Known in the Smoky Mountains by the folk name "hearts a-bustin'," Euonymus americanus is now doing just that: bustin'. Yesterday's rain only added to the plant's apparent pathos.
If you know anything about the lives of the mountaineers who lived in the hollows of the Great Smokies before the coming of the national park, you know their hearts were often broken, mostly by the early deaths of loved ones. Their lives were hard, insular; their cemeteries are filled with tombstones of people who died much too young. Mourning was a routine facet of their lives. They wore black. They grieved. They buried their dead. But who hasn't felt such heartbreak? Such a-bustin'?
The common name of the shrub refers to the plant's seed pods which are now ripe and a-bustin'. Once the seeds have matured, the red capsules burst, scattering the orange seeds up to 15 feet.
-photo taken about twelve feet from my front porch.
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6 comments:
You're so lucky to be living in a place totally surrounded by such pleasant natural beauty.
Hello friend Aby.
Yes, I know I am lucky. I write about it all the time.
This deserve to be all the time. I just may dream about this all right now. Your photos warm my soul.
Thank you. I hope your dreams are warm.
If you're looking for a song to go along with this, try Billy Joe Shaver's "Hearts-A-Bustin'" sung by Jimmie Dale Gilmore. If I'm remembering correctly, Shaver wrote it shortly before his wife unexpectedly got sick and died. It will bring tears to your eyes. I sometimes hear it on WDVX.
Kathy.
Thanks for the tip about the song. I do not know of it, but I'll try to find it.
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