Canyon Park Cabin

This looks similar to what we’d call “chicken of the woods” and we’ll need to keep an eye on it to see what it turns out to be. This is the first time I’ve seen it growing directly in the dirt, the “chicken of the woods” that we’ve seen has always been growing on a tree or stump, ususally a red oak. But there is a red oak directly above this one. We’ll get a picture next week, too.

Mid summer, the bright colors of the patio shade garden. The patio is in front of the cabin is on the east side and get some shade from the black cherry that’s growing by leaps and bounds.

It’s bright green nearly everywhere now at Canyon Park. The “virginia creeper” is an awesome color and provides great cover in lots of locations on the edge of the woods. This woody stemmed plant, an ivy, also grows into giant vines and you’ll find it in the treetops as well.

The Mock Orange sits just off the northeast corner of the cabin. It’s huge, unruly and aromatic. It’s quite a specimen. You can sit on the patio and hear it. Or at least hear the bees that are there. There are hundreds of bees and they love it. As you stand by the bush at it’s peak the bees don’t even care, they are preoccupied.

The catbirds love the shrub as well. Late in the day you’d think that there was a cat in the bush but just before dark all goes silent, until morning.

The butterflys like the plant as well and I was able to get a shot of this one after it’s (orange flavored?) lunch.

When people visit and it’s in full bloom they always comment on the orangeish fragrence and it usually takes a little while for them to figure out that the odor is from the bush. It’s a great smell of summer.

In March the temperature consistently gets above freezing during the day and the sap runs in the maples. You can gather it, keep the sap cold in a snow bank, set up a back yard still and end up with syrup.