The Demure Gem of Watkins Glen
*
This September, I finally got the chance to visit Watkins Glen State Park in New York with a family member. I was born not far from that location, and not long before he passed away, my father told me that he’d brought me there as a baby and wished we could visit again. So, it felt a bit like returning to my roots to pay homage to this forested gorge—a veritable miniature canyon!
The park boasts nineteen waterfalls that spangle cliff faces that can reach 200 feet in height. The deeper one ventures into its high-shadowed walls, the more it feels like you are being swallowed up by a secret side path into Narnia or Middle Earth. As the state park’s website declares, those who visit are known be left quite “spellbound.”
The
hike can be steep and muddy at times, and there are markers bored into
the rock walls periodically that give the location for emergency
services in case someone suffers a serious injury. I couldn’t help
wondering if they were affixed due to prior incidents. Either way, the
little plaques served as constant reminders to watch my step!
I
also couldn’t help marveling at the way the green foliage caught the
sunbeams above. Each leaf seemed to light up like a slice of live
emerald and cast a beguiling glint over the stream winding through stony
layers of bedrock below.
All
this is to say that the enclosed environment lends itself to an
otherworldly ethereality—enter the flower, the true star of this issue
and the hidden jewel of Watkins Glen!
I stopped dead in my
tracks and begged my family member to wait so that I could capture a
photo of a delicate pinkish-purple flower, hardly as large as the nail
on my little finger. I had no idea what it was then, only that its
quiet, airy beauty demanded my rapt gaze without delay.
Later
that evening, I would conduct an image search and discover that this
tiny flower has numerous names—Geranium robertianum, or more commonly,
“Herb Robert.” Some of my favorites include “Jam Tarts,” “Doll’s Shoes,”
or even “Stinky Bob” as squishing it can produce an odiferous scent
that is described as akin to rotting garlic. My, my, what powerful
pungency is hidden in this petite little blossom! Maybe it will work
against vampires in a pinch?
In some states, it is considered a
noxious weed, although in New York it is merely a “non-regulated class B
noxious weed,” meaning weeding is encouraged but not presently
mandated. To kill such a gossamer sprite would feel almost like a crime
to my heart. It utterly enchanted me upon first viewing, after all.
Yet
these pretty petals hide more than one secret. Despite its fragile
appearance, it can release chemicals that crowd out other types of
healthy flora. But it’s humans who have given this demure flower its
most lethal moniker—“Death-Come-Quickly.”
This name was tied to
the superstition that plucking the flower and bringing it indoors would
cause someone to die soon. Some tales even link this flower to
Shakespeare’s Puck, or the mischievous fairy “Robin Good-Fellow,” who
will surely punish those who dare to harm it.
Now, I didn’t pick
the unassuming specimen that hypnotized me for a bright strand of
seconds in Watkins Glen. Yet perhaps daring to steal a picture of
Death-Come-Quickly was offense enough to earn me a warning?
On
the return hike, I didn’t trip once on the 832 stone stairs or the steep
paths. However, as the parking lot grew tantalizingly close, a
prodigious acorn whizzed mere millimeters from my face with extreme
velocity. My family member was witness to this errant missile and
laughed uproariously as they declared that I almost became Watkins
Glen’s first confirmed acorn fatality.
This near-accident might
seem like mere coincidence, except for the fact that I was almost
squashed by massive trees on two other occasions in my life—but that’s a
story for another day.
Wishing you all a Happy Halloween! May
you gather a bounty of scrumptious candy, but perhaps, have a
care—beware of any charming flower you are tempted to bring into your
home that spooktacular evening . . . .
Sources:
“Herb Robert Identification and Control.” KingCounty.gov.
<https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/environment-ecology-conservation/noxious-weeds/identification-control/herb-robert>
“Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum, Wild Geranium).” Highbury Wildlife
Garden. <http://highburywildlifegarden.org.uk/the-garden/bees-faves/herb-robert/>
“Saint or Sprite?” (June 17, 2011). The Medieval Garden Enclosed. The Cloisters
Museum and Gardens. Metmuseum.org. <https://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2011/06/17/saint-or-sprite/>
Watkins Glen State Park. New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation. <https://parks.ny.gov/visit/state-parks/watkins-glen-state-park#about>
“Weed
of the Month: Herb Robert” (May 19, 2016). Harringayonline.
<https://harringayonline.com/forum/topics/weed-of-the-month-herb-robert>
~*~
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