After multiple nights below freezing, the pretty yellow of the goldenrod is gone and now the color matches closer to the white of snow.
Goldenrod in Autumn
Picture of the Day for August 29, 2020
The bright yellow blossoms of goldenrod attracted a variety of insects to its flowers on this sunny summer day.
The Yellow of Goldenrod
Picture of the Day for April 15, 2020
After another day of watching the ducks walking on snow by the pond, I am trying to remember that eventually the snow will melt, the landscape will turn green and flowers will display bright blossoms.
Summer at the Pond
Picture of the Day for August 19, 2019
When you think about Thomas Edison, you probably think about the light bulb, the phonograph or one of his other inventions but probably not his experiments with goldenrod. During the first World War, Edison and Henry Ford began to worry about the United States’ reliance on foreign rubber production and attempted to find a quickly growing plant that would contained enough latex to produce a usable rubber. Edison finally discovered that Goldenrod contained around 12% latex, after testing 17,000 different plant species. Henry Ford even gave Edison a Model T with goldenrod-rubber tires. Unfortunately, the quality of the rubber wasn’t good enough for it to be commercially extracted.
Goldenrod for Tires
Picture of the Day for August 22, 2018
The goldenrod adds some pretty yellow color in the fields and ditches, but it often gets the bum rap as the cause of allergies this time of the year even though the allergies symptoms are the fault of ragweed instead.
Late Summer Yellow
Picture of the Day for August 21, 2017
There probably wasn’t a lot of work done midday during the solar eclipse while people watched the progress of the moon covering the sun as there are about 12 million people who live directly on the eclipse path, which doesn’t include those who migrated for the day to view the event.
I didn’t travel to the total path, so the sun was only covered about 83% but with rain before and afterwards, I was just lucky to see even that much of the eclipse. The last total solar eclipse in my area was before I was born and the next one isn’t until 2099. Other total solar eclipses seem to be in the 60 to 80 percent coverage for my area with 1979 being about 90% in which the our sheep came in from the pasture to lie down like nighttime and after the eclipse, they headed back out to the pasture. The sunshine here looked like a hazy cloudy day as it didn’t get dark like in the complete total path area.
Total Solar Eclipse Day
Picture of the Day for February 17, 2016
The sun is out this morning but it is not a warm summer day since it is still winter with below freezing temperatures. So the fields are not full of bright yellow goldenrod waving in the breeze as the sun is sparkling off the white snow instead.
Summertime Color
Picture of the Day for December 12, 2015
On a normal winter, the ground here would be covered with snow but this year the recent warm week has finally melted the snow but the only ‘flowers’ I found on my hike through the woods was some dried up flowers or some foliage only. The goldenrod I found wasn’t the bright golden yellow of summer time but the fuzzy white of the dried flower.
Now White and Not Golden
Picture of the Day for August 19, 2014
A field full of weeds can look pretty, but then to some the yellow goldenrod isn’t a weed and is held as a sign of good luck or good fortune. They are good fortune to insects providing a source of nectar and well as historically healing wounds on the skin. Even Thomas Edison experimented with goldenrod to produce rubber, which it contains naturally.
Others might cuss out the goldenrod for allergy problems but another culprit, the ragweed, which blooms at the same time is usually responsible for seasonal allergies.
Pretty Field of Weeds
Picture of the Day for January 2, 2014
The sun is out bright this morning, but all it reveals is a very white, cold landscape and all one can do is dream of a warm, green summer day colored with yellow even if goldenrod is considered a weed, it is still nice to see instead of white.
Goldenrod is in the aster family and is often blamed for hay fever but since the pollen of goldenrod is too heavy to be blown far, the ragweed that blooms at the same time is the main culprit. Goldenrod is a good sources of nectar for bees, flies, wasps, and butterflies and Native Americans used the seeds of some species for food and leaves are edible from young plants and some herbal teas are sometimes made with goldenrod.
While the golden plant might provide food, like the amber honey, just seeing the golden color is food for the soul on a cold winter day.
Golden Delight
