WOODS TO WRITING DESK: Colorful woodbine tops the ticket
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Oct. 22—Rockport resident Alan MacMillan's colorful woodbine has taken home first place in the Phat Leaf Week 2021 competition.
With an armful of submissions to leaf through, this year's panel had some colorful reasons for selecting MacMillan's.
The Times' top leaf expert noted that he chose this leaf as his No. 1 choice because it resonated with him on a personal level: "It is all splotchy and red ... just like when I get sunburned."
Other voters saw this leaf as the "yin and yang of autumn."
"With its mottled red and green, leaf 1 could also be poised to make the transition to festive seasonal decor," a seasoned judge said.
The winning leaf of woodbine, also known as Parthenocissus vitacea, is a woody vine that is typically found sprawling over bushes and rocks. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, its tendrils usually lack sucker disks and are few-branched.
It can climb up to 30 feet high.
"I have never won anything," MacMillan told this columnist. "But this is the greatest achievement. Winning something that shows the rest of the world the beautiful and natural world means more than any amount of money."
"I truly mean that," he said.
MacMillan said he chose this particular leaf for the competition because it looked like a rainbow.
"That is not Photoshop at all," he exclaimed. "Those colors are what made me take it home."
MacMillan happens to be the longest sitting member of Rockport's Conservation Commission with 34 years under his belt.
Noting his love for nature, this year's winner said that he "lives to walk and walks to live."
He also noted that when he goes walking in the Manchester Essex Woods — where he happened to find his winning leaf — he seldom meets people there.
"On one hand, it is nice because I have the whole woods to myself," MacMillan said. "But on the other hand, I am saddened to think that people should be out here."
If you want to learn what MacMillan and the rest of Rockport's Conservation Commission are up to these days, you can visit https://www.rockportma.gov/conservation-commission
Happy leaf peeping!
Want to suggest your favorite trail for review? Or, Don't want others flooding the woods you love? Let staff writer Taylor Ann Bradford know. While carrier pigeon is her preferred mode of communication, she can be reached at 978-675-2705 or tbradford@gloucestertimes.com.
