Wildflowers

A series of drenching rains came after some weeks without any water to speak of and now a cooler period has just set in. The ground is finally fully saturated. I am thinking about planting radishes again and feeling relief about having just planted out our red russian kale seedlings before the weekend. The nights are in the 40's and it looks like it may stay this way for the next few days at least.

Granted I am new to this part of the world, but I am floored by the wildflower display here. We (Edmund) ha(s)ve been regularly mowing a small area around the house, (think of a bow tie around a large man's neck), and a walking path to get to the chickens beyond. We have otherwise let these meadows run their course. Walking through the knee high forage I let my eyes follow the colors below me. So many things are simultaneously in bloom, yet they manage to graciously share the spotlight. A week and a half ago I saw whole fields in bright pink. It was close to a bubble gum color, but there was a rich magenta in there somewhere. This pink was set off by stands of buttercups screaming just beside it. Today the roadsides were dotted with periwinkle bobbles on strong stems. Our stream bank has put on a floral skirt, thick with blue blossoms. The bishop's weed is endearing itself to me now after months of looking like the greedy and thoughtless intruder it has in other seasons. The peppermint is hugging the sides of the stream and was bountiful enough to yield a basketful to me this evening. For the best tea imaginable, I am following Dorothy's guidance; keeping the harvested leaves away from the sun and turning them regularly until they have dried. When we make this tea some evening months from now, I hope I can recall this subtly opulent spectacle. My heart goes out to all the people in the gulf who are experiencing a gross inversion of what I have described here. Today I am not sure how I would survive without petroleum, but this disaster is urging me to move in that direction. I know the stream bank would not be phased. We could start there.

-Alanna