Wild Roses

Almost by accident I found several wild rose bushes growing on a hillside on the back part of my farm. I was driving my Gator along the prairie trail and my eye caught a spot of pink among the grasses that grew there. I had not seen wild roses here before; the last plants I saw grew alongside the trail to the pond, and had been snuffed out by the over competitive buckthorn that grows everywhere these days.

I discovered not only one wild rose bush, small and rather fragile, but perhaps a dozen. And several were in bloom. For those not familiar, the wild rose flower has five petals, light pink in color. They have a wonderful, quiet, but distinctive aroma. No other rose compares, at least not in my judgment.

Wild roses have a special place on my farm, for the township where my farm is located is called Rose, and the nearest village is Wild Rose. Some claim both the township and the village were named after the wild roses found growing here. Others say, no doubt correctly, that these places were named after Rose, New York in Wayne County, where many of the settlers in this area had first lived.

The wild rose is state flower for Iowa and for the Province of Alberta in Canada. Alas, Wisconsin chose the wood violet as its state flower, missing an opportunity to give this native flower a bit more glory.

To see a photo of a wild rose, go to my son, Steve’s blog: http://steveappsblog.com/?p=547

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Tall trees don’t always provide the most shade

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WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.

July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.