Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Queen in Bloom

The tall Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula) in my garden is finally beginning to bloom, and it is full of butterflies - this male Monarch remained in residence for well over an hour yesterday, fluttering from branch to fragrant branch in complete and unfettered bliss.

As I watched the Monarchs dancing about yesterday, I suddenly remembered that in a little more than a calendar month, my favorite butterflies will have departed for southern climes.

How quickly summer appears here, and how quickly it departs again. Signs of the changing season are everywhere; roadside stands and local farm markets brimming with bright produce, stands of corn so high that one can barely glimpse the barns and farmhouses behind them, fields of wheat, barley and oats waving gracefully to and fro in the August breeze like oceans of waving (and very welcoming) hands.

Wild Signs of the Season: Chickory and Queen Anne's Lace flowering in the front paddock, Joe Pye weed in bloom by the beaver pond.

3 comments:

kenju said...

Your photos are wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Is Filipendula related to Joe Pye weed? I thought that was flower in the picture until I read your caption.

Great photos!

Rowan said...

How beautiful the Monarch butterfly is - and the colt from your previous post is beautiful too. Is he yours - have I missed something while I've been computerless? I knew that dogs snore but didn't realise that horses do as well:)