Gall

q alba leaves
My favorite oak tree has galls on some of the leaves. This the topside
oak leaves
this the underside. Hoping the hive mind can tell me the culprit. Prognosis?

Harold

Harold on the stoop, Riverview Ave.
Harold Glenwood Johnson, 79, of Charlottesville, passed away on Monday, April 20, 2020. He was born in Fluvanna County, to the late Leslie Wayne Johnson and Rachel Harris Johnson. His heritage is in the Woolen Mills Neighborhood of Charlottesville, where he lived most of his life. He met his late wife, Janet Irene Johnson at the mill where he worked as a young man along with his mom and Janet’s father. He is survived by his two children, Michelle Renee Garrison and Leslie Wayne Johnson; his three grandchildren, Brittany Renee Theobold, Ashley Nicole Garrison, and Cassidy Brooke Garrison; his great-grandson, Mason Theobold; his two sisters, Donna Gay, Linda Ann, and brother in law, Billy Shifflett. He is also survived by his friend, Vivian Brenig; his breakfast club friends, and the best neighbors he could have ever asked for. Harold loved to joke and laugh with his family and friends. He always made sure they had all they needed. He will be missed by many. Memorial service pending.–Daily Progress

roadtrip

A decade ago I joined E&H for a cross country drive. Hel moved all her belongings from Washington State to NC in the trunk of a sedan.

professional driver don't attempt
Soon Hel moves again. This time the move requires a station wagon. This move is within the same time zone, Chesapeake Bay watershed. One tank of gas.

Gardener

according to the season she loved to burn and loved to grow.

I own a solace shut within my heart,
A garden full of many a quaint delight
And warm with drowsy, poppied sunshine; bright,
Flaming with lilies out of whose cups dart
Shining things
With powdered wings.–Amy Lowell Behind a Wall 1912

sassafras albidum

sassafras flowers
The aromatic smell of sassafras was described by early European settlers arriving in North America. According to one legend, Christopher Columbus found North America because he could smell the scent of sassafras
Sassafras albidum was a well-used plant by Native Americans in what is now the southeastern United States prior to the European colonization. The Choctaw word for sassafras is “Kvfi.” It was known as “Winauk” in Delaware and Virginia and is called “Pauane” by the Timuca.
Some Native American tribes used the leaves of sassafras to treat wounds by rubbing the leaves directly into a wound, and used different parts of the plant for many medicinal purposes such as treating acne, urinary disorders, and sicknesses that increased body temperature, such as high fevers. They also used the bark as a dye, and as a flavoring.–Wikipedia

Gray Coale and Sassafras Albidum at Swan Point