to belong and to be part of something. By the time puberty took over, I was resigned to not-belonging.  I lied and embraced being outside whatever group I wanted to belong to. Building a wall of lies that became thick enough to offer some protection. Too thick too soon, and I didn't hear anyone knocking on the door. Asking to be let in. Asking to come inside... to belong... with me. Through college, I fell from one awkward ladder to the ground, over and over. Eventually, climbing the ladder was abandoned. The view couldn't be that good anyway. One afternoon ...

The 2025 Society for Siberian Iris /SIGNA Joint Convention in Ames, Iowa, was a glorious study in contrasts. As this was my first iris convention, I had no idea what to expect. Driving from Des Moines to Ames I found myself staring out the window, catching sight of Baptisia minor in full bloom along the interstate. Coming from Upstate New York, where the seasons had only recently begun to creep into spring, the weather in Iowa was quite a shock. Apparently, Ames had already experienced multiple days above 90°F and was actually experiencing a cold spell during the convention.  Since I had arrived early, I took advantage of the time before the first garden tour to zip over to the nearby Reiman Gardens. These botanical gardens at Iowa State University were a suggested side-trip for anyone attending from out of town. I was surprised by the glorious Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing at the entrance. Despite being told by the docents that there were hundreds of individual butterflies insi...

  Hummingbird video July 2025

'Furui Shiro' ( Carol S. Warner , R. 2016) SPEC-X  I expected that after the last of the Louisiana irises finished blooming, that the iris season was over. I had not expected the iris pseudata and the iris ensatas to pick up the pace. June ended with a few of the pseudatas sending up their first-season blooms. This included 'Ause' and 'Furui Shiro'. I was thrilled to see anything bloom on 'Ause' since it was planted late last summer, and sometimes it can take a while for a plant to establish in a new location.  'Furui Shiro' has been something altogether different. It is in its second year (having not bloomed at all last summer)... and the growth spurt this spring was intimidating. When you read the advertising copy on websites, you have to take everything with a grain of salt, right? Well, Carol Warner described it this way: "There are three branches on the stalk giving about 10 blooms. The terminal on a well grown plant will push a four...

  'Cascade Crest' ( J. Terry Aitken , R. 1988)  - still unfurling 'Crested Surf' ( Bob Bauer and John Coble , R. 2000) I really thought my irises were done. Nope. Turns out that the ensatas were very quiet about sending up their bloom stalks until they were absolutely sure no one was watching, and then BOOOM! In the last few days, there have been so many different ensatas opening up or getting ready to open... it is just incredible. There are at least a half dozen waiting in the wings. I guess July really is the month for iris ensata!