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
The sun is out bright but its rays are not catching the white petals of daisies but only the white flakes of snow which is blanketing the ground.
Daisies Missing in January
Hopefully the sun will peek out and shine today, otherwise the Black-eyed Susans will have to provide the sunshine. There are different hybrids from the native plant which are used in gardens and mine have multiplied quite well from the couple of plants I started with. Even giving a truckload away to a friend didn’t slow them down long but they sure add some bright color when most of the other flowers are done blooming.
Sea of Yellow Faces
The fields and ditches are in pretty yellow color with the Black-eyed Susans blooming and even a lone flower is a lovely sight. Rudbeckia hirta, commonly called black-eyed-susan, is a native flower to the Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent. Members of the sunflower family, the “black eye” is named for the dark brown-purple centers of its daisy-like flower heads.
But who was Black-Eyed Susan for which the flower was named for? The legend says it all comes from an Old English poem of the post-Elizabethan era entitled simply, “Black-Eyed Susan,” written by a very famous poet of the day named John Gay, 1685-1732. The first part of the poem reads like this.
All in the downs, the fleet was moored,
Banners waving in the wind.
When Black-Eyed Susan came aboard,
and eyed the burly men.
“Tell me ye sailors, tell me true
Does my Sweet William sail with you?”
Lonely Black-Eyed Susan
On a warm sunny Sunday, heading to the lake (or a small pond in my case) might be a way to spend the afternoon for some swimming, boating, fishing or just relaxing watching the clouds go by. But since the fish in my small pond are only bait size, I guess I would have go to somewhere to fish or to kayak.
Sunday Afternoon by the Water
One small perk of mowing lawn, especially on my trails, is that you get to see what flowers are blooming and last evening as the sun was setting and while finishing the last sections, I spotted a rare find. It had been thirty plus years since I had spotted the Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid while walking through the cow pasture on the farm so I was thrill to spot one last night. It is found in the Eastern US, but in some of those states it is listed as endangered, rare, or threatened, although Wisconsin is not one of those state, it is not a flower that I see very often in this area. Probably since they prefer wet habitats but with the rain this summer, my lawn is a wet habitat!
So I will have to venture out today in the daylight to get more pictures of the showy inflorescence of pinkish-purple dancing flowers of the Platanthera psycodes, meaning ‘butterfly like’, referring the spreading fringed petals, before someone mows it off or a deer eats it!
Lesser Purple Fringed Orchid
The sun is starting to peek out after the rain, but it hasn’t cool off nor has the dewpoint dropped, so it is another hot summer day. The yellow blossom of the common St. Johnswort looks like the sun bursting out its rays. But like many other flowers, this native one from Eurasia and North Africa was introduced into this country in the 1700s as an ornamental and as a medicinal herb. Now it is considered an invasive and noxious weed especially since toxic to livestock as it crowds out native species and forage on pasture lands.
Common St. Johnswort
After being grazed off by deer this spring, I was surprised to see any hollyhocks blooming this summer but a few re-sprouted and they are providing a display of pinks and reds blossoms.
Surviving Hollyhocks
This was the new little calf which I was on my way to photograph when the bald eagle took me on a side trip. Since it a late calf, at the moment the calf doesn’t have any playmates the same size until the other couple remaining cows have their calves.
Late Summer Calf
A short video of some other calves playing.
Last night the sun was the pinkish-red ball again, like the week of smokey skies, but at least there some clouds from the passing rain shower to the north to give a colorful sunset. Tonight the predicted storms will probably hide the sun as it sets although a rainbow would be nice.
Hot Summer Sunset
