It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born, that the ibis lit in the bleeding tree. The flower garden was stained with rotting brown magnolia petals, and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox.

This quote signifies the time of year in which the major actions of the story take place. It is a time between summer and autumn, and the rich descriptive language provides a visual rendering of that time. The garden is filled with dead magnolia leaves and late summer blossoms. The summer is “dead” but autumn “had not yet been born,” which introduces the ever-present dichotomy of life and death in the story’s setting.

I pulled the go-cart through the sawtooth fern, down into the green dimness where the palmetto fronds whispered by the stream. I lifted him out and set him down in the soft rubber grass beside a tall pine.

This description of Old Woman Swamp provides a vivid look at the beautiful landscape in which the two brothers play. It also uses personification to describe how the palmetto fronds “whispered” by the stream. The author personifies the palmetto fronds to portray a strong connection between Doodle and the beauty of the nature he witnesses. Old Woman Swamp is a crucially important setting in the story, one that represents the brothers’ hope for success.

When we reached Horsehead Landing, lightning was playing across half the sky and thunder roared out, hiding even the sound of the sea. The sun disappeared and darkness descended, almost like night.

This passage evokes a stormy landscape by describing the sounds. The sound of the storm sets an ominous tone, and the powerful sound of the sea has been drowned out by something even more powerful. These lines also utilize light and dark to describe the way the storm is coming toward the boys as they row out from Horsehead Landing, thus enhancing the ominous tone of the brothers’ ill-fated boat trip.