It's another winged Wednesday, but while bird banders await more birds, other wonders abound at this "place to discover."

It's a Day of Caring, in a united way, but isn't every day a day to care about something?

I care that a hundred elementary schoolers are discovering this place today, many for the first time.

Do they know that right beneath the Water Tower lies buried treasure? It wasn't pirates who drew that 'X', though. It's a lawn story, a mystery which only a few have solved.

There are fewer mysteries in the Native Plant entrance garden this week, thanks to the generosity of the family of Nat "Buddy" Wright and the excellent craftsmanship of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Signs have bloomed, and with them the chance to solve some mysteries. Master Gardener Ginger L. tells me:

Tiarella cordifolia (foam flower): Tiarella, for tiara, refers to the pistil shape that resembles a turban once worn by Persian kings. Cordifolia refers to heart-shaped leaves. Frothy blooms are borne on long racemes. Tiarella has been used as a diuretic, for treatment of bladder and liver problems, and for indigestion.  A tea made from the leaves can be held in the mouth to remove the white coating on the tongue (if you ever need to do that…).

But what in the world is this!? Orange jelly, hanging in blobs from our little juniper? "Nature, red in tooth and claw," ...and also kind of gooey.