Along Piney Woods Church Road grow many plants, including stately oak and hickory trees, weedy sassafras and loblolly pine trees, and dozens of shrubs and ground plants, both annuals and perennials. Amongst them all, many are quite photogenic and invite me to return to them again and again as the seasons advance: muscadine grape, greenbrier, and white oak fall firmly into this category. Then there is dog fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium): tall (several feet), gangly, frilly, with nondescript flowers and seeds, and a pungent yet not particularly pleasant aroma. Today, a dog fennel plant was in seed alongside the road, illuminated by the afternoon sun. I dedicated myself to taking its portrait. The result is the two “experiments” below.
