Anaclastic Glasses

According to John Kiernan, in 1644 Daniel Denton left Stamford Connecticut for the Eastern section of Long Island, later publishing A Brief Description of New York, with the places Thereunto Adjoyning, called the New Netherlands. According to Denton, the flora, in brief:

Oaks White and Red. Walnut-trees, Chestnut-trees, which yield a store of mast for swine... and also Maples, Cedars, Saxifrage, Beech, Birch, Holly, Hazel with many sort more...Purslaine, White Orage, Egrimony, Violets, Penniroyal, Alicampane, besides Saxaparilla very common...Mulberries, Posimons, Grapes great and Small, Huckelberries, Cranberries, Plums of several sorts, Rasberries and Strawberries, of which last is such abundance in June that the Fields and Woods are died red. (actual spellings) p.4

This passage so ripe with such wonderful things reminds me of the many exuberantely carved festoons I've been noticing ornamenting so many of the old buildings as symbols of abundance, I imagine. In my backyard, though we still have long to wait for the bounty, I've found that the strawberries have foliated. I'm not sure if these fuzzy leaves are early risers or if they partied all night, but they've been up for at least 3 weeks now. Already effortlessly at work distilling that particular sweetness from the elements upon which the reputation of shortcake depends.

I read that strawberries are "false fruits" since they don't actually derive from a flower's ovaries. Such inconclasts.