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THE SEASON OF THE MOSS

Walking up and down the rows of Gina's farm, I saw baby turnips left to winter in the fields. I saw broken carrots turning themselves out through the mud… …mustard greens, paused in full flourish, and...

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THE SEASON OF THE HOME

People are always asking me: Hey, Jon Spruce, when you gonna settle down?Yo, baby, it’s not your fault.  It’s not from lack of trying.  But I got to do it my way…settling down without settling at...

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CATCHING NOW

Over one hundred and fifty years ago, in a February, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: we have such a habit of looking away that we see not what is around us.It is, naturally, a February...

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STREET SMARTS

Shiver me timbers, it’s cold out there.Cold and gray, wet and cloudy.I was out walking through Center City, weaving my way through the rat race.The temperature?  Just barely above freezing.  Even the...

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NATURE'S FIRST GREEN

For the last week or so, I’ve been keeping my senses alert for the earliest signs of spring.In a lot of ways, spring is our most flamboyant season but I just know, somewhere out there, it’s making a...

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PHILLY MOUNTAIN SPRING LOOKOUT JOURNAL

I woke up this morning after another one of those fitful nights.Tossing and turning, I just could not settle into a steady state of sleep, I don’t know why.Going to sleep was never that easy but...

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IN JUST-SPRING

It was just too nice a day to spend it cooped up in the office so I rigged up a quick little workplace, outside, in the shade of my favorite birch tree.It was turning out to be a great day of work,...

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STANDING STILL IN SPRING

First flowers open.A person looks,The blossoms look back...I approached the Japanese maple, walked right up to its dangling crown and ducked past its low-hanging, star-studded canopy.Inside its dark...

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THE JON SPRUCE MAILBAG

People are always asking me…well, they’re always asking me everything.It’s true.Every week, my mailbox spills over with letters from the fans of Philly Trees, messages from old friends, invitations for...

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MEMENTO MORI ME

I grew up in this house.This isn’t a particularly original thought but, boy, it sure looks a lot smaller than I remember.  It just seems too small to house all those memories, all those holidays, all...

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COOKERY WITH JON SPRUCE

In 1747, a young British wife of an Irish soldier wrote and published what would become a most popular book.Her name was Hannah Glasse and the book was The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.  It was...

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TREES ON THE ROAD

There I was, enjoying the daylights out of these long, long days of June, reading the local paper in the backyard of my urban cabin, when a headline caught my eye:Wildman Throws Spear at Passing...

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SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY, OF TREE I SING

It’s Independence Day Weekend here in Philadelphia.  What a fine time to be in the city.Block parties and live music, barbecues and picnics, burgers and ice cream, sparklers and fireworks, road-blocks...

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THE STRONG SUN MOON

It’s a jungle out there.The city is stewing.  The streets are roasting.  The roof is on fire.  Baby, it’s hot outside, during these final days of the Strong Sun Moon.Citybillies, take cover wherever...

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BEECH READINGS, PART ONE

Awakening this morning from uneasy dreams, I realized that I had the whole day to myself, no promises, no obligations, no errands, no dues.Ah, summer.So, like most people with a summer day to burn, I...

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BEECH READINGS, PART TWO

I got a bad feeling about this.I was climbing down the rocky slopes towards the Catfish Creek when I caught sight of this brown pod……attached to a branch of that scrub chestnut oak.It just plucked off,...

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PHILLY FALL & THE FERNHILL FRUIT

Now, where was I?That’s right, it’s autumn here in Philadelphia.Now, how does that quote go again, the one about autumn?  Think, Jon Spruce.  Who was it again?That’s right, it was Albert Camus, the...

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WAY DOWN YONDER IN THE PAWPAW PATCH

People are always asking me: Hey, Jon Spruce, do you wanna hang out?Sometimes I take the bait.  Contrary to popular belief, sometimes I do enjoy the sights and sounds of polite society.  It’s fun,...

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THE AMERICAN ILEX

It’s coming on Christmas, they’re cutting down trees…Joni MitchellDon’t you wish every morning could be like Christmas morning?T’is the season…waking up in the cozy warmth of a comfy bed, the birds...

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THE POLAR VORTEX

I woke up this morning and immediately checked my surroundings for any subtle, mysterious changes.Nope.Same old urban cabin.Same old Jon Spruce.Crawling out of the warm blankets, I shivered over to the...

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WINTER DISPATCHES

Still Continues to snow fast, looks gloomy……Mrs Reid of Keysburg, Virg, with us, wood Scarce, difficult to get anymore……snow fast yet new snow about 3 feet deep, wind Southwest, no Sign of clearing...

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PHILLY FIRST BLOSSOM FRONT

Citybillies, it’s confession time.The rumors are true.  I’ve sold out.Jon Spruce has officially signed on the dotted line.For two years now, I have meticulously and courageously hunted down and...

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PHILLY FLOWER CHATTER

People are always asking me: Hey, Jon Spruce, enjoying the weather?It sure is pretty to think so.In all actuality, this is my busy season, not much time to enjoy the weather.  This is the time of year...

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THE PHILADELPHIA PALIMPSEST

Of all the many things that Henry David Thoreau once said aloud or wrote down, there is one particular quote that has tormented and spooked the generations of nature-writers and tree-hunters to come.In...

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HANGING UP THE HAT

Here in Philadelphia, there are trees and then there are trees.On this particular day, I was hunting for the first kind of tree.It goes by the name of mountain laurel.  It’ll never be the biggest tree...

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