Jan & John Maggs

Antiques and Art

Bittersweet Summer

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Perhaps we shouldn't bring it up, but our unusually wet summer has given us one of the most verdant seasons we've ever experienced in Conway. Spring began with a sprint of weeding and cutting that, for a week or two, gave us the feeling that we might get things under control this year. Alas, this was not meant to be.

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Wild raspberries abound,

 

and splashes of white Queen Anne's lace dot our gardens.

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Vigilance is needed to avoid the dreaded stinger nettles or "seven-minute itch", which is everywhere,

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as are thistles --

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and burrs.

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Trumpet vines are trying to find a way into the house,

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and crannies fill up with weeds of all description.

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At least the honeybees appear to be happy.

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But it is the ancient bittersweet that threatens to envelope all,

 

wrapping its tendrils around other plants,

 

 

gaining access to the inside of the barn,

 

 sometimes claiming pieces of antique furniture for its own.

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Some of last Summer's bittersweet, foiled in its attempt to scale the barn.

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Next year we'll get a handle on it!

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