If we’d been at the cabin a week earlier, there might have been no riding and not much outdoor activity, as it was rainy with low-hanging fog. Fortunately, the week our older daughter, her fiancé, and his parents were there, the weather was excellent. The next week when I was at the “phone booth” (a high ridge where I can get phone reception), I took this photo of some of the many wildflowers flourishing in the wet spring.
I’m going to be taking a short break, returning mid-week next week. Where has the month gone? I wanted to leave you with something beautiful and I think this shy violet, cast into the spotlight despite trying to hide, is the perfect thing. Enjoy!
Just over a week ago, I headed to the park hunting wildflowers. The flowers of just a few days earlier were gone, probably not helped by all the rain. Pale was no longer in vogue. Now it was time for deeper, richer colors, although it seems impossible to take photos that show the sweep of the wildflowers. They tend to be shy, hiding amongst the green, and often in the shade. But I did my best.
After weeks and months of waiting, the green is back. I may not catch a sunrise for some time because the sun is coming up rather early these days, but it wasn’t far over the horizon when I arrived at the park last week, just high enough to add emphasis.
The water was still, although the river is still high. It’s too cold yet for the frogs, so I don’t have to sneak slowly to the edge of the shore, trying to spot them before they leap out into the water.
I have no idea what this is (input invited), but I love the delicate little waxy flowers and the graceful curves of the stem. And doesn’t this quote from Shakespeare make you want to lie down on the bank he describes?
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.
~William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
In my last post about the Badlands, this plant appeared in one shot. I thought it was worth a closer look, so here it is: Wooly Verbena/Vervain. These 1-4 foot tall wildflowers attract many species of bees and butterflies to the Badlands. Plains Indians used this plant in their teas to calm stomach problems. The color especially pops in a landscape of tans and browns.
