This week I’ve been aching over the people and places I am so far from currently. How blessed I am to be back here while still being connected to other special places that I call home. In the attempt to honor the duality of my feelings, here is something that I wrote in July 2022. It’s an ode to my favorite deep south Texas legume…
Dear Tenaza,
You are my favorite of the many legumes I know. Your compound leaves seem almost as delicate as the long, feather Tepehuaje but really your leaves are much shorter, leaflets rounder, and overall a more saturated green. Your flowers are pale, lighter than the brilliant golden yellow of Huisache. A Texas Ebony flower is more like yours in color, though their fluffy blooms are less dainty and spherical than yours. Like the catclaw acacia, you get your name partly from the thorns you bear. These are short and set in pairs at the base of each leaf. These defense mechanisms seem small but they allow you to hold your own amongst spiny kin.
What I love most about you is your ability to bloom in some of the hottest Texas months – May through August. All you need is a little rain and behold. Your sweet sweet flowers burst forth amidst paper brown seed pods from earlier blooms. That readiness to bloom when others are not takes me by surprise each time. I admire your generous offer of flowers that feeds eager pollinators from the gift you received. Despite the bounty of nectar you supply, you don’t seem to give beyond your ability. Your thorns remind me to honor my own limits with discerning boundaries. You inspire in me; awe, courage, and a willingness to be soft in the midst of a hot, dry, long season.
Lots of love,
Laura
Thank you for reading! I’d love to know what your favorite plant is! If you’d like, leave a comment down below to share them. I also encourage you to take a few moments to write a love letter to them. 🙂
There and back again Brush 
7 responses to “Missing home”
Oh Laura, thanks for sharing your love poem to the tenaza. It’s an observant poem- outer and inner awareness. I forgot that it blooms in the long hottest season! It does smell so good too.
One of my favorite here is the goldenrod which blooms summer- fall. I especially love it in the fall when everything is so golden. Mary Oliver has a poem called Goldenrod, and (surprise surprise) it’s a fave of mine. It always reminds me of who I want to be and how the world is already there giving freely. Goldenrod is a teacher. Here’s a snippet, but you can find it on page 283 in Devotions.
“All day on their airy backbones
they toss in the wind,
they bend as though it was natural and godly to bend,
they rise in a stiff sweetness,
in the pure peace of giving
one’s gold away”.
Generosity, flowing out of who this plant is, goldenrod’s essential being. The bright blaze, “the glittering pandemonium”, filling the weedy roadsides with brightness. Also, it’s my favorite color!!
Good inspiration.
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Thank you, Liz! It’s sweet to hear your some of your reasons for loving goldenrod. Also, “goldenrod is a teacher” I love that phrase so much. I think both you and Mary Oliver are great at paying attention and learning from who is around you. It’s inspiring! What a gorgeous plant! Thank you for sharing. ❤
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Hi Laura! I’m enjoying your blog so far! My favorite plant is the crocus. The beautiful first flowers of spring, often bursting forth even amidst the snow. But as hardy as they are, they won’t last if picked. There are poems – my favorite is a little book by Joan Walsh but I don’t remember the words.
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Thank you, Lori! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it. I love that you are so fond of the crocus! I’m not as familiar with them, but they sound beautiful. I imagine those first flowers of spring are extra welcome. Ooh, I’ll look up Joan Walsh! Thanks again for sharing. 🙂
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Oh I think I found one of the poems you were thinking of by Joan Walsh.
Crocus in the Snow:
Like a crocus
in the snow,
. . . I stand
knee-deep in Winter,
holding
Springtime
in my heart!
Isn’t that beautiful?
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I feel like my favorite plant shifts with the season and which ones I’m more observant of (or working with). Overall, I’m still very appreciative of the resilience of weedy wildflowers like cowpen Daisy and tridax Daisy.
I think tenaza is a great choice for favorite legume – I hope to grow some for Brushwood South eventually.
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I like that idea! It feels more realistic in a way to not pick forever favorites. 🙂 I like those flowers! They may be underappreciated in some ways but beautiful and strong. That would be awesome!
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