Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Prairie in Summer

Some of you will remember that last winter I stumbled upon a prairie restoration project less than a mile from our home. It was full of fascinating dried flowers, and I promised myself I'd come back in summer to see the fresh blossoms. Today I decided to keep that promise.

My path takes me past the marshy lake-around-the-corner. Gone is the silvery glory of winter; all now is green...


...punctuated here and there with the vivid blossoms of purple loosestrife. This plant is invasive, but oh so beautiful:


Past the marshy lake, I turn off the road and onto a trail that leads through a small wood. Despite recent rains, many trees are showing the stress of drought.


The sky is lovely and variable this afternoon - now cloudy, now sunny.


The trail opens out into a field decorated with tiny, colourful grass seeds...


...and clumps of these miniscule white blossoms. (I was a real slacker today when it came to looking up wildflowers.)


Larger, plumy grass seeds wave in the wind.


The trail turns to skirt a field of clover in full bloom; the air is honey-sweet with its scent.


I'm happy to find a few thistles still blossoming. (Most of them flowered early this summer and burned out quickly in the extreme heat.)


Hoary vervain looking wild and jungle-y.


As I reach the pond behind the high school, I'm astonished to find honeysuckle in bud. (I thought it had finished months ago.)


Tiny asters shine like the stars they're named for.


The trail curves again, and begins to skirt the prairie restoration project, where coneflowers are blowing in the wind.


I'm fascinated by the variety and beauty of wild grass seeds. These look like rosebuds in miniature:


Another mystery flower:


And more lovely sky. There's rain in those clouds!


The drought doesn't seem to have bothered the knapweed...


...or this chestnut tree, which is loaded with nuts:


Here's another mystery blossom! These little white flowers are all over the place this summer - often growing with the jointed grass which can be glimpsed in the picture below.


I believe these are called false sunflower:


Just next to them is a plant bearing some very interesting seed pods. I've never seen anything like this:


I saw quite a lot of these dried flower heads last winter, and was really hoping to catch them in bloom this summer. Maybe next year....


A box elder bug. Some people find these insects annoying; I think they're rather pretty. (Their splotches remind me of a Rorschach test. Psychologist: "What do you see?" Mrs. M: "I see a bug crawling on a leaf." Psychologist: "Hmmm. Some interesting complexes there....")


More rosy grass seeds.


A very delicate blossom - one of the many Aster cousins, no doubt:


The goldenrod is already blooming profusely. (I've been trying to ignore it, as it's MUCH too early this year. But I can't seem to get away from the stuff, so I might as well take a few photos.) Here it is hanging out with pine cones and wild grapevine:


Goldenrod is commonly (and mistakenly) blamed for causing seasonal allergies; the real culprit is more likely to be ragweed, which blooms at the same time (and is much less beautiful).


I've completed my circuit of the prairie restoration project; time now to head home and make pizza. I'm glad to have seen the project in high summer; now I'll be able to identify a few more of those dried flowers next winter. : )

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

24 comments:

  1. What lovely and diverse shots of the prairie in the summer - so many beautiful plants to discover! The Goldenrod is almost out here too and that always seems a sign of the end of the summer somehow - yet it's so beautiful we will excuse its pre-autumn message!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that's how I feel about it too. Thanks Sandra!

      Delete
  2. What a lovely glimpse at all those flowers, some look a little like things we have, some totally different. Our weather has been such a mixed bag that I'm not sure anything knows where we are at! We have woken to more heavy rain after a couple of scorching days....there seems little point in planning my week as I have no idea what it will be like. It is our local agricultural show this week, which is often like a big mud bath, so I guess the change in the weather comes as no surprise!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's been a crazy weather year all around. I hope winter treats us better! :)

      Delete
  3. Wild flowers are one of life's blessings aren't they. Since signing up to a year of not buying flowers I've become even more aware of the floral abundance that is out there.

    Lovely post Sue :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Annie. "Signing up to a year of not buying flowers" sounds intriguing. How about a post from you on that? :)

      Delete
  4. What a gorgeous place to be. Thanks for taking us along.
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pretty! Our honeysuckle perplexedly bloomed again last week; must be something in the air.

    Pizza...I imagine it was some kind of creative pizza. Yum!

    Have a good week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't know it ever bloomed twice - maybe there is something in the air.

      Pizza: fresh garlic, zucchini, sweet red pepper, onion, hard salami, mixed fresh herbs, mozzarella. :)

      Delete
  6. Could the black seed pods be Baptisia [false indigo]?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! That might be it. I know false indigo blooms in Wisconsin.

      Delete
  7. Lovely, little house on the prairie no less. You do know your flowers, I'd be saying well here's a yellow one and a blue one and ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gosh, I know a few. There are many more that I don't know. But thanks, Janet. :)

      Delete
  8. Your first little white flowers look like mouse-ear, and my first thought when I saw the seedpods was lupine... do you have those there? I don't know that I've ever seen Baptisia or false indigo, unless it's related.

    I saw fields and fields of clover, the thickest I've ever seen it, a week ago returning from Crested Butte, but we weren't at a place on the highway where it would have been safe to pull over, and I'm so sad I didn't get photos. (Passing motorists, of which there were many, likely would have called emergency services had they seen me laying on the ground trying to get as close to the flowers as I could!)

    This must have been a walk, for you give no mileage. What a glorious and beautifully refreshing corner of the world! Nice to see it now in two seasons!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Deb - you're always good for some wildflower ID. :) Yes, it was a walk. I should be back on the bike next weekend. Had to laugh at your comment about what it would take to get a clover shot - that about sums it up!

      Delete
  9. Such pretty wildflowers. You really are amazing, I too would be calling them white flowers, or yellow flowers....
    I worked all weekend so the only flowers I saw were on fabric. LOL (It's okay, I love fabric).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And fabric flowers never fade or go to seed....

      Hope you didn't spend ALL your earnings at work! :)

      Delete
  10. What a beautiful profusion and such diversity. I love all of the different grasses. Such a treat to the eyes..thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought of you, Ellen, every time I took a grass seed photo. (Great minds think alike, you know.)

      Delete
  11. You sure have an abundance of wildflowers! Some pretty awesome ones too! And, no lack of lovely places to see. I can see why you like Wisconsin. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is pretty nice here - especially in the country. Thanks, Marigold!

      Delete
  12. I always think that when you look at the bug longways, his back resembles an African mask, or a Native American Indian totem pole. How does that come out in analysis?? Love your seed pictures, especially.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good comparison! And I have no idea what dreadful complexes may lie behind this interpretation. Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete

I love comments! Speak on....