This weekend not only did I have the need to wear my down jacket in the evening to take the chill off I also noticed a lot of trucks coming home from up north full of firewood.
By no means am I ready to even think about the recent rain turning to snow, and I LOVE the snow, so I am posting lots and lots of wildflowers I've found throughout the summer to warm me up a bit.
Subaplpine spiraea,
Spiraea splendens or wild rose
Found in the backyard.
Ciliate bluebell,
Mertensia ciliataFound in Slaughterhouse Canyon where we take our daily dog walk. Just behind the house.
Sitka columbine,
Aquilegia formosaScarlet paintbrush,
Castilleja miniataElephant-head,
Pedicularis groenlandica or pink elephants
Elegant camas,
Anticlea elegansSlender cinquefoil,
Potentilla gracilis
All found at
Washington Lake in the White Cloud Mountains while hiking with Mom and Dad. What a treat.
Closeup of pink elephants.
Closeup of elegant camas.
A lone Silver lupine, Lupinus argenteus
found in a field of Twin arnica, Arnica sororia.
Following are a couple of my favorite
wildflower photos from this summer.
Both were taken while on a hike
to Betty, Baptie and Goat Lakes.
The same hike I found the white bog orchid on
mentioned in my previous post.
Lewis's monkey-flower,
Mimulus lewisiiOregon bluebell,
Mertensia bellaSpear leafed arnica,
Arnica longifoliaCalifornia false hellebore, Veratrum californicum
While working in early July I was lucky enough to be up in
Copper Basin during some of the height of the wildflower season.
Prairie smoke,
Geum triflorumTaper-leaf penstemon,
Penstemon attenuatusSpear leafed arnica,
Arnica longifoliawith the
Pioneer Mountains in the background.
Pioneer Mountains in the background again. Only this time from the other side. The field of wildflowers consists mostly of American bistort (white),
Bistorta bistortoides, Mountain sheep sorrel (red),
Rumex paucifolius, and Upland larkspur (blue),
Delphinium nuttallianum.
Another view of the Pioneers with
Longspur lupine, Lupinus arbustus in the foreground.
And last but not least some cactus flowers.
They are some of my favorites
as they grow in extreme heat and dryness,
they are very delicate, their color is amazing
and they last for only but a day or two.
Spiny prickly pear,
Opuntia polyacantha
Brittle cactus,
Opuntia fragilis
And...
an Aztec poem
From within the Heavensby Ayocuan Cuetzpaltzin From within the heavens they come, the beautiful flowers, the beautiful songs, but our yearning spoils them, our inventiveness makes them lose their fragrance, although not those of the Chichimec prince Tecayehuatzin. With his, rejoice! Friendship is a shower of precious flowers White tufts of heron feathers are woven with precious red flowers, among the branches of the trees under which stroll and sip the lords and nobles Your beautiful song is a golden wood thrush most beautiful, you raise it up. You are in a field of flowers. Among the flowery bushes you sing. Are you perchance a precious bird of the Giver of Life? Perchance you have spoken with God? As soon as you saw the dawn, you began to sing. Would that I exert myself, that my heart desire, the flowers of the shield, the flowers of the Giver of Life. What can my heart do? In vain we have come, we have blossomed forth on earth. Will I have to go alone like the flowers that perish? Will nothing remain of my name? Nothing of my fame here on earth? At least my flowers, at least my songs! What can my heart do? In vain we have come, we have blossomed forth on earth. Let us enjoy, O friends, here we can embrace. We stroll over the flowery earth. No one here can do away with the flowers and the songs, they will endure in the house of the Giver of Life Earth is the region of the fleeting moment. Is it also thus in the Place Where in Some Way One Lives? Is one happy there? Is there friendship? Or is it only here on earth we come to know our faces?
(as translated by Miguel Leon-Portilla)
With a little bit about Aztec poetry.
